31 Weeks! Starting off the Holidays, snow! and about the Job

Here is November 9

Week 31! 

Feeling pretty good-pregnancy wise. I struggled a LOT over the last few days-Thurs, Fri, and Sat- with feeling down. It was hard not to feel like my world was crumbling at the WORST time ever. 

I was struggling to hold on to what I'd been promised. J had work issues even though he was promised to have his job work out. It didn't make sense. When J wasn't around, I struggled with being positive and not letting doubt and frustration keep me underwater.

This was my first week flying solo with C while J was up on the stand the whole Sacrament meeting.

Thankfully, it went well. C was able to go sit with J for the closing hymn if he was good, so he was really excited about that. He ran up and stood on his tip toes to make sure that Daddy was watching him, then ran around to the stairs to climb up to the stand. He loves his daddy.

Since he had meetings all morning, the pictures are from after church.

But this kid is still darling!

And he takes some awesome pictures. :)

I did something I NEVER do on that Monday.

Since my mood was dismal, I decided I needed to change things up a bit and add some sparkle back in.

I started listening to Christmas music.

I know.

Terrible, right?

Normally, Christmas music doesn't make its debut until the day after Thanksgiving while I blast it during decoration time.

but if you need some pick me up music, this is where it's at.

I'm turning into one of those people who is now linking Thanksgiving with Christmas. 

Don't freak out, I'm not eliminating Thanksgiving!

To me, Thanksgiving is when I prepare for Christmas. Christmas is a time to celebrate Christ and remember the gift that our Heavenly Father gave us when He sent His son those 2000 years ago. Should we not be thankful for that gift? What better time to be thankful for that gift than at Thanksgiving time?

So that's my justification this year. We'll see what I do next year. Hopefully we don't have another incident like this year and last year, though…

so this is C looking at the screen while Christmas music played on my Spotify station. I thought it was cute.

Turned into a confession… Yikes...

Picture taken by C

I love this kid's creativity and how he explores. And I love seeing evidence that he watches me.

(at the time that I'm writing this, he has started to stick out his tummy like mommy)

My smart, creative boy made some animals with his legos. 

This is a giraffe. Best part? There's a giraffe lego behind him, but he still made one himself.

So stinkin proud.

We decided it's time to get a booster seat. C's little brother will use the high chair when he's old enough, so it was time to upgrade C's chair. He loves it.

At my YW in Excellence the previous week, my in-laws came.

They are so supportive of me. I'm very grateful. 

They even brought me roses! So beautiful! I kept forgetting to get pictures of them, so here's one that was still looking beautiful a week later. :)

And here's my other prize of the evening! I got my YW recognition award! I'm so proud! Now I'm on to do the rest of the requirements like the girls! Woot!

Sweet, wonderful Becky decided that she would throw me a baby shower and gave me the go-ahead to invite people to the event on Facebook.

This was the texting conversation that then commenced.

I love it.

This is C's hand that he traced himself, I'm pretty sure.

Selfie

I like his perspective. 

Thursday that week, we woke to snow on the ground! So pretty!

We rushed out the door to play a little in the snow and then came in to enjoy our time most of the day with Daddy.

It snowed aaaalllllllll day and through the night. This was Friday afternoon. Wearing him out before nap time.

I see pretty things and then wish that humankind wasn't there to ruin the picture.

So imagine this without the trucks and storage places in the background. :)

While Daddy shoveled, C wanted to draw with chalk. Those M,N, and O's are still there 2 weeks later. Who knew that drawing on wet cement made it so much darker and last so much longer?

the cutie pie had tromped through snow and doesn't have boots, so his legs were wet and frozen. I took off his pants and socks and bundled him up and made hot chocolate. 

I love this grin.

Such a ham.

Saturday, C and I went to Walmart. I had an icky cold and was dying for some real sudafed. 

When we walked up to the store front, a big firetruck was there, a tank, and Santa! It was the Marine's Toys for Tots program starting up.

But I forgot my phone in the car! So we went in, bought our stuff, dropped stuff off at the car, and went back for pictures.

The firetruck had left, but C went right up to Santa and let him hold him! much better than last year's screaming and squirming away! :)

I love that even though he has NO idea who Santa is, he's still mesmerized by him.

then, we got to get in the tank!

So here's C climbing up!

And now sitting in the gunner's seat. Made Daddy jealous.

I got up to the top with quite a bit of help and got the nice army guy to take C's picture inside the tank. This is the guy who was taking the picture. Cramped space, I think! :)

Getting down was interesting. I said "man, I probably shouldn't be up here at almost 32 weeks pregnant!" It was funny though.

Another of C's perspectives. 

Both J and I had the same cold, so we were stuck to ourselves for a few days. But when it was Saturday night and we didn't have plans, we called his parents and asked if we could come over. It's ok to get family sick, right? lol more just that they don't have kids, so the chances are less.

C didn't nap that afternoon, so he napped on the way to their house.

Goob.

He started bed time at their house and then we took him home later. This was him with his head down by his elbow. Poor kid. 

This week progressed well.
We found a rhythm of when J would be home. But the best part as far as J's work was that we found a light at the end of our tunnel.
The reason it felt so grim was because we thought that his current employment was the only option in the area for anything in financial advising. Ideally, he wanted to become a financial advisor. When he was hired, the impression we had was that he would be trained to become a financial advisor. As time went on, it became apparent that he wouldn't be trained there, but would need to go somewhere else, to a bigger firm, to get that training.
In talking with one of the owners, he was informed that there are two firms in Boise where he could get this training. *commence angelic chorus*
So great!!!
When they gave him the whole spiel about cutting hours and pay, they told him that it was a difficult decision and they really valued his work. When followed by a big "but," that's hard to believe. It was hard for me to be ok with them saying they "couldn't afford" him, but they had their beautiful 2/3 story houses and didn't have a baby on the way. I couldn't see it. I couldn't accept it. It frustrated me, confused me, and really, just ticked me off.
So when they said they valued his work, "but," I just didn't like it.
But in his conversation with his boss, J was able to really understand how they did feel about him. They wanted to let him find something else and do it all gradually, before economic trouble hit-which they're worried will happen. In lieu of going into tons of details, he did feel valued and did see their perspective better.
Do I still feel frustrated sometimes? Definitely.
But I do feel better about it.
That Saturday, J had an interview with a tutoring company called Mathnasium. It went well and he has since started working for them. So he has 2 part time jobs! Yay!
We are on our way up and are thankful for the blessings we have seen.

30 Weeks: Aw snap!, a 2 year old's perspective, YW in Excellence, and a Roller coaster

Here's 30 Weeks!

30 weeks, people!

Panic time! I have about 10 weeks left!

Oh my stars!!

I'm thrilled that I feel so good still. I am definitely losing the battle for space, but I can't complain since I have felt great otherwise.

At this OB appointment, she pressed on the baby as well to see where he was situated. 

His head is basically by my left hip and his bum is basically by my right ribs. Which is why I feel most of the quicker jabs on my right side from his feet. Funny kid. I feel like C was that way as well.

So 30 weeks hit November 2.

 "Caark turn!"

 "Daddy turn!"

 Do you like our little yellow ensemble?

J had a big Sunday on the 2nd. He was called to be the 2nd Counselor in our new Bishopric.

The Bishop is like the Pastor. He is the leader, the one who receives revelation for our ward, and oversees the well-being of the members in his area. The 1st and 2nd Counselors are his helpers. They do what he asks and help him to make decisions that are led by the Spirit. 

For me, it means that J will be gone for long hours on Sunday, I sit by myself with C, and then he is busy several times throughout the week as well.

He was set apart that Sunday. -given a blessing to do his new calling to the standard the Lord has set forth-

It was a beautiful meeting.

Since it was the first Sunday in the month, we had Testimony meeting.

The Stake President asked the previous Bishopric to speak, the new Bishopric, and then he spoke.

They all had beautiful testimonies. What got me the most was how many times the Stake President said how much the families and wives of the Bishopric are helped. It was like he was talking to me. The Bishop and his wife have a young family. The oldest is 11. The 1st Counselor's oldest is on a mission and the youngest is no older than 10 and then there's me with my 30 week belly, bawling my eyes out as I think of how this is going to be hard to be away from my hubby on Sundays and several times throughout the week for the next few years.

But in the end, I do feel like I will be helped. I have many angels around me who are willing to help at the drop of a hat. I have a Heavenly Father who cares for me and my little family.

The setting apart was during the 2nd hour of our meetings.

Another bawling session done by me.

Man oh man. So many promises, so beautiful, and so much love.

If anything I took from this day, I knew even more how much the Lord knows me and cares for my sanity. :)

So we're on to our next adventure!

That afternoon, he was home by dinner. Not too shabby.

His meetings will start at 6:30am on Sundays and he might be able to come home to help me get ready if I need him to. After church, he'll have some things to do for a few hours. So not too bad.

So on to Monday!

C likes to lounge and I think it's cute.

Monday night was when J would be ordained in the Priesthood to a High Priest, so his parents came. His dad did the ordination.

yet again, many beautiful promises.

This is C waiting for Nana and Papa to come since the moment he woke from his nap that afternoon.

C has discovered Trix. Yummy food that Daddy likes… Makes it even better!

These are a few pictures I've kept to show the world from a 2 year old's perspective. 

It's rather fun.

A closeup of our arm chair

 The back of my shirt with a Razorback Hog on it (I've taught him to say "woo Pig!")

 A selfie

 Took me a while to figure out what this was. It's the piano bench and the carpet.

 His favorite animal book

The hallway at the school where we voted

 More of those later.

He refused to get into his carseat like he should, so I took this picture. After the picture, he was much more inclined to sit normally. :)

 Impromptu girls' night!!

Becky invited me over to hang out Tuesday night!

We didn't start until 9, but then we painted our nails with gelish, ate yummy pot pie and cherry cheesecake casserole thingy, and chatted until about 12:30. 

It was wonderful.

I loved it so much!

This kid is funny. I think Tigger is in there. In his socks.

Maybe he's keeping him warm? I dunno….

My OB appointment was rescheduled for Wednesday and C had a cold, so he came along with me.

Everything looked good, the heartbeat was a solid 140, and C handled it really well! Last time I took him, he freaked out when I had the doppler on my belly. 

But this time, he sat there happily watching and recited his alphabet for the dr and her resident(not sure?)

This video was taken a few days later, but it shows how into the sound of the baby's heartbeat he has been since then. It's way cute.

Wednesday night was our Young Women in Excellence.

I LOVE this event! We had a lovely theme and everything was planned out by the girls!

We had several brainstorm sessions and then I just made some executive decisions.

The best part was that I then asked the leaders what they would like to do and they got teams together and did it!

Our theme was based off of a Color Me Beautiful theme I've seen online.

I don't have a great title for our theme, but it was that our Values lead us to the Temple.

The whole room was decked out in rainbows.

The food was rainbow food

We had the value color flags assembled by the piano

There was white butcher paper on each table with crayons so you could doodle and each table had water with ice cubes that had food coloring in them, a crinkled sheet of tissue paper, and a mason jar with tissue paper around it and paint brushes inside.

The entry way was all decked out in multi-colored lights 

Then we had space for them to show off where they are on their value pathway to the temple (so what they did in Personal Progress that year). Cool, huh?

They set up this lovely rainbow of balloons. it was impressive. Each balloon has its own tack (yikes!)

We wanted to give them something that night to remember the evening and to have to use later.

We gave them scrunchies for when they go to the temple for baptisms. I crocheted each little scrunchy. It was actually really fun and simple. I did 15 within a 24 hour block.

Then we got some white handkerchiefs and folded them and used paper to make them look like dresses. These are for when they go to the temple for their endowment.

It was really sweet. I hope they liked them.

The previous YW President came, so they were taking pictures. I jumped on that and got a picture of all the girls and some leaders. I love these girls so much!!

Earlier on Wednesday, C and I were on a walk (which usually translates to headed to the Izatt's house to chat and play with their outdoor toys) and while chatting with Jana, I got a phone call from J.

A phone call in the middle of the day is never that great, but his voice confirmed it was definitely not great.

He had been told that they weren't able to pay for his position anymore, so his hours were being cut down to 20 a week and his pay down by about 40%.

I don't think I'm ready to talk all about it and my feelings now. It's still too fresh on my mind and heart.

We'll just say it was a harsh blow for us. Many thoughts of "Why me," "why now," "what about all those great promises sunday" have come into our heads and many are lingering there still, clawing at our hearts.

Sweet Jana was sweet and caring as I sobbed on the phone with J. On my way back home, I called my mom in hysterics. She gave me sympathy and love and helped me get my chin up. I went home and cleaned up because J was coming home to be there for the rest of the week "so he could find something to do in addition to the current job."

So We're frustrated and wishing that things would be more obvious of where to go. I remember when J found this current job how I learned that the Lord doesn't care where you work as long as you're happy, doing something good, and providing. Now we just need to find the job that fits that criteria.

Prayers would be much appreciated since we're headed into the holidays and a baby on the way.

The next morning, Tami asked me to go out with her and she'd treat us to lunch!

What a sweet friend!

We hit up the mall and dragged our babes with us. They were troopers.

Here's a picture of their chocolatey faces after visiting See's. :)

C found a Panda calendar in the calendar stand. He screamed when I pried it from his hands. If I had the money, kid, I'd buy it!

While we were at the mall, he got my phone again and took some pictures. It's kind of fascinating to see what he sees.

At that point, both kids were just plain old done, so we went to the newly redone kid's corner. The first thing that happened was a girl kept pushing him to where he didn't want to go. I watched as her mom just sat there watching…um lady, your kid is shoving mine… Sure, he's a boy, but she's older, therefore should know not to push random strangers?

Anyway, they left and the play place got a little more friendly. He loved it.

Then it was time for lunch. We went to Noodles and Co. The kiddos split a mac n cheese and Tami and I both got the pesto pasta. Very yummy. It was such a treat and we are very thankful, Tami! 

Carefully putting the headphone in my hear. :)

Listening to the baby in his tummy. ;)

Toddler perspective. What is it? his stuffed Lion's mane 

 Action shot

 Mommy

Saturday, we had J's mission friend and his girlfriend over for dinner and a game. We made the two Brazilian dishes we know and played Wits and Wagers. It was fun. C LOVED drawing on his card for Wits and Wagers.

This is his first smiley face. He drew the entire thing on his own. It was cute to see his face when he thought, "hey, that's a smiley face! Look mom! A smiley face!!!!"