There is always, Always, ALWAYS something to be thankful for!

We had a fun Thanksgiving this year. Our trip was short, but we were glad we were able to go home for a couple days. We spent Thanksgiving at Chris' mom's this year. The food was amazing, of course (Carol and Brett are great cooks!) and we played some fun games.

We were sad Courtney wasn't there, here are the kids Skyping with her.

Damian and Evi playing together.

More Skyping

We spent our nights at my mom's. Halli loves Chris and loves to have books read to her. They are good buddies.

Friday we ate dinner at Chris' dad's and the food was yummy again. For some reason I didn't get any pictures. Saturday morning I saw my dad for awhile and then we spent the rest of the day at my mom's and went home Sunday. We got to see 2 of our new nieces for the first time too, which was so fun! But for some reason I got a pic of one of them. Can't wait till we can have our own someday. :)

A few days later Chris and I went bowling. I think this was the first time we had ever been together (besides bowling on the Wii, which we did on our second date). Turns out Chris is not as good in real life as he is on the Wii. I beat home both times. 

I love this time of year when we get to reflect on our blessings. I am so thankful for Chris' job and all his hard work to provide for us. I am so thankful I have been feeling well for several months now and that we have been able to (finally!) start trying to have a baby. I am so thankful for the gospel and all that comes with it. And I am thankful that this time of year reminds us that there is always, always, ALWAYS something to be thankful for!

Jack o' Lanterns and Dinosaurs

Well we had a swell Halloween weekend. Chris and I carved pumpkins as usual. Mine are the two on the outside and Chris did the one in the middle. We also found a corn maze near Roosevelt and got lost there. It's not a great picture because of the light, but can't you just tell how much fun we were having? Our ward Halloween party was on Halloween, so I dressed myself up like a cute little witch (Chris put no effort into dressing up) and I went earlier and helped with the carnival games for the kids. My calling is the Beehive advisor and we were in charge of a booth. Chris' mom and stepdad decided to come visit us that weekend since Chris' mom didn't have school on Halloween. They got into town while the partying was still going on and came to the church and ate dinner with us. Then we went home and passed out candy to Trick or Treaters while we visited with them. This year we actually live in a place where we get Trick or Treaters, we got 0 in Spokane. Our apartment was not exactly in the greatest place and our front door was in an alley, so it was fun to give out some candy this year!

 The next day we drove to Vernal and went to a couple different dinosaur museums. I didn't know this until we moved here, but Utah is apparently the hub of dinosaur bones. Like mega hub. Like mega mega hub...well you get the picture. Apparently a lot of the dinosaur bone displays in major museums across the country came from good ol' Utah. It was a rather fascinating day. The first place we went to had lots of replicas of skeletons and a few real ones, and lots of info about what this area looked like in the days of the dinosaurs. We saw other fossils too, of plants and turtles, and such. Outside there were a bunch of statues of dinosaurs that were pretty cool to see too. And the wooly mammoth was huge! I had no idea they were that big. Way bigger than an elephant. It was like 14 feet tall.

Next we drove around out in the middle of nowhere until we found this other place, a national monument. It is a big building that is basically covering the side of a mountain where a bunch of dinosaur bones have been found, but instead of excavating them, they decided to leave them there and preserve them for all to see. It was pretty crazy. What they think happened, is that there were a bunch of dinosaurs that died at the same time, and then somehow the remains were swept up in a river and brought downstream, until they got stuck in mud and created a "logjam" of sorts. The water was strong enough to tear apart tissue so there were tails and legs and heads floating around. Gross right?! The types of dinosaurs in the logjam are prevalent in the area and already have some complete skeletons, so that's why they left them there like that.

You could also walk around outside and there were some bones sticking out there. It was really cool to see them just sitting in the rock, it makes you wonder what else is buried there. I read that there were also some dinosaur tracks to see but we didn't get that far. It started to rain. :(

The next day Carol and Brett went to Sacrament meeting with us and left to drive back to Twin. I didn't get any pics of them for some reason, but we loved having them here and showing them our house and all the dinosaurs.

Praying for a Baby

So most of you know that Chris and I have been wanting a baby for a long time. After the whole surgery last December and TPN for 4 months, my doctors in Spokane did not recommend having a baby. So we haven't even been trying. We decided to try to adopt as soon as Chris finished school. But then LDS Social Services announced that they weren't going to to do adoptions anymore. Literally 2 days before we going to submit the papers. I checked into a bunch of adoption agencies in Utah but they all just cost way more than we can afford. So we decided to fast and pray about it again. This time, we felt much better about having our own. I have been feeling really well since we moved. I think it is because I haven't had to work. I can sleep in if I need to, rest if I don't feel good, focus on eating better, etc. 

Right after we moved, I got an appointment with a primary care doctor here. He wanted me to see some other doctors before we go ahead and start trying. I saw an OB in Roosevelt, and we talked about medications that I would need to stop taking. And I was perfectly ok with that, because they were mostly meds that don't help me anymore. Then I had an appointment with a GI doctor in Salt Lake on Friday. I was really looking forward to this appointment and felt like it took forever, but it finally came. I really liked the doctor. I was hoping that she would just say "Yeah, have a baby, I'll help you if you get sick." But she wanted me to see a Urologist and a Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor (High Risk Pregnancy doctor) before hand. She also had me get blood drawn and it showed that I'm anemic and low in Vitamin D. I have slacked off on taking my vitamins lately, so I will do better. I have an appointment on the 15th with the Urologist, to have a scope of my bladder and make sure they still can't find a fistula. We wouldn't want to figure that out while I was pregnant, and need surgery. My doctor's in Spokane talked about the possibility of doing TPN while I am pregnant, so we talked about crossing that bridge when we get there. Hopefully I won't be that sick, and we won't have to go there. The MFM doctor will be able to tell us if there is a weight goal, and the risks of pregnancy and everything. I did lose 10 pounds when we moved, and I don't know why, probably from the stress of packing and everything. I wish that wouldn't have happened so the chances of us getting pregnant fast would be better. The appointment with the MFM doctor is not he 27th, so I guess I can wait 20 more days, right? 

We haven't ruled out adoption. If we heard of a baby someone was giving up, and could adopt them without going through an agency, then we would totally do that. I do have a name of a lady to call who has adopted a lot of children, and knows how to do it without paying an arm and a leg, so I am going to call and pick her brain. 

Sometimes I get really emotional when we are around kids. I just started crying spontaneously a couple times, when we were on Temple Square, just seeing cute kids and babies everywhere. I have also been known to cry at church, or walking through the baby section at the store. We want a baby so bad, so please pray for us that we will be able to start our family soon. And if you hear of any babies needing a mommy and daddy, let us know! 

Happy Anniversary! and Chris-isms....

This last weekend, we had the opportunity to spend in Salt Lake. I had a doctor's appointment on Friday (more about that later), and since yesterday was our anniversary, we celebrated it over the weekend while we were there. We had lots of fun!

Before we went I signed up for FavoriteEats. You can sign up online for a monthly subscription. It is usually $5/month, and then you get to eat at one of the places on the list and get $8-$12 worth of food. But right now they are having a deal where it is only $1. And then after you choose the first place, you can send an email to 4 friends (they don't have to do it, you just have to send the email), and then you get another meal free. So basically Chris and I ate at 2 places, and got a total of 4 meals for $2! And it was really good! The first place was Melty Way, a grilled cheese sandwich place-SO yummy! And then the second place was Sicilia Pizza. 

On Friday, we ate at Melty Way, then went to my appointment, and then went to the Gateway Mall and City Creek Mall and did some shopping. I got a couple new shirts as an anniversary present. Then we went to Temple Square and walked around for awhile. We went inside the Tabernacle. I remember going to the General Young Women's Conference there when I was 12 and it seemed so much bigger then! I can't believe how small it actually is. We went inside the Visitor's Centers, and took lots of pictures of the temple. It is so beautiful-I think it is so amazing it took 40 years to build. Next time we go to SL we are going to plan on doing a live session there. I have never done one and would love to! Then we ate at the pizza place and then went to our hotel. We got in the hot tub for awhile which was so relaxing. I would love to own a hot tub someday. :)

Funny Fact: I had this same exact bear growing up. I used to sleep with it when I was really little. It was on display in the visitor's center. Although, last time I was home and I saw it, I think it was missing it's bow. :)

The next morning we slept in and ate a late breakfast at Denny's. Then we went back to Temple Square and got in line for standby tickets to the afternoon session of General Conference. There were probably 75-100 people in front of us, so we thought we had a pretty good chance of getting in. They had us wait inside the Tabernacle, but when we got in there they told us that all the people already in there were in front of us, because they were waiting for the morning session, and didn't get in. But then I didn't see them let anyone into the Conference, which was kind of weird. So we watched it in the Tabernacle. We got to sit in the front where there was a TV with captions so Chris could understand it better. 

After Saturday's afternoon session, we drove to Orem and looked around the University Mall for awhile. I was looking for a new coat, which would be a Christmas present, but I didn't find anything. Then we ate dinner at Olive Garden, which I had been craving for a long time. It was so yummy. Then we went to My aunt and uncle's house and stayed the night. It was nice to be able to see my cousin Katie and her husband, and my Uncle Parley and Aunt Marilyn. The next morning they made us a yummy breakfast while we watched the first session of conference. Right after it was over we drove back to SL because we had tickets to the afternoon session. When we got there, we asked if we could sit in the hearing impaired section, where there is a TV with captions and they let us, even though our tickets were for another section. They were much better seats then where we would have sat. We loved conference and we loved being there in the same room as the apostles and prophets. 

We drove home that night. It was nice to be home. I had started coming down with a cold, which I kind of passed off as allergies all weekend, but Sunday night I really didn't feel well so I went right to bed. 

I really love Chris and just feel so lucky to be with him for eternity. Here is something that I wrote on Facebook: Happy Anniversary to my best friend and the best husband I could have ever imagined! I can't believe it has been 3 years! I love you so much Chris. I truly believe the Lord puts people in our lives to help us through trials, and I was just telling my mom the other day, that yes, the Lord gave me health problems, but he also gave me a wonderful husband to help through those hard things. Chris has taken on my trials as his own. He is so patient, kind, and helpful. He takes such good care of me, I don't think anyone else could do a better job. I love his personality, his jokes, and how he always makes me laugh, numerous times a day. He is a hard worker and I am so proud of him for going to grad school and getting a good job so he can support us. We are so compatible, sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky-we very rarely ever disagree and never argue or fight. People say marriage is hard work, but I just think it's fun and amazing. So glad we get to be together forever!

I have a few funny things Chris has said written down. Truthfully I could write down everything he says, it's like having a little kid who say funny things all the time. One thing I love is that when he is talking he sounds so serious, and then after a minute you realize he is totally joking and not making sense. I call them Chris-isms. Here are just a few: 

Chris: I mixed up some tuna fish today. I killed a tuna and a fish and mixed them together....Then added some pizza sauce, some pepperoni....

Chris: So. Twilight huh? Me: Yeah. Chris: Which one? Me: The first one! Chris: At the beginning huh...(Singing the Sound of Music)..a very good place to start. 

Chris on a scale of 16-907, how funny was that?

Chris: We now have the World Wide Web. You can just see the waves of technology running through our house. (Waving his arms around).

Chris: I'm giving you the afghan. Not to be confused with the Pakistani.

Chris: When I'm an apostle someday I'm going to go by C. Dale Leiser or Christopher Dale L. 

Chris: Why are all these streets named after men? Bernard, Lincoln, Howard....29th Ave.

Chris: It was so foggy when I drove to Post Falls the other day. Me: Oh yeah? Chris: Yeah, it was so bad that I had to get out of the car and push because I couldn't see where I was at. Me: Right....

Chris: I need to take my pants to a tailor....and I don't mean Tim Taylor.

Chris: Let do Rock, Paper, Scissors. Best out of 3. Best out of 150? Me: NO! Chris: Best out of 149?

I don't know if these are that funny when you read them, but he always makes me laugh, and I love that about him! 

More pictures of the temple. Isn't it amazing?

Paint, Projects, and Polka Dot Pansies

A lot of you already know, that I recently started an Etsy shop, called Polka Dot Pansies. I have had lots of fun making crafts for other people. I have had quite a few people want me to make them custom orders, and it is so fun! I have always loved making things, and learning how to make other things. It has given me something fun to do now that I'm not working, and given us a little extra money. I like that I can do it as much or as little as I want. 

A couple weeks ago I decided to finally repaint my kitchen table and chairs, coffee table, and end table. Chris' cousin left these in the duplex we lived in when we first got married. We stained the coffee table and end table back then, but now I wanted to paint them. Here are before and after pictures. I think they turned out really good! I have fabric to make cushions for the chairs, and then I think it will look even better! 

 If you need anything cute made, just let me know, I would love to make it for you!
Facebook Page
Etsy Shop

Camping

Well it has been quite awhile since I have last posted. Chris and I had a nice and quiet rest of the summer. The end of July we decided to go camping. This was the first time we ever went camping with just the 2 of us. We didn't really know the best area to go, so we just looked it up online and found a place in the Ashley National Forest. It was really hard to get to and had a very rocky road, so we probably won't go there again. But it was still fun. We had tinfoil dinners for dinner and then had s'mores later. I would just like to point out that I am pro at roasting marshmallows. It was delicious! The next morning we explored the area a little and then went home. It was short and sweet, but we enjoyed it. A couple weeks later we went to our Ward Campout. We liked this place much better, and it was fun to get to know our ward a little better. I got to play fast card games with some people, which was so fun. Chris won't play those games with me because I always beat him. :) 

A couple weeks later we decided to go one more time. I spent all day getting ready, making tin foil dinners, loading the car, etc. I really wanted to go somewhere where we could go swimming, so we were going to go to a reservoir. About halfway there it started raining. We decided to keep going and see if it would stop. It was still raining really hard when we got there but we waited it out and it stopped after a few minutes. We hurried and set up our tent and eventually after a few tries we were able to get a fire started. Luckily we brought our own wood that was dry or I don't think it would have happened. We cooked our dinner, and just as were done, it started raining again. We hurried and put everything away and got in the tent. Luckily we have a good tent with a good cover on it, so we were completely dry inside. We laid there for a couple hours listening to the rain pounding outside (it was SO loud), and we were both freezing and couldn't fall asleep. We finally decided to get up and go home. Right when we went outside, it stopped raining. Chris hurried and took the tent down and just threw it in the back of the car while I sat in the car and got warm. Right as we pulled away, it started pouring again, REALLY HARD. It was about midnight, and i slept most of the way home, but every now and then Chris would wake me up to show me how hard it was raining. It was crazy. You could hardly see a thing. We spent the whole next day putting everything away, setting up the tent and letting it dry out. It was kind of a bummer, it took so much time to clean everything and put it away. But it's kind of funny looking back on it now. We have more pictures somewhere but I couldn't find them. 

We are excited to do some more fun things around here, now that we are getting to know the area better!

Girl Fun

We planned ahead of time to have my niece Taylee (who just turned 8) to come home with us after the reunion. We are only about 4 1/2 hours from them now. On Thursday I met her mom halfway and her mom picked her up. We had so much fun! We both want to do it again next year.

On Monday Taylee taught me how to make rubber band bracelets and necklaces, and then I taught her how to make bead animals. I used to make a ton of them probably in about the 6th grade. She loved it and we ended up making more later. We went to lunch at McDonald's. We also did some puzzles. That girl loves puzzles as much as I do. That night we played a game of Quirkle with Chris, and Taylee beat us both!

Tuesday we drove to Vernal and got our nails done at the beauty school. We both got pedicures and manicures. I was kind of disappointed that our fingernail polish didn't even last the first day, but oh well. Our glitter toes still look cute! We both had lots of fun. I had never had a pedicure before and it felt sooo good! We also made "lava lamps." I found it on Pinterest. You put vegetable oil and water in a jar, and then add food coloring and an alka seltzer tablet, and then it bubbles like a lava lamp. You can keep putting in more alka seltzer to make it bubble more. We made like 5 of them, we just couldn't help ourselves. :)

Wednesday we made play dough. I haven't used play dough since I was little, it was  fun! After lunch we rode our bikes a few blocks and got snow cones. Then we did another puzzle. I have lots of Disney puzzles and Taylee liked all of them. :) We also made monster cookies that were really yummy right out of the oven! (Monster cookies are peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chip, M&M cookies!) 

Thursday morning we played a game, and I made a bead Elsa and Taylee made a bead Anna-that girl LOVES Frozen! Then it was time to pack up and go. Poor girl got car sick and threw up on the way, but then she slept the last hour and half or so. 

It was so fun to get to spend one on one time with her and get to know her better. That girl loves pink just as much as me-we are a match made in heaven!