So much has happened since my last post. It seems like anytime I think I can write a summery, something new comes up. I apologize if this post is all over the place. In the past month, I had a prenatal checkup, celebrated my anniversary, visited St. George twice, attended my Grandpa's funeral, hosted a Relief Society activity, sent my husband back to school for his final semester, supported Stephen as he accepted a full-time job offer for next year, and payed off our car loan. So let's go in that order.
I love going to my prenatal checkups. The best part by far is hearing the heartbeat. Last time, the baby was super wiggly; it was hard for my midwife to pinpoint the heart long enough to get a good reading because the baby was moving so much. The heartbeat was between 130 and 140, which by wives tales means it's a boy, which was opposite of the 150 bpm that meant girl at my 12 week appointment. My midwife told me that was normal and that there's always just a 50/50 chance for each gender. If I had to guess, I think it's a girl, but if it's a boy, I will humbly be wrong and be very excited. So if my future first child ever reads this, please know I am thrilled that you are either a girl or a boy. We'll find out the gender on the 22nd. Stephen's going to come with me to the appointment, so that will be nice for me to have him and good for him to be a part of the process. I've started to feel the baby move some. I notice it the most when I sneeze. It loves to punch/kick me in response to startling it. There are also times where it is super wiggly, just like at the appointment, though now I can feel it. It's surreal.
Stephen and I officially hit our one-year mark a few weeks ago. We spent the weekend celebrating together by turning off our computers and the TV and just being together. He brought me chocolate, flowers, and Cafe Rio and I couldn't be a happier wife for it.We wandered around the mall together and went out for dinner. It was so good to spend the time together without any distractions and just have fun. It was a simple anniversary, but a god one.
For Labor Day Weekend, we decided it was a good opportunity to visit my family in St. George. We hadn't been there since Thanksgiving. It was a fun visit. It was just before Stephen started school, so it was good timing for us. I loved spending time with my mom. I hadn't seen her since being pregnant, and it was nice to show off my little baby bump to her. She helped me alter some clothing so I can continue to wear them as I grow. We played games with my siblings and went on a double date with my parents. I also got to spend time with my second mom, Janice, who gave me a heavenly massage. Janice was a professional masseuse and still does some work out of her home. She was my youth group leader in my church all while growing up. The other girls my age and I have become her children, and as we are having my children, she gets to boast 20-something grandchildren.
The second time we visited St. George was more somber. My grandpa past away. He had been in poor health for a while, so the family knew the end was near. Stephen and I went to visit him and my Grandma this Summer to say our goodbyes. I'm grateful for that closure. It was also good to visit for the funeral. It was a very emotional experience for most. I'm sure my pregnancy hormones didn't help me any as I cried a lot that day. Stephen was very supportive of me and was always by my side, making sure I was alright and had enough tissues. This was my first experience with someone close to me dying. It helped me to understand the Plan of Salvation better. I think that's the only reason I can feel less sad about the whole experience, not even for my own sake of seeing him again, but knowing he and my Grandma will be together forever.
So for my calling for church, I helped to organize a opening activity for this semester and had a get-to-know-you night. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. We played a few games and had refreshments, so it was a simple activity to plan on my end. We played "Switch Sides If" and had the sisters cross the line if a statement applied to them. I like that it involved everyone without being overwhelming. We then broke off into smaller groups and played games like "Never Have I Ever", "Two Truths and a Lie", and the Skittle Game, though I used life savers so they wouldn't melt all over people's hands. It gave the sisters the chance to talk and get to know each other. I hope that it helps with friendships overall. I had hoped for a better turn out, but we did have 21 people come, so that wasn't a bad turn out by any means. I'm hopeful to do more activities and have more emphasis placed on them to help encourage attendance. Activities are only fun if people actually come to them.
The activity was fitting to do at the beginning of the semester, which leads me to Stephen going back to class. He's taking 17 credits of programming courses in order to graduate in December. So far, he's managed to stay ahead in all of his classes. I'm hopeful he can keep that up for the next four months. He's also doing some grading work for one of his classes, so that's another time commitment on top of his schooling. Having him so busy makes me grateful for Sundays. He's had a personal commitment to not do homework on Sundays, so not only is it the Lord's day, it's also my day to spend with him. I'm grateful he's working so hard now so he can graduate soon and move on to working full time to support us and our growing family. He'll be able to take paternity leave much easier from his job than he would from classes.
Stephen has officially accepted the job offer at LucidSoftware, the place where he's been interning for the past year. It's a great company and Stephen loves working there. The environment is great and there's plenty of benefits beyond that to make this job the right path for us. The office will be located in South Jordan, meaning we'll be moving near there in December. I'm looking forward to the move in order to have more space and have a nursery for our new family member. I'm already looking for a place where I can raise my child, and the day dreaming involved in that is a guilty pleasure of mine. I hope it will all fall into place as nicely as the rest of our lives have so far.
As a final note, Stephen and I were able to pay off our car loan this week. It's a really good feeling to have that weight removed. We were able to turn our five-year loan into a one-year loan. It took a lot of sacrifice, but I know we are and will be blessed for living within our means and striving to be debt free. I'm grateful for a husband who is smart with money and who has the same goals I do for our family. And on top of all he does for me, he's pretty dang cute too. It's been a really good year with him, and an eventful month, but I know life is only going to get better from here.
