It might be easier to state what hasn't changed in my life in the past month rather than what has changed. I'm still in love with Stephen, the gospel is still true, and I'm still (maybe eternally) pregnant. Besides that, life is new for me. Stephen finished his schooling! This means I get my husband back! He's been such a hard worker this past semester with 17 credits. When asked about his semester, Stephen said, "I'm glad it's over," which should give you some hint at how taxing it was. But his grades should be good as far as I'm aware. Though with a firm job waiting for him after graduating regardless of his GPA, I can't blame him for lacking motivation. Though really, if Stephen's just doing the "minimum" in his eyes, it's still going to be like, an -A or +B. That's slacking for him. I married a nerd.
Along with finishing the semester, we moved! Stephen and I now live in Draper, Utah. It's about a half hour drive north of where we were living in Provo. We're less than a mile away from the 114th exit, if that means anything to you. We're living in the beautiful basement apartment I had mentioned before. I still love it as much as I did when I first saw it. This place really does feel big for just the two of us. Ask me again in a few months if this space is still large for three people. I love the carpet and the tile in the house, as well as the paint job. There's tons of lighting so it doesn't feel like a dark basement. The bathroom here is probably as big as my old kitchen, and I can actually sit in the tub and not have my knees stick up for lack of space (being so pregnant, warm Epsom salt baths are lovely). There are more cupboards and drawers in my kitchen than I know what to do with. Really. I'm not sure what to put where yet. But give me some more time and I'll have them filled.
We've been collecting a lot of furniture for this new home. That's been the worst part of moving. In Provo, we lived in a furnished apartment and our largest belonging was a bookcase. It made it much easier to move out of our apartment because we didn't have to take big things with us, but that also meant when we moved, we would need to quickly get couches, a bed, a washer and dryer, a table, chairs, TV stand, computer desk, dressers, etc. This can easily be translated into a headache.
The weekend before we formally moved in, Stephen and I drove up to the valley and looked at a bunch of furniture from KSL and refurbished stores. We got a washer and dryer that day, as well as a couch, table, and chairs, but it was a stressful day to try and coordinate schedules. We got help from the elders quorum president from our new ward who conveniently owns a trailer, and that was a huge blessing. But between coordinating schedules for ourselves, the people we were buying the furniture from, the guy helping us pick the stuff up, and our landlord for letting us in, I was quickly exhausted, and I didn't even do any of the driving or lifting. We had a similar day like that yesterday as we got a desk and more couches. Unfortunately, we're probably going to have to do it again in order to finish getting things we need. I'm looking forward to that being done.
And of course, there was the actual moving process of getting all our stuff to Draper from Provo. Thankfully, we had a lot of help from friends and ward members in Provo. Stephen and I tried to have everything packed before moving day came, and I think we were probably 90% there when people came Wednesday morning to load up vehicles. We got a lot of complements from the people helping us on how organized and prepared we were, which was my goal. I didn't want to have other people loading boxes for me--I could do that part mostly on my own. But once a box weighed more than ten or fifteen pounds, I wasn't allowed to lift it. There's no way Stephen and I could have moved on our own with me in this condition, so I'm so grateful to the help we received.
Everything went quickly that day. We loaded, traveled, and unloaded the cars in less than three hours. There was even time for one of the guys with a truck to help us pick up our bed from my uncle Ken, who was finishing a six-month mission in Utah and no longer needed his new mattress and bed frame. That was also very convenient timing. When all the boxes were piled into our apartment, our friends went back to Provo, and Stephen and I welcomed the new step of unpacking by procrastinating. We took a break to play games, and that was the best part of the day. Yeah, we might be doing adult-like things such as graduating, moving, starting a new job, and starting a family, but Stephen and I are still just little kids at heart--when no one is supervising us, we play games.
The day we moved in felt very surreal. I'm still not sure it's sunken in that I live here now. It feels like we're staying at someone else's house. I keep expecting someone to come knock on my door and tell me it's time to wake up, or join the rest of the family or party for some event or something. It's like I'm waiting to be disturbed, but no one is coming. I actually live here. Stephen and I are the only ones here. Sure, our landlord is upstairs, but beyond the occasional footsteps or hearing the garage open and close, we don't have much interaction with him. Maybe I'm waiting for him to come downstairs and tell me thanks for visiting but it's time to leave now. I don't know how long it will take for me to be comfortable with the idea that this is my new home, but I'm welcoming that change.
Leaving Provo was bittersweet. I've lived there for the past four years. I became very comfortable there and felt I knew my way around the city easily. Now, I have to google every time I want to go somewhere. Provo is where I grew a lot as a person (and grew a lot of a person) and met and fell in love with Stephen. It was hard to leave the apartment where Stephen and I started our lives together. After we had finished cleaning everything on Thursday, there was a half hour or so before the office was scheduled to check us out. I took that opportunity to have a sentimental cry about leaving our first home. Stephen isn't nearly as sentimental as I am, but he sure is patient and understanding when I just need to sob and talk about memories we had there. I'm happy for the new stage in life, but I also know it will never be the same again. It's bittersweet to be moving forward; it's the right thing for us to do, but we've also had a really good time together just the two of us--newlywed students who play games in their down time. But I am excited for the new stage of adulthood and parenthood.
Speaking of parenthood, I have seven weeks left, give or take, until this little one gets to kick air and not my rib cage. She is active throughout the day and night. People talk about lulling her to sleep by walking around and general movement during the day, but Paige sees this as a time to join the party. And when I lay down at night, she's not done partying. I'm grateful to know she's a healthy baby developing well inside, but at the same time, she has some well-aimed punches and kicks. There will be times when I'm just distracted by how much she is moving and give up doing anything else to watch my belly roll with her movements. She's currently head down but facing forwards instead of backwards. Hopefully, she'll spin at some point and then her movement wont be so sharp--her back to my belly instead of her feet, knees, elbows, and fists will probably make a difference.
My midwife says she has plenty of time still to spin, but that just reminds me I still have plenty of time being pregnant. This is a good thing right now while we're doing so much transitioning in life. It's been hard moving while pregnant, but I'm sure it's easier than moving with a newborn. We still need to set up her nursery too. I wish I could decorate it super cute with a theme and homemade touches and refurbished furniture painted to match each other, but most likely, the room will be more about function than interior design due to time and budget. Still, I want to do what I can to make it cute and ready for Paige. She's not allowed to come until the nursery is ready, but as soon as it is, I'm going to need you all to remind me to not be anxious. Her due date is the 8th of February, but I'm not letting myself get eager until after Valentine's day, just to be safe. But if she's not here by the 15th, you know I'm going to be eating all the spicy foods I can, along with any other "trick" to get her to come. Because everyone knows I have so much influence over that.
Have I missed part of the recap? Probably. But this post is plenty long, and I have things to do, like get ready for church with our new ward, or wrap Christmas presents, or prep for our trip to St. George tomorrow. Or, you know, feel Paige kick for my attention so much that I have to sit down and watch her dance while I'm unproductive. This happens daily. If this is any sign to her personality, which I believe it is, I'm sure I'll hear the phrase, "Mom, watch this!" plenty. When that day comes, someone remind me of this point in my life where I am so eager just to have a child who will someday call me "Mom."
