This image takes on a whole new meaning when you're about to become a new mother and father. Merry Christmas to all!

In-the-Spirit-of-Thanksgiving

It's a week past the official government sanctioned Thanksgiving but we are celebrating it tomorrow with my Brother.
I am thankful that my brother is still alive and still cancer free and will see his new niece very soon!
I am thankful that I know God.
I am thankful for His Son's infinite atonement.
I am thankful that my little growing family is sealed by His power.
I am thankful for the beach.
Amen.
In-the-Spirit-of-Thanksgiving

Baby Bump Alert

Half-way Point

Today marks the twentieth week of my pregnancy. I can hardly believe it.
Picture of my big belly to follow shortly.

She's a...

wait did I ruin the surprise?

Yep, She's a she folks. We are having a little girl.

Who will be a big girl before we know it, a teenage girl in fact. Oh lord, help me, a teenage girl. Ok Nic, breath...

In, out, in, out, she's not even born yet.

Here's one of the latest pics of our little bundle.

She was a wiggler and loved waving her hands at Mom and Dad. That's her hand up by her mouth. Her father is very proud of the fact that she was uncooperative for the poor technician.

This was a very surreal moment for me, seeing a human form rolling and waving and kicking around. And it made me realize that she'll be here before I know it.

The BIG announcement

Yes Mom, that big announcement (though Mom has known for many weeks now).

We are PREGNANT...with an actual human child.

I believe it was a mere two posts ago that I said life was pretty routine and unexciting. I also said that I'm grateful for quiet times because something crazy is always right around the corner.....I may be psychic. Mike and I are excited beyond belief and are all geared up for this next adventure. And believe me Pregnancy has been an adventure. I am 10 weeks pregnant today. That's half way through the 3rd month. I've been sick and tired. I had a freak out moment at 8 weeks when I started spotting (sorry about the gory details but this is what we preggo women share, it's kinda like we turn 80 temporarily) and thought for sure it was a miscarriage. It wasn't. I went to my Midwife for my first prenatal visit and everything is right on track. Apparently this is the only time in my life when sore boobs, gas, bloating, cramping and constant nausea are all really good signs. Here's a pic of the sonogram from that visit.

Baby is in the top left of the picture between the two crosses. Grandma Laurie calls it 'peanut' and Daddy calls it the 'Gingerbread Man.'

So now you can all expect me to be one of those annoying blogger's that posts ultrasound pictures that are barely discernible and tell you every detail of my pregnancy.... and later the baby's life, Whether you care or not. (Believe me, it's OK, I find those blogs slightly annoying myself. Like: I don't care if junior did a poo poo today). But, alas, that is my fate..... and yours too! Love you all!

Jess and Janae

There is no better reason for a roadtrip to Utah than to attend a sealing.

Logan Temple:

Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey:

Life's like that

So I haven't blogged in a while. I haven't done anything in a while. Life's pretty routine right now. We wake up a 4am, we get ready for work, we go to work, we come home, we feed the animals, we go to bed around 9pm. I'm always thankful for the quite times because I know they won't last forever and I'll be longing for them again soon.



I did go to the library yesterday and got my SD county public library card! Woot! I know that it might seem a little weird that I'm completely stoked about a library card... but I love libraries, and I've decided that I don't need to buy anymore books. I rarely reread, and I don't have the room for them anyway. So here it is!

It literally makes me cry....

It began at 5:48 Eastern time this morning.



The sealers stormed into the once-peaceful seal nursery with their hakapiks raised. Within a matter of seconds, defenseless baby seals were clubbed and their blood spilled onto the ice. This year the Canadian government will allow commercial sealers to slaughter 280,000 seals for their fur.


Because of the previous support of hundreds of thousands of compassionate people like you, there is a ray of hope amidst the horror.The European Union will consider banning its trade in seal products in a few weeks. But the fishing industry and the Canadian government are lobbying furiously to fight the ban.



Just last week, Russia announced it would halt the killing of baby seals. It's clear the world community is condemning such killing -- increasingly Canada stands alone in defending the slaughter.




I am doing my part to end the slaughter.


I signed the pledge to boycott Canadian seafoood (that means I don't buy it, nor do I patronage any establishment that still refuses to join the boycott). I've signed petitions to the our elected officials and the European union. I keep myself informed and I try to inform all of my friends about the amazing cruelty that goes on in Canada every year.





You can join me. Here's a good place to start http://www.hsus.org/protectseals.html

Mormon Messages

Some of these are really good!

http://www.youtube.com/mormontv

Diploma

Mike's Graduation

Yes the long awaited photos of Mike's graduation (only two months late).

It was seriously freezing with a windchill of like 2 and they still stood like that for an hour.

He got the Top Driver Honor!

Getting Badged. He's goofy. (And I'm so upset that my camera wasn't focusing that day for anything)

I'm so proud of him for doing this! I'm proud of me too...for surviving two months on my own and not demanding that he come home and get a nice safe job.

You should definitely try this

If you have cats, that is. In the spirit of my abiding love for animals (especially my pets, see below) I want to share with you a few little secrets: 1. CATS ARE CARNIVORES. You know....meat eaters? NOT OMNIVORES. Veggie and meat eaters. 2. Most, basically all, commercially available (dry and wet) cat foods have grains, veggies, fruit, sugars and other various fillers in them. It's true...read the ingredients. 3. Even the prescription diet foods that your vet sells contain these ingredients. 4. Most vets want to help but haven't received much training in animal nutrition. Believe it. And so rely on the pet food companies so called nutritionists to educate you...bah!

Let me tell you a little story. Chrissy (again see below) is fat....well was fat. She weighed about 17 lbs a year ago. That's, like, dog sized. She was unable to move much, she couldn't groom herself and I was starting to see signs of diabetes. I'd always been doing what I thought was the right thing by feeding her "high quality" (i.e. expensive) dry indoor formula cat food. So I couldn't figure it out. I started doing some research (Yeah, research, ever heard of it?) and using my brain, which, happens to be very full of animal facts. Hmm, I said to myself, what does a lion, tiger, leopard, bobcat, stray domestic cat, etc. eat? Meat. They eat Meat! HaHa...an epiphany. So I googled it and I got this amazing web site http://www.catnurition.org/.

On her website, Anne, advocates a raw, all meat diet for cats. I've been feeding Chrissy and Alex this homemade, organic, raw meat food now for a year or more. Chrissy has lost 4lbs (that's a lot when you're a cat) and now she can have fun, groom her own bottom and back, and she's no longer prediabetic. The proof is in the poodin'....as they say. Plus, you remember the contaminated pet food scare a couple of years back? Well I do, and let me tell ya there is no danger of my cats ingesting plastic poison from China anymore!

I know what your thinking...that's gross, I don't have time, what about salmonella, it's too expensive. First, there is little danger to you or your animals if you handle the food properly, just like you would for yourself. I'm not gonna lie though...there is a little gross out factor (but you get used to it), it takes a little more time (but it's easy and with practice, takes less and less time) and it's initially more expensive than commercial food (You have to buy the equipment and vitamins but it ends up costing about 20 bucks to make a two week supply of actual food, that's about what it costs to buy "good quality" dry). But....you love your pets right? So it's pretty much worth it.

Thankfully, for you busy and easily grossed out people...more and more retailers are carrying prepackaged frozen raw meat diets. Hey, there are even some dry foods that have no grains or veggies on the market now. And I've noticed (by reading the ingredients) that some, but not all, Fancy Feast canned recipes have little or no carbs. So there's something out there for everyone. These options are better than most other cat foods, but I still recommend homemade.

Here are some pictures of the process from http://www.catnutrition.org/. I was going to take pictures of me doing it but, really, it looks just like this soooo...why?




Go to the website. Educate yourself. And Happy Feeding!!!

Our New Addition

(No Mom not that kind of addition. Not yet).

So we added to our family again and it occurred to me that I haven't posted any introduction to our little family. Though, obviously, most of you who read our blog already know all of us. But, whatever, I took pictures and I'm going to post them dang it.

OK the kids oldest to youngest....

This is Chrysanthemum. Or Chrissy for short. She's 7 years old. She loves her Daddy more than anything in the world. She tolerates her brother most of the time. She can be cranky and aloof but she's not your typical cat. She fetches and she loves people and even kids.

This is Alexander. Alex. This is his usual position. He is 2 years old. He plays and plays and plays, much to his sisters annoyance. He loves to cuddle, especially with his Mommy. He'll talk your ear off too. Remind me to tell you about the tinsel incident one of these days.

And this is our new addition. Elliot. He's a Bearded Dragon. He is just a baby still so he'll get much bigger. He loves crickets, green beans and sitting on his stick in awkward, almost painful looking, positions. He's very friendly and will hang out on your shoulder forever. He hates to be put back in his terrarium.

We love our spoiled rotten little ones and we love being cramed into our little apartment together. We're a family.

Now the work begins

I voted for Al Gore and lost

I voted for John Kerry and lost

I voted for Barack Obama and ... Won!

It was truly inspirational to see the inauguration and not because he's the first black president... but because I voted for him, because I think he's what the country needs now.


P.S. I didn't vote for "W" but I also think he may have been the right man for the job back then even though I don't agree with everything he did. He did what the country wanted then and now he's taking the heat for it. I say thanks for your service Bush, you made some mistakes, but the current climate isn't all your doing. We all are responsible...(hello democracy) and we are all responsible for fixing it.


I know what your thinking...is this girl really Mormon? and a Democrat?


You love me for being completely contradictory...an enigma even... perhaps? Yes, No?

Marriage

Ran across this column on the web and it spoke to me ("Jake" writes for Glamour magazine. "Blossoms" is his wife.). Enjoy...


I was Jake (now I'm married)
You may remember me. I was the old Jake—a tortured, always equivocating bachelor with lots of opinions about what women should and shouldn't do. I am still basically the same;except now I'm hitched, and I'm writing a new weekly column about married life. Check in every week for my uncensored thoughts on everything from married sex to sharing a closet with my shoe junkie wife.


Blossoms gets her male-associated behavior on
"I want a divorce day," Blossoms said to me this afternoon over lunch. I was giving her a hard time about how I felt like she always freaked out if I dropped a sock on the floor, but never noticed if she left a mess around the house.

"You what?" I said.

"I want a divorce day!"

She started laughing. Then I started laughing. All of a sudden I felt totally superior to everyone else sitting at the restaurant, all the conventional unimaginative couples who could never say to each other, "I want a divorce day!" She was saying it's normal to feel like, God, do I have to spend the rest of my life dealing with you and your socks? I need a break! And by acknowledging that we both had that thought, we bonded. God, I loved her at that moment. Is that strange?

"What would you do with your divorce day?" I ask.

"I would go shopping and get into serious credit card debt and not stuff everything I just bought in the bottom of the closet to hide it from you!"

"Well," I said, "you have a divorce day. Get your ass out there and buy a $900 pair of shoes."

"OK," she said. "But will you come with me?"

That, my friends, is marriage at its best.