A Mother's Love is the Greatest Love of All

We had quite a week! My mom came to visit on Tuesday and stayed until Friday night. It is always so wonderful to see her. We spend a lot of time just hanging out together which was nice because I know we both crave all the girl talk we can get. We also got to use her Costco card and stock up on some things we need. I printed off all the pictures from my digital camera since we have been married. Over 300 total! I now have no excuse to wait on all the scrapbooking I need to do. On New Year's Eve the three of us went out to dinner and stayed up until midnight (we barely made it). Card games are way more fun when you are beyond tired! New Year's Day we went to downtown Salt Lake to see the lights on Temple Square. It was freezing but really beautiful. It was so hard to say goodbye to my mom. My heart is a little tender still about her leaving but I am so excited that I only have to wait another 12 weeks until she comes back with my whole family to see our baby! It was fun to have my mom here while I am still pregnant. She got to feel the baby kicking and watch my tummy wiggle. I have a very VERY wiggly baby, so I wasn't surprised. Here are a few pictures from her visit. I won't share too many because I'm sure she wants to post some on her new blog.





By the way, Ryan and I are super excited because we are now the proud owners of a travel system (car seat and stroller) and a crib! Woo hoo! We set up our crib yesterday and we discovered that we need to get rid of a lot of stuff if we want room for a baby and we also realized that this baby is coming sooner than we think! Yay!

Ryan's Birthday and Christmas

Ryan's birthday is on Christmas Eve. He turned 26 and we had a little party with cheesecake and presents. He had to work that day and had to leave the house by 5:20 am. Not much of a birthday!

Ryan REALLY loves cheesecake!

We had a really relaxed Christmas, just the two of us. We opened presents and had a nice breakfast in the morning and a nice Christmas dinner that evening. We just stayed inside in the warm apartment and enjoyed the day. The only problem was that I woke up at 4:30 that morning and couldn't go back to sleep! I think I was really hungry, and uncomfortable and the baby was kicking like crazy. So we opened presents around 6 that morning, then we went back to sleep and slept until 11!

I think I look a bit like a beached whale in this picture, but I guess that's bound to happen!

My mom comes to visit from Washington tomorrow. She is staying for four days. I can't wait to see her!!!!

Merry Christmas 2008

2008 has been a very busy year for us. We have accomplished a lot. Ryan and I both went to school year round this year in order to finish and earn our degrees. Ryan got his degree in Economics in July and I got my degree in Theater and Speech Education this month. In August we moved from Rexburg, Idaho to Bountiful, Utah. This apartment is the fourth we have lived in since we got married two and a half years ago. We moved to Bountiful so that I could student teach at Bountiful High School, the school I had been assigned. Before we moved, we had never been to Bountiful before and we are still trying to get to know the area. The same week we moved, we also found out we are expecting a baby. We will welcome a baby boy to our family the first part of April. So, besides student teaching (which ended in November) I have been spending the last few months resting and preparing for the baby. Ryan got a job at Discover Financial Services in the Salt Lake area. He enjoys his job but we miss getting to eat dinner together since he works in the evenings. We are blessed right now to get really good medical benefits though. He has also spent the last few months applying to 9 different graduate schools around the country to get his Doctorate in Economics. So, we will be moving yet again this summer. All in all, it has been a wonderful year, and we look forward to another year full of big events and a few surprises! We love you all and wish we could be near you all at Christmas. We are so grateful to have a knowledge of the gospel and to be able to surround ourselves with things that remind us of the Savior. Merry Christmas from Ryan and Heather!

It's Official!!

I know that I posted about college graduation this summer but I only walked with Ryan this July and wasn't officially graduated. Well, now it's official! I have now earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Theater and Speech Education. The reason I couldn't officially graduate in July was because I still needed to student teach (and take one more religion class) so that is what I have been doing all fall. I started teaching at Bountiful High School in August and finished teaching right before Thanksgiving. I taught advanced theater, beginning theater, and stage crew. I directed a one-act play and organized a showcase night for my actors to perform their projects for friends and family. For the most part, I enjoyed the experience although there were days when I wanted to take some of those teenagers and wring their little necks! Even though I have earned my degree, I am still not a certified teacher because I still need to take (and pass) my Praxis tests. I decided to wait until later (maybe this fall) to take them because they are expensive and I don't plan on teaching right now anyway. It is a great feeling to know that Ryan and I both have a college degree and I am overwhelmed by how accomplished I feel. I may never teach in a formal school setting but I am so glad to have earned my degree. I got to celebrate this summer with family and friends but Ryan and I went out to dinner this week as an unofficial official celebration.

Here's a little bit about my student teaching experience:

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11033550?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com-www.sltrib.com

This is the article that was in the Salt Lake Tribune about our play "Hard Candy"
and here are a few pictures of my cast (yes, I recognize that many of them look as old, if not older, than me).

Painting the Set

Pregnancy Questions

I think I have hit the point in my pregnancy where I am beginning to feel like there is so much I need to learn before I give birth! I have a ton of questions that I need answered. Some questions I need to ask my doctor but some questions I will throw out to all of you moms. Maybe you can answer a few for me.

- What can I do about my aching back? I'm not even big yet and I am always in pain!

- Is is safe to drink herbal tea?

- What are some good exercises I can do?

- Any suggestions for a birthing method? What's the best way to find a local birthing class?

- Any other tips? I will NOT be offended by suggestions. I am new at this and will take all the help I can get! Thanks ladies!!

Thanksgiving

I know it's been a few days already but I wanted to post briefly about our Thanksgiving. Ryan was able to get the Wednesday before off so we drove up to Rexburg on Tuesday night and stayed until early Friday morning (Ryan had to be back to work Friday afternoon). It is always so fun to see family and although we don't particularly care for Idaho, I think we both feel much more loyal to Rexburg than we do to Bountiful. We had lots of great food (I was really thankful for an elastic waistband) and just enjoyed relaxing for a few days. Here's a few pictures from our trip.

I try to get a picture of me and Ryan together, even if I have to take it myself. However, the height difference between us can make it difficult to get us both in the same shot.

Ryan always gets to make the mashed potatoes. Yummy!

Ryan with his mom and his brother-in-law, Michael.

The table

Here I am at 22 weeks. I'm not sure if I'm always this huge. I ate a lot that week. Again, I'm thankful for elastic waist bands!

Haircut!

Well, I finally went and got my hair chopped off. I really like it. Hopefully I can keep it styled and cute . . . we'll see.