Christmas, Part 1

So we have arrived safely at our destination: California! The plane arrived 5 minutes early in Oakland and my parents actually met us IN the airport! We had a nice drive back to Fresno, with two detours: one at the Oakland Temple to see some very nice sculptures of Christ's life, two to see Grampa Jone's gravesite. I had never seen it and wanted to make sure we visited it on this trip. I shall upload a photo when I have a chance.

Saturday evening was spent preparing for the Sunday Christmas Program for my parents ward. I had offered to sing in the choir and help out as needed, so I also played for a choir/congregation combo of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" (I LOVE that song!) on the organ. Sang the 3 other choir numbers their choir had prepared. My mother plays the piano for choir. I had sung most of the songs before and played the organ part for the same version we did with the congregation yesterday. Sunday itself was very nice. We had 2 speakers intermingled with our 3 choir numbers: a youth speaker and another woman, both speaking on the important of CHRISTmas and the spirit thereof. Excellent from both of them. The music went off with out a hitch! I stayed put after the closing prayer and proceeded to play some post-lude while everyone exited the chapel. It was a nice Christmas surprise for the organist! The rest of Church was very nice and fun seeing old friends.

Dinner on Sunday just totally rocked: Dad prepared a lamb roast! Danial had never had lamb for himself, he'd only had a taste of it when I ordered it @ Ruth's Chris Steakhouse last New Year's Eve. He loved it! I LOVE LAMB! Jeanette prepared some awesome glazed carrots and gravy with mushrooms. Danial had some gravy since it had mushrooms hehe. Mom prepared a nice salad. We watched a Christmas movie: A Christmas Wish.

This morning/afternoon, Mom and Danial and I went out Christmas dinner shopping. Poked around at Target to look at baby stuff and bought food at Costco with a stop at the food court for a late lunch. Tonight we went out and saw Christmas lights! YAY! Had candy canes and potato chips to snack on....only because we found the chips in the car! Spent about an hour driving around looking at lights in Santa hats. We're about to sit down and watch White Christmas with hot cocoa......

more later!!!

RIGHT NOW!

Right now, it's snowing fiercely. I heard we are going to be in white on conditions soon, but I couldn't resist snapping some pictures of what it looks like now. Stay tuned for how it looks like later. The tip of the day from yesterday is still in effect: DON'T DRIVE.

The white fuzziness is snow....not the camera being unsteady.

Down the stairs from our 2nd floor balcony to our parking lot.

From our 2nd floor balcony, our parking lot and I-15 North.

From our 2nd floor balcony, I-15 North

12 Days of Christmas.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

Tip of the Day....

DON'T drive in the snow.....EVER! Walk. It's funner....and safer......

Pictures and Updates....

Well, I don't think there are any updates recently....Danial is taking his last 2 finals today. He has to turn in his take home final tomorrow (Wednesday), finish out the week working and then he's done for 2 weeks! Also, on Saturday we are flying to California to visit my parents for Christmas. Oh yes, and we're having an openhouse in my parents home while we're there. I'd very much like to see as many as possible when I'm there and this is the best way! My parents have jam-packed our stay there.

We feel very blessed this season. A little birdy left a little package...ok well a very LARGE package...on our dootstep last week. We are SO grateful to that birdy: the package contained many baby clothes! With other clothes we have obtained so far through different means, the baby will be very warm this winter, which is what I was most worried about having a winter baby. Most of those worries are gone now due to the generosity of so many people. Also, another reason why we feel so very blessed this season is for my health: every test the docter has prescribed me to take have ALL come out normal! So if I'm healthy, the baby is healthy! Well, hopefully. The time is drawing near for his birth. After we return from vacation, he'll arrive in 6 weeks, give or take a few days! WOW!

So I have finally taken acceptable pictures of our new apartment we moved into from October. Yes, we moved again after settling in Utah. HOWEVER! This WILL be our final move....atleast for a few years. When we moved to Utah, we were not pregnant. Utah blesses people in more ways the one! The first apartment suited our needs as a couple with no children. This new apartment suits our needs for a couple WITH a child....or childREN.

Click the link to view pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/album/569247668MsUsEE?vhost=community

Also, IT IS SNOWING!!!!!!!!!! It's been snowing since after 4am this morning, I know this because I peeked out the window before then for one of my nightly visits to the bathroom and there was NO snow. Danial got up about 6am and there was already an inch or two stuck on the ground. Now it's 9:30am and there's atleast double that! Dad, don't look at the pictures. They will just make you fridgid. I LOVE the snow....except for driving in it. I had planned to go to the post office today, but I'm putting that off until tomorrow when I go out for my doctor's appointment in Payson, which is 30-45 minutes from here. I will be driving very slowly and carefully going that far on the freeway.

Click the link to view the pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/album/569240714qtCXMH?vhost=community



Enjoy all the pictures!

Meltaway Cookies

Meltaway Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 cups flour

1-2 crushed candy canes (any flavor, I used peppermint)

Preheat oven to 400F.

1. Mix butter, sugar and vanilla thoroughly.
2. Add salt and 1/2 cup flour, mix well.
3. Slowly add rest of flour to mix thoroughly.
4. Add and mix well crushed candy cane.
5. Use melon baller or small scooper to drop onto cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 8 minutes.
7. While warm, dip in powerdered sugar.
8. Enjoy!

Banana Bread YUM!

it was so tasty, we've already eaten half a loaf!

Banana Bread

Makes two loaves


Ingredients:


1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
7 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups flour

Directions:

1. Mash bananas w/ potato masher then cream in the butter and sugar.
2. Add vanilla and eggs, then mix.
3. Add salt and baking soda, then mix.
4. Add flour, one cup at a time, until mixed.
5. Pour into two greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350F. Check on the bread after 35 minutes and cover with foil. Continuing baking for another 20-30 minutes. Banana bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave bread in pan for atleast 1o minutes, covered with foil. Then turn out onto plate or cooling rack.
6. Enjoy! I like having my slice warm with butter!

Tonight....

So I have been lax in talking about myself, and it's my own fault.

I have been in Orem Institute Chorale this semester and tonight is our final performance. We will being singing at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building tonight @ 5pm (I think), then about about 6pm (I think) at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square. Yes, it's Christmas songs!

On a different note.....haha note, no pun intended......I can't believe Christmas is almost upon us! I put up some Christmas decorations on Monday and Tuesday I added life to a lifeless wreath. It was bare green....but not anymore! I found I had a pack of holly berries and a pack of pine cones, and a while bunch of wired ribbon amongst my Christmas decorations. It's too heavy to put on the magnet clip that's on the door outside, I have to find an alternative. When I do, I'll take a picture and share!

Crafts....

As part of my responsibility for our team teaching of the 9 year olds at church on Sundays, I am one of the teachers for the 8 & 9 year olds Activity Days. (Activity Days is a more focused program for girls ages 8-11 about Christ). I team teach this class with the 8 year old Sunday teacher.





Tonight, we are making Christmas ornaments. Since I'm not that crafty and our budget is very small, this is what I have come up with:

From left to right:

The first ornament is a Christmas tree made from pipe cleaners. I took one brown pipe cleaner and left it whole. The green and white pipe cleaners I cut into quarters, but only used three pieces from each color. I wrapped the green cleaner around once or twice to anchor for each green cleaner. The white cleaner I wrapped around the green. Then I glued a sparkly puff ball at the top for a star. This tree can be laid on a Christmas tree, or several made and put into a vase for a centerpiece.

The second ornament is just a plain cheapy candy cane. I glued one end of the ribbon to one end of the candy cane and just wrapped all the way up/down the candy cane, then glued the final ends together. To add pizzaz, I tied a ribbon at the bottom of the candy cane. I have about 4 different ribbon colors.

The third ornament is, like the first, made from pipe cleaners. They had a whole pack of sparkly pipe cleaners that was perfect for this ornament! I cut 12 pipe cleaners in half, then took 1 half folded that in half and placed the rest of the cleaners in the center, then twisted it to form a nice packet. Then just spread out the remaining cleaners to form the star. The half I twisted can be used to tie onto a Christmas tree branch or ribbon to hang.

Fudge....

FUDGE

1 bag of chocolate chips
1 cup of peanut butter
1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1. Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter, either in microwave or on stovetop, stirring often.
2. Pour in can of milk, mixture will be slightly firm.
3. Line an 8in x 8in pan with wax paper for easy clean up,
4. Pour mixture in the pan and spread evenly.
5. Refridgerate for atleast two hours, then cut and enjoy!

From Jana the BananaWoman

The Dreaded Dental Appointment Part 2

I don't know why I was worried....I have practically perfect teeth! I was planning on skipping the x-rays and they were fine with that. I'm going to get some x-rays taken after the baby is born, it's been a few years.

The Dreaded Dental Appointment Part 1

I have a dental appointment in 1.5 hours. I dread it because I've had increased sensitivity to certain areas of my teeth and my teeth are already sensitive enough! I also dread it because I am completely obsessive about my dental hygiene, Danial can attest to that, so I'm worried about the increased senstitivity. However, that increase could be due to the baby, so we will see in 1.5 hours!!

New poll!

Hey everyone!

We have a new poll for Christmas-time. Check it out!

Also, I had another check-up today. I have lost a couple of pounds in the last month....but the doctor said I sure was growing hehe. The heartbeat is getting stronger. I'll have another appointment before we fly out to California later this month.

Pizza.....

So I became ambitious tonight and made pizza dough from the hamburger bun recipe I posted on here earlier this month. The only difference was the formation of the dough. I made flat ovals intead of rolls and sliced them one they were finished baking. They came out very tasty. I fried up some sausage we had laying around, opened a can of tomato sauce and Danial grated a bunch of cheddar and mozzarella cheese. They were very, very good.

Thanksgiving pictures as promised!

http://community.webshots.com/album/568975698dPCaEo?vhost=community

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for many things this year, good health being just one of them. I had a glucose test earlier this week to test for gestational diabetes. The lab results came back that I am completely normal! (94 for whoever is curious!) Now I won't have to worry about that as an added stress for this pregnancy. Plus, my chances for have gestational diabetes for my other pregnancies and developing Type 2 diabetes later in life are substantially lower, I hear.

We drove up to Uncle Brian's house, on my side of the family, on Thanksgiving day. We decided it would be best to stay the night there since storms were supposedly coming, and I don't like driving in the dark on poorly lit mountain roads anyhow. Wonderful food and fun family made it a very enjoyable Thanksgiving. Danial, Uncle Brian and I played a game of Upwords, no....we did not keep score, it was Danial's first time playing it! We all got stuck at the end, Danial and Uncle Brian had 2 tiles each and I had three....they said I lost the game HA!

For those that are interested, we did take some pictures. I will be posting a link soon for pictures taken on my camera. Uncle Brian pictures are floating around somewhere.


Next.............CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm putting up Christmas decor today after I put something away from our trip. We'll only get to enjoy it for 2 weeks since we're flying to California soon. We are both looking forward to that!

Pictures of Me....

Some people (that live out of the area) are beginning to doubt that I am really pregnant. Well, on Sunday I had Danial take some pictures of me....so you can indeed tell that I AM pregnant. As tomorrow is Thanksgiving, more pictures will most definitely be taken! Enjoy and stay tuned.....

Pictures I have taken....

One of the Pollstar cats (where I used to work in California, had a couple of cats that hung out).

Summer 2007

August 2007

New Poll!

We have a new poll on our blog! Check it out! It's a Thanksgiving theme!

Voting....

A little late, but still good share. (btw the baby is kicking right now, but that's not why I'm making this post!) I posted my views on voting on MSN Groups, email, Windows Live Messenger, Facebook and Paltalk......but not on my blog!

The bottom line is....VOTE....it is a good thing.

In the great nation that we are a part of, we have the honor and duty of VOTING for what we want and need. Voting is important regardless of how you vote and the outcomes thereof. Voting is an important part of the democratic process. If people don't vote, they have no right to complain, regardless of the outcomes. If people DO vote, they have EVERY right to complain, regardless of the outcomes. Let your voice be heard: VOTE! If you don't vote, how will change happen? Voting is PARAMOUNT to democracy. When you do vote, make an EDUCATED vote. Don't just vote down the party line, because the candidate is a woman, the candidate is black, white, a certain religion, you know them or their family, etc, OR NOT a certain party, a woman, black, white, a certain religion, you know them or their family, etc, Vote on the morals and values of the candidate, vote on the issues that is important to the candidate. Vote on what is important to YOU, to your family situation. Vote with the Spirit of the Lord with you. Always pray. Voting is paramountly important. If you don't vote......your voice isn't heard, so don't complain if so-and-so didn't or did make it into office, this proposition didn't or did pass. Make your voice heard: VOTE! It is our honor and duty by living in this great nation.

So....next time....vote ;-)

Quick After-Battle Triple Chocolate Cake

This cake is just AWESOME. My sister totally rocks at making this cake!

Quick After-Battle Triple Chocolate Cake
Transcribed by Patricia C. Wrede
Altered by Jeanette M. Nicholson
Transcriber’s Note: This is the original recipe as used by the barbarian swordsman. Amounts and instructions for somewhat more conventional kitchens are given in parentheses. (And my alterations are given in italics.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First, round up the prisoners and have them make a good fire. Pile shields around it to hold in heat. (Preheat oven to 350 degrees.)

Assemble ingredients:
Butter the size of a good spear head (1 stick of butter or margarine)
A good big fistful of brown sugar (1/2 cup brown sugar, packed)
A big fistful of white sugar (1/2 cup white sugar)
A couple of eggs (2 large eggs)
A good splash of vanilla (2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
Secret Magic Ingredient (2 Tablespoons blackstrap molasses)
Milk from a chocolate cow (2/3 cup chocolate milk) (1 cup chocolate milk or cappuchino milk))
A small fistful of cocoa (1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa) (can use 2/3 cup Ghiradelli’s baking mix, but half sugar)
Two or three fistfuls of flour (1 cup flour)
Pinch of salt (1/2 teaspoon salt)
Two pinches soda (1 teaspoon baking soda)
Hunk of chocolate, hacked into bits with second-best sword (1 6-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips) (use any chips you want, I use butterscotch, mint, smashed candy bars, etc.)

Pick a small shield and clean it, then grease it up good. Sprinkle in a little flour and save it for later. (Grease and flour a 13" by 9" pan.) (can make in two 8" or 9" pans, any shape, for layering.)

In somebody else’s helmet, beat butter and brown sugar and white sugar together—make sure helmet is clean before using! Add eggs and beat some more. Add vanilla and Secret Magic Ingredient and beat it all again. (In a large bowl, cream butter or margarine until fluffy. Add brown sugar and white sugar and mix thoroughly. Add eggs, vanilla, and blackstrap molasses, beating well after each addition.)

Stir flour, cocoa, salt, and soda together in whatever is handy. Add to batter, alternating with milk. Beat real good. Stir in chocolate pieces. (In a separate container, stir flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda together. Beat into butter mixture, alternating with the chocolate milk. Beat for 1-2 minutes, then fold in chocolate chips.) (wait to put chips into batter until right before the cake enters the oven.)

Dump batter into greased shield. Bake next to fire whole gathering loot. Give helmet back to sucker who let you mix cake in it; promise him first piece if he gets too mad. Eat warm while counting loot. Serves two. (Pour batter into greased and floured pan. Bake 35-40 minutes. Cake should be sort of flat and solid, not light and puffy. Let cool before cutting, or the pieces will fall apart and the gooey chocolate chips will get all over everything. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with whipped cream. Serves a lot more than two, even if everybody really likes chocolate.) (Turn out cakes, let cool completely. Make up chocolate pudding as a layer between the cakes. Slather pudding on lower layer, gently set top layer on, then frost with triple-chocolate fudge frosting. Heat just before serving and add a dollop of vanilla ice cream to the plate.)

Pictures of FOOOOOD!

These are some of the things I have baked in the last week or so:

IRISH SODA BREAD (last week)

Hamburger Buns (minis) (today!) (They taste awesome! You could use the recipe for rolls too)

Halloween Cookies (last week)

Homemade Burger or Hot Dog Buns

INGREDIENTS
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small saucepan, heat milk, water and butter until very warm, 120 degrees F (50 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 3/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Mix milk mixture into flour mixture, and then mix in egg. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
3. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape into smooth balls, and place on a greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly. Cover, and let rise for 30 to 35 minutes.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
5. For Hot Dog Buns: Shape each piece into a 6x4 inch rectangle. Starting with the longer side, roll up tightly, and pinch edges and ends to seal. Makes 12-16 hot dog buns. Let rise about 20 to 25 minutes. Bake as above.

I think I might let to dough rise for an hour before shaping and baking.

Election Night Food

With the Election upon us already, here is a menu I found online, which I find quite funny:

Sloppy Plumber Joes (for the dern Plumber everyone likes to talk about so much)

Kickin' Tator Tots (for those Donkeys that like the kick)

Red White and Blue Parfait (red and blue jello, cubed and layed with whipped cream)

I think I see White Russians from my backyard, non-alcoholic & non-coffee (for Palin's claim that she can see Russia)

Erin's Great Grandma Ortner's Cut Out Cookies

Erin's Great Grandma Ortner's Cut Out Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in egg. Add flour slowly and mix well. Chill 2 hours. Roll thin on floured pastry cloth. Cut out and bake @ 350 for about 10 minutes or until edges just start to brown. Cool and frost.

Erin's Frosting Recipe
1 cup butter
Approximately 3 lbs. of powdered sugar
Add cream or milk until the consistency is right
Add vanilla until the taste is right
*makes enough to frost a double batch of the cookie recipe*


I found this recipe on some other blog, and the pictures look so tasty, I had to take the recipe! I think I might try it for Thanksgiving. The cookies were leaves and decorated very nicely....and really tasty looking!

Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients
1 cup flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup rolled oats (not instant)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted butter



Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in oats. Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk all at once. Stir together until moistened. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 10 times. Shape into 6-7 inch round. Make a cross shape slash 1 inch thick into the center of the loaf. Place on a lightly buttered cookie sheet. Bake for 40 minutes or until loaf is slightly browned. Remove, place on a cooling rack over wax paper and brush with melted butter.

It is baking now. I've made bread several times before and it's fun. I don't have any eggs, and I wanted something quick and easy! I shall let you know how it turns out!

Vegetable Medley....

So last night I made a dish that I've made a few times before. It's completely vegetarian and totally tasty!

2-3 medium zuccini (yellow/green or both), sliced
1/3 cup chopped mushrooms (or 1 small can)
1 regular can of corn
2 medium tomatoes or 1 regular can of tomatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 medium onions, diced or sliced

1. In a saute pan with extra virgin olive oil, toss in potatoes, zuccini and onions over medium heat. Salt, pepper, season to taste. You might need to turn down the heat a bit if the zuccini is browning too fast.
2. When zuccini is browned, add mushrooms, corn and tomatoes. Saute until hot.
3. Enjoy with pasta or rice!

You could also add potatoes, but they need a few more minutes than the zuccini.

I love this dish. It's so quick and easy. The hardest part is opening a can....or chopping the onions that make you cry, ha! Takes less than 30 minutes. I'm all about quick and easy! And tasty and healthy!

dunDunDUN!!!!

Well, it's confirmed: I have PUPPS! No....not puppies...PUPPS! It's a rash that some pregnant women get. Lo and behold, I have it! Coming on gradually for 2 weeks, but now the itching is driving me to distraction! So I called my doctor's office, spoke to a nurse: YES! I have PUPPS! She suggested I take Benedryl (I have to dig it out of a box!) and also try Johnson & Johnson Baby Oil Gel right out of the shower before drying off. I did find a website where many women had tried Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap. Sounds odd, but they insist it works! I don't know if I'll try that, but I'm getting the baby oil gel this afternoon!

Moving and the Weather....

Currently, it is a freezing 32*F. Last week is slowly dropped from a perfect 65*F - 70*F to a warm 47*F. Suddenly, at night on Saturday it dipped to 30* but felt like 20*F! With that sudden change in temperature, I've had a sudden onset of a minor cold. Not enough of a cold to keep me from Church or doing things, however! It's just annoying. With all the other ailments of pregnancy, which I must admit I'm not getting much of them compared to other women!, I'm haggling with an annoying cold. Allergies are enough to contend with, exacerbated by pregnancy. In anycase, I think I'm over it now. It's just super cold here. However, Mom would be proud of me, I haven't turned on the heater once! :-D If I'm bundled up in thick fuzzy socks, top and bottom long johns with a thick fuzzy top and bottom, with mittens AND a blanket.......and I still can't get warm and it's been awhile.....THEN I'll turn on the heater. www.weather.com has said all last week we were going to get snow all through the weekend. I was worried how that was going to effect our move. It did not effect our move....because it didn't snow! There was a light dusting Sunday morning on the way to Church, but it didn't stick on the ground, and it was all melted on the cars by the time noon rolled around.

So we covered the weather. We're going in reverse order of the title today, ha!

YES, we HAVE moved again....but this is the last move in a long Long LONG time. The old apartment we felt was just too tiny to add another person. And rather wait until the last minute, when I KNOW it will be extremely cold and snowy in February, we moved now. Plus, the old place had tile everywhere except the bedrooms, and tile is not exactly baby friendly: it's cold and hurts more that carpet if you fall.

The new place! One bedroom is almost twice the size as our smallest room in the old place. Even though we had a SUPER duper nice kitchen in the old place (which the Bishop's wife commented was better than her own kitchen!) I would gladly trade a not as nice kitchen for more space. The living room is about average sized for an apartment, but big enough to have a couch, an over-stuffed armchair with large ottoman, my desk by the window, and Danial's desk by the dining room, plus a small tv cart we picked up, and a couple of shelves we had around.

The kitchen and bathroom has some really nice hard wood flooring, I think it's real wood, medium-dark shade:

The kitchen is traditional apartment style, looking out into the living room. There's enough space to put a small dining room table, for now we'll be using our card table/chairs. Mom made some great table clothes while we were living in Kansas for our card table, when we also used as a dining room table. The kitchen has a good sized pantry. Actually, I think I like the layout of this pantry better than the old place: it was so big and L shaped that it was hard to get certain things out! The new place has shelves on both sides, with a blank wall when you first open the door. There's so much space between the shelves, more than enough for 2 people....we tried even with the door closed.

The bathroom is very good sized, you can actually turn around with room to spare now, unlike the old place! It's a very spacious bathroom....not much else to say about a bathroom. It functions with all the necessary accutraments....with space!

Straight down hall, with the bedrooms on both sides, there's an open linen closet (no ceiling or door) with shelves. We're going to get a tension rod and curtain to make it nice and pretty. Actually, Danial came up with that idea first. I'm so excited I have a linen closet! At the old place, I just cram jammed blankets, sheets, towels, etc into any place I could find space! The old closets had these cumbersome organizers that took up so much space and didn't hold much in the closet that left not very much room for hanging clothes! So all my linens are in one place now! woohoo!

The baby's room, as we call it, is on the right on the linen closet. Right now, it's just holding all of our STUFF so that I can organize it. There will be a place for everything, and everything will be in it's place! Most of it will not stay in there. Our room, to the left of the linen closet, is the bigger room. We have a couple of bookshelves to put together that will go in there, plus 4 sets of large storage drawers that work nicely for a dresser. There's a little alcolve perfect for the bookshelves....or a bassinet! After the baby is born and starts to be more mobile, we'll move the desks into our room. Yes...there's plenty of room for that, I still can't believe it! I think I'm worried the baby will get into the cords and either hurt himself or hurt the computers. Either way, it's a valid reason.

So, at some point, I will take pictures of our new place.....once we have things unpacked! The kitchen and living room are the only rooms in the house that are unpacked and organized! My next goal, is to get our room situated. We have clothes scattered about in both rooms in suitcases, boxes, bags and crates. You know the old addage....a happy home is a clean home....well so is an organized one!

Ultrasound pictures

Here are a just couple pictures from the ultrasound we received. The first one you can see his eyes and nose. The other one....well...it's unmistakable and undeniable it is a BOY!!! (no scanner, but a snazzy camera does the trick!)

baby Names

here are some of the boy names we have talked about when it comes to our child with respective middles names


Soda Pop
Seven Up
Coco Puffs
Mars Bars
Bubba Gump
Dr. Pepper
* @
Braxton Hicks
Paper Roses
Fort Knox
Kal-El
He-Man
Wheres Waldo
Charactacus Potts
Boy Wonder

And the answer is.......

For all of you that voted for a girl...........................




















You would be INCORRECT!!!

For all of your that voted for twins...you're still incorrect!!
















It is a BOY!


Now on to the trains, mud and mini suits! Hopefully not all in that order, ha! Woohoo!

Last chance to vote!

Last chance to vote before we share the news...........is it a boy................or is it a girl...................

Is it a boy? Is it a girl?

Is it a boy? Is it a girl? Well....that remains to be seen, but in the meantime, here's something to "snack" on until we find out!

Wedding Photos....

Ok so! All the wedding pictures I have are uploaded. Click the link to browse!


http://good-times.webshots.com/album/567349275LxnbkA?vhost=good-times&start=120

News....

Well, sadly, I was let go from the awesome job I had obtained. They had to let me go due to over hiring, so I am in the market for job yet again! Oh well, it wasn't meant to be.

We have an ultrasound scheduled for Thursday October 2, so get your votes in quick if we're having a boy or a girl....or twins! Jeanette thinks we having both a boy and a girl! We will see!

SO, I finally had Danial take a couple pictures of me. I haven't gained any weight, except I have lost a total of 3 pounds. We'll find out next week how much I've gained...or not....in the last month. Even though I'm not gaining, I'm still growing! I've been out of my regular jeans for atleast 2 months, and I can't really wear my regular shirts anymore. I've been shopping the last 2 months for clothes I can "grow into." So on to those pictures!

Also, I have a link coming soon that will include all wedding photos.

Ruby Slippers

I was reminded of this picture today. Just thought I'd share a funny with everyone! I wore these slippers at our wedding reception when I threw the bouquet.

Baby news!

I had my latest appt late night proved to be fruitful (no pun intended!). My appt from last month left me with a loss of 4 pounds and hearing the baby's heartbeat. THIS appt left me with a GAIN of 1 pound and hearing the baby's heartbeat again. He did say that generally he's noticed that larger women to not tend to gain much weight during pregnancy, so that was encouraging. Also that I'm right on track! Next appt: ultrasound to determine gender! I'm going to set up a gender poll to have ppl vote!

Updates!

Fabulous news! I have finally obtained employment that will fully utilize my skills. I am working in the Registration office as a high school that is about 2-3 miles from our home. Also, if/when the time comes that I need to return to full time or part time work, they have a daycare right on campus for a really good rate.

I started crocheting a blanket! It was a tad bit funny, because when I sat down and made a few stitches I realized I was knitting....not crocheting....on a crochet hook! In anycase, with some refreshers from the internet I am now crocheting, even though I'm not working with a pattern, I'm not counting my stitches and I'm probably doing each line wrong: it still is coming together. It's going to be huge, I think. I made it really long.

Baby news: We, ok I, have created two baby registries for our upcoming events. I have added these links to our list found on the left hand side of our blog.

https://www.target.com/registry/baby/2LQP26RH3EZCN/guestview

http://www.toysrus.com/ControllerServlet?lastName=willhelm&firstName=&state=UT&target=search&userType=giftGiver&searchForPerson=primReg&whereTo=viewRegistry&x=71&y=12

Baby News....

Just a quick update: we had a sonogram today and heard the baby's heartbeat. So far, everything is progressing just right!

Also, it seems I have lost 4 pounds in the last month, since seeing the doctor last. Nurse said that was ok, since I seem to be eating healthy, the baby should be getting enough nutrients.

SURPRISE!!!!!!!!

Julianna has done it....she has CUT HER HAIR! Not just that trim every few weeks, or even just a couple inches. She cut it all! About a week ago.

BEFORE:

Taken May 2008, past the middle of the back.

AFTER:

Taken July 2008, just below the ears, cut off about 11 inches.

Jobs!

So, I have transferred over to work the evenings w/ Danial. Works out better for transportation if he misses the buss Mon-Thurs, plus I have to pick him up anyhow on Fridays. I was driving to the same building in the mornings. Cuts way down on gas!

Tangent!:

I went to Target to look for lemon drops yesterday. I heard from a reliable source they help minimize morning sickness, as do ginger MINTS. (Thanks Ann!) Shockingly, Target did NOT have lemon drops!!!! I was totally disappointed. Driving back home, I remembered there was a natural health food store nearby, so I popped in to see what they had. No luck on the ginger mints, suprisingly, but they did have something called St. Claire's Lemon Tarts, 100% all natural and organic. They look like a yellow circular pill you get from the doctor, but come in a tin like Altoids. (At some point, I'll post pics) Trying them, but no luck really. They disintegrate really fast. So...the quest continues for real lemon drops!....or ginger mints....whichever turns up first!

Partyland....

Alas, the time has come to bid adieu to Partyland. As much as I will truly miss inflating balloons and helping customers match colors, etc, it's time to move on. My last day is tomorrow! (Saturday) Standing all day was not my idea of a job while being pregnant. Instead, I have already started another part time job at the same place where Danial works. He gives political surveys over the phone, I call businesses to get their opinion on....something, whatever the market research group contracted with us wants! We'll see how that goes!

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!

BREAKING NEWS!!!! NOW HEAR THIS!!!!!

The Willhelms are expecting a baby. We repeat: The Willhelms are expecting a baby!

The baby will be due Tuesday February 17, 2009 (maybe).

The Willhelms are hoping for a girl, but chances are they will have a boy as boys run on Danial's side of the family.

Again.....THE WILLHELMS ARE EXPECTING A BABY! Other than some stomach cramps, the parents are doing fine.

Patriots

So this Past Sunday, We went a Freedom Rally of Sorts. It was pretty cool. It show cased Glenn Beck, a Political Commentator, also LDS. He was introduced by Dr. Stephen R. Covey, which was cool. Micheal Ballam played the piano and sang as well. He gave the history of certian songs. A Rabbi from the area gave the invocation. It was very different.

Glenn Beck talked about us being leaders and not waiting for anything to happen in Washington. He gave a list of things the United States has Given the world, to say that we are still the one of the better nations out there. He talked about being at the WTC during 9/11 with his wife and how hard it was for him to do his radio show after and a song from the Hymnal was his inspiration, Come Come Ye saints was the major theme for his speech and for he continued on that day with his show. He also talked about interviewing for his Television show with Cnn/Time warner. He did not think he would be the right material for that, but it ends up being one of the most growing cable tv news shows...... He offered people less gloom and more happiness in his talk.

I think he would have felt at home doing a fireside in a stake center or something like that. He captivates the audience and draws them into his brand of politics and commentary. He is very powerful and moving. I do know that all that Glenn has and will continue to have is because of His membership in the church which has only be since 2000.

Utah, after 4 weeks....

Hey everyone. Just thought I'd give a quick update on Utah after 4 weeks:

We have settled in quite nicely into our new home, job, area. I've been working part-time at a party supply store. I was able to obtain this job before we moved, actually. I have a long-time LDS friend that was an assistant manager there, until last week. She's pregnant and decided to quit to cut down on stress! Anyhow, I had 2 weeks working with her. I'm sure I'll see her around. It's fun working there, surrounded by party stuff. Customers ask random questions....like....where's your pirate section, and they're standing right in front of it....or....where's your webkinz section....and it's right behind them! Or.....rent hot magenta paper cups in stock. Honest, these are all real occurences! Another big thing at the store is the balloons. Gads and gads of balloons. Since it was graduation the week before last (college and high school) we had millions of balloons orders. I felt like all we did was blow up balloons and ask, would you like a balloon weight with that, or would you like these tied or clipped! Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy doing balloons orders. It's fun putting together, mixing and matching colors for or with customers for special occassions. This one young mother came in with the most cutest baby girl (wearing pink!) and wanted many balloons for her year birthday party the next day. Pink, of course, and a few other colors thrown in there. After all was done, she had 24 balloons total and a huge pink pig foil/mylar balloon. By the way, if you ever get balloons from a party suppy store inflated, get them with hifloat. No, they aren't trying to get your money. Hifloat is a balloon life extender that really does extend the life of a helium balloon by atleast 2-4 days, depending on temp. Without it, it'll sink the next morning. Worth it! if you're paying for 2 dozen balloons like the above mother!

We had the Brian Jones family over last night. Very nice get together. We all enjoyed the time greatly. One of the main reasons for moving out here is to be around more family, but not just be around them, SEE them and spend time with them. We only have one Earth life. Let's make the most of it!

Danial starts a job tomorrow. It's just 3 hours a day, but atleast it's something! No callings in the ward yet, we'll see how long it takes them to snag one of us up!

~Julianna

UTAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SO, we are here. Arrived safely, nothing broken (bones or glass). Hardly any bad traffic, almost nil construction, and a bit o' rain in Kansas and just barely sleet but melted as it hit the ground/car in Colorado.

Our new apartment is GREAT! Nice tile in the kitchen/living room/bathroom/hallway, plush carpet in both bedrooms (YAY TWO BEDROOMS!). We've put the computers in the bigger room (which shall now be known as the OFFICE), which ended up to be a great idea. The smaller room would have been too cramped and made the room HOT w/ the computers. The smaller room is just that (which shall now be known as the BEDROOM) ...small, but it both rooms suits our needs. The office also has our large plastic drawers purchased in Kansas......and a mini electric organ also purchased in Kansas on the cheap. There is still room for bookcases, our 4 boxes of books will remain in boxes until further notice. There's room, room and more room for stuff in there.

The closets in the office and bedroom are complete w/ organizers/shelves. We've utilized them almost to the max! There is no linen closet, but we've put that stuff in the bedroom. The pantry is as big as the closests and it's HUGE! There is still room to spare w/ food, cleaning supplies (vacuum, spray cleaners, clothes detergent, etc), empty plastic boxes....and napkins....millions and millions of paper napkins! (long story, haha).

The bathroom is atleast twice the size of our last, INCLUDING! drawers and counter space! I'm so thrilled! There's a door; then much larger mirror: the length of the entire wall for the first part (vanity w/ sink); then another door which leads into a toilet and shower/bathtub area. The shower/bathtub is nice because there's actually room to turn around and not hit a wall or slip.

And finally the kitchen...what can I say.....other than it's BIG! I think we (Mom and I) determined it's bigger than her's! Plenty of counter and cabinet space. I have room to spare! Even w/ 3 sets of dishes (2 four place settings, 1 eight place settings).

The entire apartment came furnished, thank goodness! There's a nice kitchen table and 4 chairs, HUGE over the stove microwave. Semi-nice sofa and loveseat set, shakey coffee table, wheeled TV stand (which is very nice, just a few scratches). And two single beds, which pushed together make almost a king sized bed! It's big...... Oh and a nice side table in the living room. Plus 2 HUGE five drawer dressers.

I already have a job, started Friday, working @ Partyland Orem. (it's like PartyWorks in Fresno/Clovis). Danial is still hunting.

On a side note....we did see Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull last night. I think they did a pretty good job, w/ the 19 yr break from the last one. They brought back old friends, and brought in new enemies. Instead of the Germans he was always fighting, it is now KGB after WWII. One of the best scenes is when he's flying through the air in one of those old refridgerators. You'll have to see to believe! Probably flew atleast 10 miles, no joke.

On back on track here....

Utah is wonderful. It has everything we needed and wanted in Kansas: family and a better school. Plus, I love having so many members of the Church nearby. I'm already in Choir, and Danial is playing soccer w/ some other ppl in the Ward at this very moment!

I'll end here now, since this post is so long. More updates to come along, I'm sure!

Also, THANK YOU to everyone that helped us moved. We truly appreciate the help and sacrifice, and prayers. We could not have done anything without YOU.

Good vs Bad....

In a world where good is perceived as bad and bad is perceived as good, this truly is the end of times (but not too ending!). There's been much controversy recently about this openly gay Episcopalian bishop. Just read this arcticle, it is just dripping with badness being perceived as goodness. It makes me sick.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24521220&GT1=43001

Apartment!!!....

So in February we applied online and found out in March we had been approved for an apartment in Orem. They said they would let us know when a unit opened up....and they did last week!! So we have an apartment now! Check it out.....


http://www.courtsideapts.com/courtside.php


We are super duper excited!!!

Updates, updates!....

Hey all. Updates!

So...started my job at the in-bound call center answering customer service calls for extended warranty services. Started that at the beginning of February. It's a little boring...not really challenging me.

We found out a month ago that we have to be out of our apartment by 6:30pm Friday May 16th! The last day of school for the college here. Soooo....that moves up all our plans by almost a week! That's ok. Thanks to Mom coming out to help us move, everything is all set. We've even been approved for an apartment......they just have to have an opening there! We are SO super excited about moving.

Also...the curtains situation...is staying how it was the last time.

Curtains, the Continuing Story....

So the tension rod we had so much trouble for the bedroom....fell down at the beginning of February!!! We just decided to throw it out and put the curtains away, rather than buy a whole new tension rod, especially since we'll just be leaving in May. So we're back with no curtains in the bedroom, but we're OK with that.

Latest!.....

Hey everyone. Sorry for not writing recently, It's been super busy!!

I finally got a job we've been waiting for. I work as a customer service rep for an electronics extended warranty company. It's pretty interesting. Learning lots of new stuff about the electronics warranties and such. It pays well for something like this, plus is as a lot of extras, but most we won't be able to take advantage of at all since (here's the big news!) we'll be moving in May to UTAH! Danial's been accepted into UVSC (UVU in June) for the Fall semester. Mom will be coming out to help us move. We're being loaned a huge pick up trucked of all our stuff (thanks Uncle Brian!). We are SO excited about our move. We feel that this will proove more opportunities for work for both of us, including more members of the Church around us, bigger population in general, PLUS better interships and job leads AFTER school for Danial.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Gordon B. Hinckley....

As many of you know so far, a great man has past away. When I heard the news, I was online in an LDS chatroom and I thought it was a joke.....not the first time it's happened before. But anyhow, as the minutes wore on, more and more people we're coming into the chatroom saying it was true. At some point, news websites had articles reguarding his passing. All over the TV in Utah they were breaking the story. Then www.lds.org finally came out with a statement: President Gordon B. Hinckley past away 7pm mst on Sunday January 27, 2008 at the age of 97. At last, he was reunited with his beloved eternal love, Marjorie Pay Hinckley. He will always be remembered for his great love of his wife, the Church and of people. Do the right thing, stand for something, have a little more love and compassion for one another will he be most remembered for, his life stories that always had meaning, his quick wit especially for his age, his cane that he always waved instead of used. He will be missed, but not forgotten, nor never seen again. Someday, we all will be reunited in Heaven again. That will be a joyous occassion, not a sad one. Let's praise the Lord we had him for this amount of time, his work here was finished. It was time for him to go home.

Curtains Part 2.....

We bought a curtain rod yesterday for the bathroom, but they didn't have one small enough for our window. We thought it would work but it didn't. So I went to Walmart today, to return a DVD that was defective (got that replaced) and by chance I swung by the curtain isle and as luck would have it, there was a tension rod long enough to extend the length of our tiny bathroom! So it kind of makes our small bathroom atleast "look" longer with 2 curtains up extended the entire length of the bathroom.

Next.....finding a solution for the front window!

Curtains.....

So we bought a cheapy tension rod from Walmart to put up these blue gold-star curtains my mom made a few years ago in the bedroom. After a good while, we finally got the tension rod cooperate, we were having problems even before we tried to put it in the window! It's done now, and looks pretty good. The window is very tall, so there's about 6 inches from the bottom of the curtains to the sill, but that's ok, we have things on the sill.

We tried getting a tension rod from Walmart for the front window but it's just too wide! It's about 92 inches, and Walmart doesn't have one that extends that far. I'm of a mind to check Ave Hardware (the only hardware store in town that I know of). It's a huge space and let's in all the cold air. We have brown blinds on those windows and the bedroom windows.

The bathroom window.....where do I begin! We opened once in the Fall, and every since the it doesn't shut tightly! It's FREEZING in there....literally.... From the inside, there's a screen, then a thick frosted pane of glass with a handle that lifts up then push out. The weather stipping or something swelled and won't create a tight seal. We'll get up in the morning and find the condensation has literally frozen in the corners between the screen and the glass. We keep the apartment at about 67*F and it's always 30 colder in the bathroom! You have to run the hot water just to use the toilet so it steams up! So finally....I had the thought to buy some Denim curtains! They are thick enough to block out most of the cold! I saw that Walmart had some, and it's a small enough space that they would have the right deminsions. So we will see later this week how it turns out!

Wednesday Jan 23....

I have an interview this morning! First one in 3 years ,since my last job. I think I'll get this job: I know someone that works there and I'm very qualified. We'll see what happens later today!

Had our first FHE on Sunday: no one came, a couple were sick, others were out of town or just weren't aware it was that night. Oh well, there's always next week!

Thursday, Jan 17....

2nd day of school. I think it's going to be a good semester for Danial. He's taking an Intro to Islam course, taught by 3-5 instructors. His fiction class requires him to read several fiction books, INCLUDING! Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!!!!! We couldn't believe it! They were selling the paperback version for $10. Danial's youngest brother is jealous haha.

Sunday, January 13....

Hello all. Hope your Sabbath was good. After arriving to Church late last week (first time every!) we arrived to Church on time, with a couple minutes to spare. It was a good meeting, plus SS and RS/PH. We had the first lesson of JSjr today. Hopefully they will go back and have a lesson on his history as well. Tonight we had refreshments after the CES fireside. It was our unofficial start to our FHE YSA group. Next Sunday will be our first FHE night. Hopefully it will go well and help the YSA's in this area.

We've just been catching up on movies around here, and looking for a job myself, until school starts again Wednesday for Danial, but works starts tomorrow (Monday) for Daniali. Then back in the swing of things. We did take the sister missionaries for trasfer day on Thursday to Wichita, about 3 hours from here. We left at dark and got back at dark! Actually, the whole thing took about 12 hours, from leaving Hays to getting back to Hays. We had lunch at Olive Garden with several Elders and the 2 Sisters we were taking back with us (only one was trasferred though). It was nice. Then we dropped off a couple of planners to a couple of Elders in the next town over on the way back home. It was a very nice day, lots of Gospel discussion.

Tuesday....

So they actually came and scraped away the ice from 2 months ago....yesterday. We got a couple inches of snow overnight (yay!) and they've actually came right this minute to clear it away! Shocking, really. Guess they figured that since school is starting on the 16th they'd better clean up, haha.

Nothing new....just the snow!

Sunday......

So we turned out the entire apartment and bought several plastic drawer sets of various sizes for the bedroom. Aunt Nanci would be proud! :-D Bought a new entertainment center. Maximizes space, plus takes up less space than our old one AND we can store more stuff (movies, etc). We had enough room in the living room to finally put up another bookshelf we bought in November! Very nice and organized looking.

Still have the snow and ice on the ground here from when we left in December 3 weeks ago! They don't take care of the roads here, just a couple main roads. Oh well. Life goes on....

Tale of a Tire, finale!....

Hey everyone. Sorry we haven't posted in a couple of days. We finally arrived back home with no problems.

So we took the car to a Honda dealership in Lawrence, KS. Basically, we got the impression they didn't want to deal with it. We spent about 10 minutes there: one lug nut is cracked on the tire that had the leak, they would be able to get the tires off, but not put them back on again, they are after-market tires and we should take them to a tire service center. The lug nut key belongs to the original tires! We figured we should to go home and take care of everything there.

Apparently, according to the mechanic there and at the tire service center here in town, we should have been told about the after-market tire situation. I will be calling our sales person.

After we arrived home and unpacked everything, we stopped by the only main tire service center we knew about in town. It was so easy! We went in, explained what had happened, he went to look at the car and said, oh! I can fix that! So it's done. He said this is what we need and I can do that tomorrow. So we have the car back, problem solved. He said we needed to get an adapter for the lug nuts, which we're in the process of getting. Thankfully, the cost of everything was very, verey low!

Tale of a Tire, Part Two...

We took our car to a Toyota dealership today (even though our car is a Honda, we bought it from Toyota). The lug nut key is stripped and that's why Super Walmart couldn't get the lug nuts off! After a call to our original dealership purchaser, they said it would be OK to take it to Honda, since after all the car is a Honda and plus they would have master lug nut keys and we could order a new one. There is a tiiiiiny leak in the tire....they plugged it up and said we should be fine to get to Hays. We'll take care of the balance, rotatioon and lug nut key on the way to Hays, since there isn't one in Hays!

Instead of the Truman Museum (saving that for the next trip!) we saw "The Golden Compass." We both thought it was a good movie. We had heard that there were some Christian groups coming out against the movie....but we couldn't figure out what they would have a problem with. It's no worse or better than Harry Potter or some other movies that are out today. The never-ending struggle between good and evil. And, as we know, good prevails each time!

Tale of a Tire....

So we noticed our front right tire was low, possibly a slow leak on the way to a flat! We took it into Super Walmart here in Liberty. After waiting over 30 minutes (with only one or two cars even in the shop!) they finally pulled it in....and after working at trying to just REMOVE the tire for almost 45 minutes....they said they can't help us: the lug nuts are on too tight and must be taken to a dealership! Luckily, there was no charge there since they couldn't help us. They think it's a slow leak and we'll be fine getting to another location tomorrow....and the tires should be rotated anyhow. So!...instead of the Museum in the morning....we continue the Tale of the Tire. Hopefully, we'll be able to stop by the Museum in the afternoon.

Welcome....

Hello Everyone! Welcome to our Blog. We seem to travel so much (and more traveling is seen for the future) that we thought a Blog would be cool to "get the word out" to our family and friends all at once to see where we are next!

At the moment, we're still in Liberty, MO. Yesterday we visited Liberty Jail: wonderful reconstruction! Today we visited the Independence Visitors Center. It is so ironic! The "Community of Christ" church has it's own visitors center next door AND their temple across the street!!! We got a pic of their temple, look for it soon!

Tomorrow: Truman Museum/Library!