Christmas and Computer

We are in Queen Creek (Phoenix valley) right now hanging out the rest of the weekend with the Stewarts and everyone except me and Sam are gone hunting birds so I decided to put Sam down for a nap and take advantage of some quiet....ahhhh.  Anyway, our Christmas was great!  Except that the night before Christmas Eve a virus was accidentally downloaded onto our computer and that kind of put a wrench in things.  I hate spyware!  We have been wanting a new computer for a while (its five years old) but held off on the idea because of job stability and money situations so of course we missed the really good deals on computers and laptops on black friday.  Anyway, so we decided to try and reformat our hard drive and see if that makes a difference.  So we spent Christmas Eve with Ben and James while James tried to reformat our hard drive...I say tried because it didn't really work.  So we decided we would price computers this weekend in the Valley and we found such a good deal at Best Buy!  I am so excited about it.  I can't wait to get home Sunday and set it up!  Thanks dirty hackers!  Just kidding...  Anyway, thanks James for all your hard work and spending time pricing parts, etc!

Christmas morning was quiet with just us three, and definitely quite different than we are used to (not just because of the fact that it was raining and not snowing...)!  It was the first year we spent just us without being with our families.  But it was definitely nice!  And Sam got the hang of the present thing and caught on really quickly to what presents were, who they were from, etc!  He was so cute!  I just loved watching him open his presents!  He loved it!  He sat in his Cars Lightening McQueen chair and opened them all!  And I love that he's at the age that he even got excited over the two pairs of shoes "Santa" got him!  Ever since yesterday he's been going around saying stuff like "Santa shoes," or "Grandma cars," depending on who got him what.  I just loved the experience and have to say that though Christmas felt different this year, there is nothing like Christmas when you have children who can get into it!  By far, much more joy comes from them opening gifts than by getting your own gifts!  We didn't even have gifts for each other!

Anyway, after we were done at our place we came down here to Queen Creek and spent the rest of Christmas day/evening with Brand and Tiff and her mom and sister's family.  We had a wonderful dinner and had fun visiting and watching (I should say criticizing and making fun of...) Journey to the Center of the Earth.  We might have ruined it for the kids, but oh well.  I guess one can't really help the negative comments when it's a Brenden Fraisure movie.  :)

I will post pictures of Christmas morning, etc. when we get home and I get the computer set up and can upload my pictures! :)

20 Annoying Things...

So, not to be negative but I thought I would make a fun little post about all the things that have been getting on my nerves lately.
And the things that annoy Jennie are....

1. Loud neighborhood dogs that bark all throughout the day and night.
2. Slow internet, or when it's down all together.
3. Along the same lines, websites that always seem to be down or freezing (hum...like Blogger for one...).
4. The HP Computer slogan, "The computer is personal again." Are they saying it was personal before?? When?? Was it really personal in the past?
5. Celebrities who think their fame qualifies them to get involved in politics.
6. Glade commercials and the woman in them all.
7. Being cold.
8. How the economy just keeps getting worse and worse.
9. When it takes so much time and effort to get comfortable enough to sleep and you finally start to doze off but you get woken up and have to start the whole process over again...
10. Lack of communication or information being vague...even when it involves you.
11. Getting stuck walking behind very very slow people at the store.
12. On same note, getting stuck driving behind very slow drivers on a one-lane highway when there's no way to pass.
13. When people, especially random strangers, see me holding my son while being pregnant and ask, "Should you really be carrying him?" Do I have a choice?!
14. Public bathroom faucets that are sensor operated and you have to try and figure out where to move your hand for them to turn on and then them only staying on for literally 1 second, while drizzling out only drips of water (Okay, so maybe I have the Prescott Walmart bathroom specifically in mind...).
15. My horribly awful vacuum.
16. Vacuuming my house with my horribly awful vacuum while pregnant.
17. People asking if you need their help when it's clear you don't, but when you really do, them sitting around as if they don't know what you're doing.
18. MTV and every single show and commercial on the channel.
19. When we are in actual town at an actual public crowded place and the backup alarm on Dave's truck isn't disconnected and I'm backing out of a parking space while every eye is on me because of how loud it is.

And lastly...
20. Everything about this stage of my pregnancy (besides the fact that I can feel Joshua coming to life in me)...being on my feet or cleaning for only an hour and having it make me have to lay down and crash the rest of the day, all the aches and pains, all the discomfort and awkwardness...oh there's so much more that's too personal to get into, but I'm sure you get the point!

Ah! I got it out. Okay...next post wont be so negative! :)

What a Happy Day!

First of all, happy birthday to my brother Brian, who I know wont read this anyway, but I love you and I can not believe you are a year away from 30!! I miss spending our birthdays together! Also, shout out to my sissy, Cindi, who's 20th birthday is tomorrow! No longer a teenager! Though it seems to me that she hasn't been one for a while... I love you guys!

It's a good day today for the Meyers family, too! They boarded their cruise today and Jessica has been sending me pictures of the ship, the buffet, the lobby, etc. I will tell you...looking at those pics from my phone during Sunday School made it really hard for me not to be jealous! We wish we could be with you guys and hope you have a wonderful time! But I know we are having little Joshua at the right time and I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world (though my body tries to tell me differently...)!

Another reason it was a happy day today is we FINALLY gave Sam his first hair cut! We have been saying we were going to do it for a while but timing hasn't been right and daddy finally remembered after church! I have to say my husband did an EXCELLENT job for it being the first time he has ever cut anyone's hair with actual scissors...let alone a moving toddler! We gave Sam a bunch of m&m's to keep him occupied and it worked like a charm, though he still moved his head a lot. He was very brave and didn't even think of the scissors as a deady weapon, or the fact that his hair was being cut off and landing in his lap. He is a brave smart boy! Anyway, it looks so good and I am so sad about missing those blond curls (I saved them in a zip lock bag that I will keep in his baby book) but it was getting sooo long and shabby, it was beyond time for it to go! He was developing what looked to be a curly rat tail in the back. I just can't believe now that I have seen it cut how much I LOVE it! I thought it'd make me sad, and of course part of it does because my baby is growing up, but it made me so happy because he looks so much more like an actual little boy now instead of a baby! He is so handsome and I just love it. One more step in making me realize he will be a big brother soon and not the "tiny guy" anymore!

I'm sure you all know how he looked before, but here is a pic from the other day of the shabby curls and rat tail in the back...


And here are the pictures during the cut and after while he admires himself in the mirror...

Sam and Santa!

Our ward party was last night, where I ate till I was sick (the food was so good!)! We ate, Santa came, and we watched President Monson's talk from the Christmas devotional. It was a wonderful message and it was great to hear it again! I'd have to say the best part of the night was when Santa came. Sam knows who Santa is but he had never had the privilege of meeting him, and knowing the way he is lately, I was under the impression (as was everyone else it seemed) he would be afraid of him. So all day yesterday I tried to prepare him for it by saying he was going to meet Santa and get to sit on his lap. I think that helped because he was expecting it and totally LOVED it! We were all pleasantly surprised that he was in no way afraid of Santa! Woo hoo! He was so cute. He gave him high fives and "knuckles." Below are some pictures from it. We were going to go to the community Christmas party tonight too where we would have had the opportunity to go on a hay ride and see Santa again but as we were about to go we just realized how much we didn't feel like it. :) Dave had a headache, I had a headache (which was actually the least of my aches at the time), and Sam wouldn't have known the difference. So here we are sitting at home. We are tired and it's been a long day for us. Dave got up early to go hunting with Nick and his father-in-law, where they had no luck, and I have been on me feet in the kitchen since yesterday baking yummy Christmas treats. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, but every minute I'm on my feet makes how I feel so much worse (details I wont go into)! All I can say is February can't come soon enough!

Family Pictures!

Job Update

Well, I think we can breathe...for the time being. After a lot of thinking and talking with people we were starting to realize how silly it would be to take the incentive and just up and leave without having another job lined up. The incentive, when compared to the possibility that we might get to keep our job for a while longer, just didn't seem worth it. But we did some praying and fasting and worrying and come to find out yesterday, we think we were thinking things were a lot more crucial than they actually were. Yes, we still need to be in fear for our jobs in the near future, but no, we don't necessarilly need to be making the decision on our own. We found out, after all the worrying all weekend and wondering what to do, that the mine is sort of taking back the fact that they offered the incentive to every employee, salaried ones included. They don't want to lose their salaried employees yet so they'd prefer people not to....unless they really want to. Which means, we are safe for now. It changes every day and by next week it could be a completely different story but as far as we understand, they probably won't be doing anymore cut-backs until January...and when they do, it may or may not be in Dave's department. We're just greatful we have been able to keep the job as long as we have and hope we can keep it even longer...especially until after the baby!

Bless the Broken Road

Man, I'm just full of posts tonight (and getting closer to my 100th!). Maybe it's cuz I'm alone and Sam's asleep and I actually have free time... Anyway, I just wanted to say how much I love my husband and how eternally GRATEFUL I am that he is in my life! How did I ever get so lucky.....no blessed is the word! The Lord definitely brought me to him when I needed him most in my life! I have always loved the song Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts but didn't really really listen to the words until recently and it is exactly how I feel about Dave and I wanted to share the words cuz they're awesome!

I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you

Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true

Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

Now I'm just rollin' home into my lover's arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you

When times are tough we just need to realize whats most important in our lives, and that is the ones we love! I couldn't ask for a better family - the best husband and the best son (and son on the way!)! That is all that truly matters in life!

Other Things (Pics)...

Last week my nephew Jonah got baptized and I am so proud of him! We wish we could have been there!

This was from the first day Sam was sick (we were both sick this whole last week...sucks). He just sat on the sink and watched me make cookies. He kept saying "rinse" because he wanted to wash his hands. :)

One of his bad days...laying on mommy.

We finally went and did a little Christmas shopping for Sam today. We aren't going to get much...just the things we have wanted to get for him. We bought him his own little chair he can sit on in the family room with Lightning McQueen on it that folds down into a little bed too and he LOVES it so much that we gave it to him early. This is him tonight watching Dora on it and eating chicken.

A couple better pictures (taken with our actual camera and not just my phone...) of our tree:


Tonight Dave was "rough-housing" with Sam on our couch and it made his hair really staticky (not a word) and it was really funny and cute!

Job Dilema

Well, I wont go into details because the details may change very soon but we found out yesterday that we have to make a very difficult decision and only have one week (until next Friday) to decide. Dave's company offered incentives to every employee today to voluntarily leave the company so they could cut costs and avoid more layoffs. It has been going down hill over the last month or so and we have been praying on pins and needles that we can keep his job AT LEAST until after the baby comes but things don't always go the way you want them to. They want to cut their employees down by a huge amount and if it doesn't happen with this incentive situation they are going to have to do more layoffs....which they are probably going to end up doing anyway, with the way things are looking. We have heard many rumors and things that might just be hearsay....like that they will be laying people off next week...or that they will January 1st...or like that Bagdad will eventually be closed down completely...or on the other hand, they wouldn't want to lose their only industrial hygienist. But we don't know how valid any of these things are because we haven't heard them directly from the company.

It's actually quite unfair to expect someone to make a decision like this with NO information. They haven't given us really any info at all as far as the odds if people stay, what it will look like, what package they will offer, if any at all, if they do lay you off, etc. etc. etc. How is someone supposed to make a life changing decision like that, especially when they have a family to provide for, with no info?! It's quite stressful and we wish they wouldn't make US choose whether or not we want to keep our jobs.

The scariest thing to us (or me, anyway) is the fact that I'm due in two months and I REALLY don't want to be moving in that time and have to worry about insurance, hospitals, new doctors, etc. in that time! I want to be here in our house with my hospital, my insurance, my dr. when I have the baby! But we are willing to do whatever the will of the Lord is, and we are aware that sometimes that will can be very difficult. We are fasting/praying this week and Dave is going to try and get more information on Monday so that by the end of the week we can make a more informed decision. We do have faith that no matter what happens we will know or feel sure about the decision we do make by the end of the week and that whatever it is it will all work out!

We either take the incentive and know we'd be out of a job for sure and have the stress of moving back in with the Meyers (don't get me wrong...the fact that we'd be with and see family again is VERY tempting...) and starting all over again, trying to find another job in this economy, or stick around in the hopes that we can keep his job for a while (which is possible!)....and then if we do get layed off, get no incentive.

Three months ago, and and especially when we moved here 11 months ago, we never would have thought we'd be in this situation this soon! It all kind of happened so fast! Anyway, we'll keep everyone updated.

Christmas Tree Finally!

We finally put up our Christmas tree and other stuff yesterday. We kind of did it slowly and in stages because our boy was being a little monster, as he seems to do lately. He seemed like he was getting sick or something but I can't be sure. Anyway, here's our humble little tree in our house! And I had to improvise with the stockings...there's no place in our house for them. :)

Thanksgiving & Everything Else!

Well, after much annoyance, I am finally posting this post. I started it at about 8am and it's now late afternoon. And it's not Sam's fault this time (well, completely). Is it just me or does Blogger seem to be down a TON lately? Every time I would be ready to post it would go down or something so I had to keep trying throughout the day. Frustrating....

Oh well. I have been sort of out of commission for a while. There is a lot to write about, but mostly, a lot of pictures to post! Yes, we are back in Bagdad. Not that we hate Bagdad or anything but it is sort of sad! We miss our families so much and we had such a good time being around them all again! It was so much fun with Sam too because now he can say everyone's name and he remembers things more and interacts and talks more, etc. He has missed everyone so much since we have come home. He has become a pro at talking on the phone the last two days also. He loves it. He pretty much just repeats everything we tell him to say...it's so cute!

Anyway, our Thanksgiving was great! We had two dinners, which would have been so much more wonderful if I (1)had more room in my tummy to fit more food (the baby makes it hard to eat more than small tiny portions) and (2)I wasn't sick. Sam and I got some sort of yucky flue bug the day we got the Colorado and I still didn't feel too well on Thanksgiving so it was harder for me to get through it. But the food was so good! Especially those sweet potatoes! Yum!

Cindi, Heather, and I had fun making dinner at my parents house. It was the first time I really had that much involvement in it and I really enjoyed it! I definitely know what its like now though to have spent so much time and effort and feel like we ate it all in a ten minute period and wonder where it all went and if it was even worth it. But it definitely was!

We did black friday shopping the next morning of course, because it has become a tradition ever since Rick and Amy introduced us to it a few years ago. I didn't go this time because Dave got up and left with his parents at about 4am and Sam was still sleeping and I don't do so well with little sleep while being pregnant. But we love it. There's something about the good deals that kind of puts us in this crazy "I want to buy everything" mode, unfortunately. But we did pretty good at limiting ourselves. We kind of had to anyway because we couldn't take much back with us on the plane. :)

We also did Secret Santa gifts with the Meyers while we were there because they are all going to be on a cruise for Christmas and it's a tradition we couldn't just pass up. It was interesting to only have about 2 days to try and find something but we all made it work! And usually with only a $5 limit there isn't much you can get that's actually useful but I loved my gift! I got a micro SD card from Jenni that I have been wanting for my new phone! I love it! It's so nice to be able to use it as an MP3 player!

We decided while we were there to finally cut Sam's hair because for some reason while we were there it really straitened out and we realized how long it actually was and it was starting to look like a mullet. But the last day we were there we realized with the way he is he would be way too squirmy and that we want to get him used to scissors first (while combing his hair snip some scissors around his head until he is too the point where he isn't scared of them or flinch). Anyway, I'm glad we waited because the day we got back to AZ his hair went back to the same cute curls in the back and around his head so it doesn't look too long again! It must have been the climate change or something because now I don't want to cut it again....it's just too cute.

So another awesome thing happened while we were there! I was sort of teasing with Dave the day after Thanksgiving and asked him if he would take me on a date to see Twilight (I really wanted to see it again, especially with him). He always was saying things like how dumb it was and that he might see it when it comes out on video, so I didn't actually think he would do it, but he said he would! So he and I and Braxton and Cindi went out that day and saw it again! I am so glad I got to! It was SO much better the second time! I felt like I could sit back and enjoy it more because I wasn't scrutinizing every scene. I just love that movie. And surprisingly enough...Dave liked it too! I told him if he liked the movie he should read the book because the book is a million times better! But he said reading it just takes too long, so we will just wait for the next one to come out. He's anxious to see what happens between Jacob and Edward... :)

Well, it finally snowed the second to last day we were there and I was so glad because I wanted Sam to be able to play in it! We all went out and made a huge 7 foot snowman (well, it was really Dave and Jason) and played. It was really fun but Sam was so cranky by the end because he was so cold. The first thing he said when he stepped into the snow was "shoes," because his shoes got wet and cold. There's a bunch more pictures of us with the snowman that I'm not posting because they're the ones I am using for our Christmas card!

Well, that's it for now. Tonight we are going to put up our Christmas tree finally so I'm sure I will be posting again soon! And here are the mounds of pictures...

Sam on his tricycle we got him as an early Christmas present before our trip. It's a little too big for him still but he will be riding it soon I'm sure!

Sam helping Grandma make cookies...

One of Sam's favorite things to do while we were there was listen to and watch the train under the Christmas tree. He would just lay on the floor and watch it for long periods of time. This is him with Grandma and Mary.

See what I mean about mullet-like?



Watching the trains with Cindi and cousin Aaron (and Andie Smith).

And with Daddy...

Jessica (A.K.A. Drip Face) was recovering from her jaw surgery while we were there and couldn't eat. All her food at to be blended and eaten through a syringe...poor thing...

Jason and Brittany got a Wii on black friday (we're kind of wishing we did now too) so the next few days it seemed everyone was always in the basement playing! Here's Jess trying to bowl...

Heather rubbing Dave's feet. I'm surprised she actually did it...

Aaron on his new matt from Grandma and Grandpa!

Sam looking cute...


The morning it snowed! Beautiful!

Sam in the snow...when he was still happy...

After daddy was mean and threw a snowball at his neck...

Dave starting to roll the bottom of the snowman.

It's bigger than Sam!

Bringing the middle piece from the front yard...

Dave with the head...

Jenni made the baby snowman that sits on the big ones head (don't ask why we decided that...)


Jason and Dave putting it up...

And wa-la!

Dave, Aaron, Me, and Sam

Ready to go see Twilight! Don't mind the weird glares off our shirts...

Sam's new favorite thing to do is get on Microsoft Word and type.



Sam and Jeana playing!

Jumping with Grandma on the trampoline!

Grandma singing to Sam. He loves it!

Micha, Great Grandma, and Jonah doing a puzzle.

Aaron and Sam!

Sam and Grandpa!

Sam pushing the carts at the airport on our last day...