My two sleeping babes.

They're just so darn cute!

His heritage.

Yesterday was a fabulous Sunday filled with Church, meetings, "Pirates of the Caribbean" Munchkin (a combination of Munchkin Booty and Zombies), and Dominican foods!  It was my first shot at a traditional Dominican meal that Joseph's mom makes and it turned out fantastic!!  The beans were a tiny bit sweet - but I didn't have the right kind of tomato sauce.  Oh and it took me FOREVER to figure out how to make rice right. That's one of the more frustrating things.  Ever.  Seriously.  Whatever you do, do NOT follow the cooking directions on the rice package - they're wrong, and your rice will turn into a slimey globule.  P.S. if you're not into mixing all of the food on your plate then this is not the meal for you (or you need to get over your weird anxieties about your food touching).

It's pretty easy to make, just make some NOT sticky rice, drained pinto beans with a tomato sauce and onions (and probably about 1/2 a can of water, and any kind of delicious seasoned roast - thinly sliced.  BEST MEAL EVER.  

The best part is that we have some serious left-overs.  

My love.

Oh how I can't wait until my Joseph gets home from work!  I think my favorite thing is to hang out with him.  He's my favorite person ever!  I can't believe that he's the one I get to spend eternity with and make babies FOREVER with!!  I love eternal families and I love the temple where everything starts!  Some friends of ours are getting married in the Timpanogos Temple this month and I am so happy for them.  I recall the moment Joseph and I walked together through the temple to be married while Saoirse was watching us from heaven and it makes my heart feel so full.  I was so excited to begin my eternity with Joseph and everyday seems to be the best day of our eternity together.  I love going to sleep and waking up next to my best friend in the whole world.  Dang I can't get enough of it!  Anyway, for our friends, I can't wait until they can experience the happiness that I've had having the most perfect eternal companion.

Who would have thought that reality would be happier than my dreams?  I certainly didn't.

Our Midwestern adventures.

We just returned on Sunday from our trip to the good old midwest.  We drove to Iowa first in our friends' car.  They're moving to South Dakota soon and that's where Joseph's parents live so it worked out perfectly for us to drive it out there for them!  However this trip was different not because the change of vehicle but this time we had Saoirse with us!  Fortunately at 8 weeks she was more than willing to sleep almost all of the 18 hours it took to get there.  And she was so happy upon arrival!!

We ended up spending a ton of time over at my brother's house so I got to see my darling little niece Scarlet a lot which was nice because I used to spend everyday with her for the first 3 years of her life!  She's 4 1/2 now and still remembers me, which I greatly appreciate.  

Oh I really do miss that kid!

On a side note, my brother Jherek introduced us to this game called Munchkin while we were out there.

(this is the version we bought before we left Iowa)

  

IT. IS. SO. FUN.  It's essentially a short card game version of a role playing game like Dungeons and Dragons.  WAIT, before you stop reading this, it is really fun, for real.  Once you get the hang of it, all you do is just mess with everyone and try to make them lose.  It's the best game for anyone who is even slightly competitive.  Once we got to South Dakota we played it with Joseph's little brothers who ended up buying it before we left.  It's like the plague, minus the actual death part.

Haha, I love this movie.

Anyway, Vincent is huge.  He's only 1 1/2 but he looks like a 12-year-old.  Practically.  He also looks more and more like his mom.

My mom couldn't get enough of little Saoirse.  She got to hold her and change many of her soiled diapers.  Yay for moms!!

My dad and step mom were able to spend lots of time with their granddaughter as well!  I'm so glad we were able to see and spend so much time with them.  Hopefully when we're done with school out here and move back to the midwest we'll be able to see everyone much more often.

"Dang, they are so much like the same person.  You ask them if they want ice cream cone, they both say yes.  Wow. How in the heck?"

Anyway, after a week in Iowa we hauled our cheeks on up to South Dakota.  It was so GREEN there.  The grass was practically florescent and the trees neon.  It was great.  It made me slightly depressed to come back to Utah where there are a few trees but mostly anything that has life out here growing in the ground is a weed.  An ugly weed.  BUT while we were enjoying the wonderful humid weather of South Dakota we went with the fam to the zoo!  I hadn't been to a zoo in a long time but it was fun!  Even if I was a little sad for the lethargic African animals stuck in a South Dakotan cage.  But I did get some sweet rays. (from the sun, not sting rays, those are gross).

Rhino.  There was a sign saying that despite the massiveness of the fence (and the 10 feet between that and another smaller fence) that the rhino can "spray pee on you" if it looks like it's backing up to you.  Gross.  Oh yeah, this guy smelled horrible.  Not that good lookin' man, but the large prehistoric looking animal to his left.

Look at those freaky little monkeys.  They look like they would try to eat my brains.  *shiver* ehhh.

HOWEVER this little bambino was ADORABLE.  Just like a real baby except he was eating grass and I'm sure his mother would have tried to kill me by removing my flesh if I tried to love that baby.

At one point after finding a secluded place to feed my baby (which was beautiful by the way, a random hut at the dead end of this trail looking over a huge forresty field with tons of momma and baby geese) we come back to find Mark (one of Joseph's little brothers) riding a metal cow.  The weird thing is that I guess you used to be able to actually milk this thing.  But I did laugh seeing him ride that.

What are the boys looking at?

Oh just some alligators.  And despite there being a fence between us, they made me very uncomfortable. They were just pretending to be asleep, I'm sure of it.  

Well the zoo was fun.  We got a good walk in.  Saoirse had her first experience smelling a Rhino and some monkeys.  And I saw a bear stare directly into my soul.  A pretty good day!  And upon leaving South Dakota we were able to get a picture with Joseph's grandma and his great grandma.  Once we photoshop his dad in there it'll be a 5 generation picture!!

Let's be serious for 2 seconds.  We had Saoirse's baby blessing in South Dakota and guess who didn't get any pictures?  Me.  I'm super sad about that.  So hopefully Joseph's grandma will send some to us so I can remember just exactly how cute my baby is in a bonnet!!  Speaking of not getting pictures, I NEVER get pictures of Joseph's family!  What the heck is with that?!  Well maybe next time.

Our miracle!!!

Here are just a few pictures of our little Saoirse (that's said "seer-shah," it's Gaelic and means "freedom") Lorelai from after she was born.  JUST ONE DAY OLD!  She's so little and cute I can hardly stand it.  And she used to LOVE sleeping on our chests whenever she possibly could.  Now she just likes being swaddled and staring at any light.  I guess that's not too terribly different than what she was like just a few weeks ago when she was born.  She's nearly 7 weeks old now.  I can't believe she's almost 2 months!  Sooo crazy.

I think this is one of my favorites.

She's a few days old in this one with my wonderful mother who came and spent a week with us, and Saoirse's face is hilarious.

We'll be leaving for Iowa City and Sioux Falls in a little under a week, and I'm SO excited!  I am excited for the family to enjoy little Saoirse and to be able to see them and hang out and laugh.. ah, I miss my family.  We will be getting Saoirse blessed while we're in Sioux Falls which I'm also excited about (a blessing is different than a baptism, we don't get baptized until we're at least 8 years old).  PLUS, she has a SUPER cute blessing dress with a bonnet.  I'll get some pictures up when the big day comes.  :)

My life has been a busy one.

It has been MONTHS since I've posted anything and it's been just over a month since my little baby Saoirse Lorelai has been born!  I still can't believe she's here and she's MINE.  And no matter how much poop there is on her or how much cheese she makes in her neck crevices she's still the cutest thing I've ever seen.  She gets a little less cute when she's crying for seemingly no reason in the middle of the night, but I still love seeing that toothless smile she gives occasionally and those chunky cheeks.  I think it's fair to say that you really can't fully understand love until you love a child.  They do nothing to deserve your love - they puke, poop, cry and occasionally sleep.  Being a parent to a puking, pooping and crying baby helps me to better understand the love Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father have for us.  It helps me better understand Christ's grace.  We do nothing to deserve His grace, but He gives us his love despite our imperfections.  I know that I would do anything for Saoirse but I know the best thing I can do for her is to be the best mother and wife I can be and to teach her the gospel of Jesus Christ so that she can know just how special she is and how lucky she is to be born into a family who has been sealed for time and all eternity in the Temple.

I love my little family.  I'm so blessed to be able to stay home and raise Saoirse (and any other children that come along).  I'm blessed to have such a wonderful and supportive husband who loves our family.

Coming up in three days is mine and Joseph's one year anniversary!  I'm so happy to be able to celebrate that with him.  I simply cannot believe how blessed I have been in the past two years since my baptism (which was two years ago on Monday), it has strengthened my testimony that if we follow the Lord's commandments then we will be truly blessed.  I know that I have been.

I love life!  I've never been happier, or more tired.  :)

Our December finale, sort of.

We FINALLY cleaned out what is to be the baby's room.  It's been "in the process" since we moved in.  It used to be filled with boxes with one little path that sort of led to the middle back of the room, then it was filled with Joseph's junk he got from Apple (thank you Apple for sending us so much paper), and now it is finally ready for a crib!!!  Just as soon as we get the crib of course all will be perfect.

Clearly the room is enormous.

As you can see, Joseph is working at the computer (at my sweet desk I got for $20 - WIN).  The crib will go where the TV and backpack are.  We will soon be getting rid of that TV because we got a new one and it's glorious - I love Best Buy.  Anyway, I LOVE nesting.  It feels so good to clean and get everything ready for little baby to enter into the world!  

I have been incredibly blessed by Heavenly Father with such a wonderful, helpful and thoughtful husband and to have this little baby on the way.  I can't even begin to describe my gratefulness to Him for such a blessed life.

I WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE THAT PROVO HAS FINALLY SEEN THE BEAUTIFUL FACE OF FATHER WINTER.  Yes, it's happened.  It snowed.  And I was here.  (I'll have you take note that the last and first time it snowed, I was out of the state and it all melted before I got back).  All it took was one wonderfully fantastic night for there to be tons of snow.  I love snow.  It's so happy.  I'm so happy.  And I love wearing snow boots.  

Yay!

Our Sunday.

Ahh, yes.  Sundays are quite wonderful - especially in December.  We get to sing all the Christmas hymns at church ALL WE WANT and when we get home Joseph and I make our Sunday dinner.  Which is really more like linner - since we eat around 2.  These last couple of Sundays Joseph and I made the same thing that I have named "Slow-Cooked Steaks".  The originality of my title is unparalleled.  Because we literally slow-cook some steaks, but only after leaving some potatoes in the crock pot for 3 hours (while we're at church) to cook in some water.  When we get home we stick the steaks in for about 30 minutes (an hour if frozen) after smothering them in olive oil and massaging (yes) in salt and some delicious steak seasoning.  After that we grill them for about 5 minutes and make some gravy out of the watery goodness stewing in the crock pot.  AND VOILA!  A delicious meal of meat and potatoes completely smothered in the most delectable gravy.  Unfortunately I don't have any photographic evidence of such a meal because it gets eaten too quickly by my ravenous husband and myself BUT I do have a picture of Joseph cooking the steaks in a pan....

...... isn't he cute?!  

By the bye, that's the apron he got me for my birthday.  IT'S AMAZING.  

My project.

Saturday night Joseph and I went over to spend time with Robin and Neal and their two little kiddies (who were very shy upon our arrival).  Caius (the eldest), as soon as he would talk to me, would call me "Mommy, ... Grandpa,  ..." and then continue with whatever he wanted to show me.  It was really cute and made me laugh every time.  While we were there, the boys went off to play some computer game in the back room while Robin and I worked on some projects.  She made several Christmas stockings - which I now want to make for my growing family, and I started on some little tiny baby booties!  Once we left I had finished one booty which was so stinking small!  Over the next couple of days I worked on a matching hat and then the other booty (the second one didn't take me nearly as long to finish as the first).

I got sick of doing the hat about half way through.. so it's really small and *might* fit a premature baby.  Hopefully we won't have to use that one...  BUT..

BOOTIES!!  They're extra small and extra adorable.  One is also slightly smaller than the other, it's hard to make things the same size!!  When I finished the second one, I attached them together with a bit of yarn so I can hang them on the tree and they can be baby's ornament.  Then she can wear them when she's born (after detaching them of course)... then they'll go back up on the tree next christmas!!  Yay for completed projects!!!

Our three ornaments.

We put up our Christmas tree just before we left for Iowa for Thanksgiving.  I couldn't wait any longer.  Really, I wanted to put it up several weeks before Halloween... but Joseph didn't like that idea, not to mention the fact that having a Christmas tree up at a Halloween party looks weird.  So I waited as long as I could and thought that it would be nice to come back from Thanksgiving with our tree up and decorated!

Our little tree is only about 4 feet tall and made of various types of plastic.  I ordered it from the most wonderful place in the world, www.christmascentral.com.  I don't know why I didn't know about this treasure trove before but thank goodness I know now.  Our tree was $8!  Best, idea, ever.

We literally have 5 Christmas decorations, a tree, a string of lights, and 3 ornaments.  All of which can be seen in this picture.  Did I mention that I made our 3 ornaments?  (I also made that little baby hat on the shelf there, it's small and glorious, yay babies!!!)

I have started the nesting phase of my pregnancy, which is nice because I'm able to keep pretty busy all the time.  Besides constantly doing dishes and keeping the kitchen clean (which is where we spend most of our time) I've started cleaning and clearing out our office/second bedroom/junk room/food storage room.  There are a lot of things I want to give to DI that I have no use for but have held onto for some reason.  My mother was also kind enough to send in our POD along with all of my furniture a load of the toys and things I played with as a baby/child.  Which is great, I don't want to get rid of my Polly Pockets, but I don't want them in my house either.  I have a stinking box full of them!  Fortunately, we're having a girl (WOOT) so I can introduce her to the world of miniature and she will love it.  That equals less toys that I have to buy.  I got rid of a bunch of stuffed animals and some blankets as well - believe me, I have a lot of teddy bears that take up a lot of room, and parting with them is such sweet sorrow.  But don't get confused, I'm only getting rid of half of them.  AND since Joseph is finished with his Apple job for this year we had to send back all of the things they lent us (including the billion boxes we had to keep to send everything back in).  So there's that.  Oh and the forrest of trees Apple sent us in hand-out card type things that can be recycled or something.  Pretty much all I'm saying is that the room will look fantastic in no time at all.  

Ahh!!  My wonderful mother is getting us the crib of my d r e a m s.

It's a mini crib (for the mini space we have) that converts into a toddler bed.  It's so fantastic I could barf. I cannot wait to get it all set up in baby's room!!!