#BecauseofHim

http://easter.mormon.org/


#BecauseofHim the sting of death is overpowered by the truth that we will live again, and see our loved ones again.

#BecauseofHim I know that I can be with my family forever.

#BecauseofHim I have strength.

#BecauseofHim I am forgiven.

#BecauseofHim I can start fresh, and be better than I was yesterday.

#BecauseofHim I am happy, and know He is my brother, Savior, and friend. He gives me hope!!

Bomb Banana Bread

So I found this recipe, and modified a few things, and it has turned out to be a new family favorite and staple in our home. Probably not good for the waistline, but it's good for the soul...so that automatically wins.

1/2 c butter (softened)
3/4 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/3 c bananas (3-4 bananas, usually. I use 4-5 most of the time)
1 t vanilla
2 c flour
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt (I use a little less than 1/4 t)
1/4 t nutmeg (I use a little less than 1/4 t)
1-1 1/2 c chocolate chips (I've used milk chocolate and semi-sweet, just depends on your preference)
1/2-3/4 c chocolate chips for topping

Directions:
Mix sugar and softened butter until creamy.
In separate bowl: mix eggs, bananas and vanilla together, then combine with sugar/butter mixture.
In another separate bowl: mix flour, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and chocolate chips together. Combine with other mixture.
Pour into 1 greased/floured bread pan and add chocolate chips on the top of batter.
(**You can use more or less chocolate chips, depending on your preference**)
Bake at 350 for 68-70 min. With 15 min remaining, lightly cover with aluminum foil to prevent top from burning.
Check with toothpick.
Let cool 10-15 min, enjoy!!!

We love it, I hope you do too!!!

I loved my wedding day. Especially that handsome groom!!! I love being married. I love being his wife. I love being a mom! Our life together is pretty perfect for me! My heart is so, so incredibly happy.

This kid makes me smile. He is hilarious!

There is one thing I've learned in life, and especially in marriage: don't be selfish.

You're a team. The best team! I married my best friend, and I think that we are unstoppable together. He pushes me to be my best, and I hope I do the same for him. Because of him, I want to be a better wife and mother, and all around better person. I see that too many people these days are only concerned about their accomplishments and making sure they are satisfied. It makes me sad for them because I think they're missing out. (And maybe they think I'm missing out since I have a kid, dog, and husband to worry about. To each their own.)

In marriage, there are huge decisions to make. When to start your family. To buy/sell a home. Where/what to eat for dinner. How you will raise your children. If you'll have a family pet. Whose family to visit on which holiday. The list goes on, and is different for every family. One piece of advice my mom has always given me, is to make sure things are always fair. Whether it be in a relationship, business deal, etc., things work out best when everyone is somehow satisfied. Meet in the middle. Another thing I've learned is that my mom is always right. Her advice never leads me in the wrong direction.

Basically, be fair. You can't win every single time, unfortunately. 

Life Update:

We live in New Mexico.
Emma is walking (running) and talking like a big kid.
She loves to sing and dance.
We got a new puppy, Owen. 
Kasey knows a lot of theme songs from the Disney Channel, and sings them often.
I cook A LOT and we've been trying lots of new things.
Emma LOVES to climb on anything and everything!!!
I teach Relief Society and Kasey is the 1st counselor in the Elder's Quorum presidency. We love our ward. 
We are loving this life we have built together!

I swear I'll do better at blogging....if you're reading this, you rock! (And you probably know all about this little update already.) Thanks for following our story. XO

  

      

Emma Dawn

Emma is finally here!! We are so happy and feel incredibly blessed to have such a sweet baby in our family! I never thought I could love someone so much, and in such a short amount of time. Here's her birth story. (It's mainly for me to remember, I hope it's not too much!)

At my 37 week appointment, my doctor told me I was 2cm and 70%! I figured that meant labor was right around the corner. WRONG. I had been having the same pains I'd had during a previous UTI and I told the nurse I thought I had another one, but she said the baby was really low and on my round ligament and that's what was causing me so much pain, so they didn't need to test for a UTI. (My doctor was out of town or she would have checked!) I was at work one day and started having regular contractions around 1pm. I'd had about 5 in one hour, so on my lunch break I headed home to get in the bath and see if they would go away. I drank a ton of water and kept track of my contractions while I was in the bath. They weren't getting any better and they were only getting stronger. I called my mom and Kasey because I wasn't sure if this was real labor or not. Kasey headed home from work early and my mom told me to keep her updated. Around 5pm my contractions started getting closer and closer together. By 7:30 they were 5-7 minutes apart and lasting for a minute or so. This was everything my doctor had told me to watch for! When they started getting closer we decided to head to the hospital to see if this was it! We stopped by JCW for a burger (I was starving) and proceeded to the hospital. As we were getting checked in, I had a contraction, and that was the last one I had while we were there! They monitored me for an hour and then sent me home! Can you believe that?! All afternoon I had intense contractions, and the second we get checked into the hospital they stopped! I was bummed. My mom and dad had already started driving out to Utah (because if I was anything like Amanda, I would have had the baby within 2 hours!!!) and stayed with us for the weekend. There were a few more days of intense contractions but we didn't make anymore trips to the hospital.
At my 38 week appointment, I asked if they could check me for a UTI and sure enough, I had one! Having contractions on top of a UTI is pretty dang painful and those contractions felt close to real labor contractions! The nurse also said my blood pressure was a little high but it wasn't anything to worry about. I was at 3cm and 90% at this point! My doctor stripped my membranes but that didn't send me into labor, unfortunately. Every day I would wake up a little disappointed that I didn't go into labor during the night.
At my 39 week appointment, they said my blood pressure was even higher and that the doctor would take a look at it again. When my doctor came in, Dr. Cloward, she checked my blood pressure and said it was high. Kasey made a joke that they better induce me to make sure the baby is ok, and my doctor said, "We might just have to do that!" Kasey and I looked at each other like, "WHAT?!" She stripped my membranes again and said if that didn't send me into labor that night then they would induce me the next morning. I couldn't believe it. It was finally here! I was so excited and nervous! Our little girl would be here TOMORROW! I called my mom as we were walking out of the office and told her she needed to get to Utah! She flew from Phoenix to SLC like 2 hours later! She's amazing. Crystal also flew in that night. I had my biggest fans there to support me, except Amanda and my dad. Amanda couldn't come because it was such short notice AND because she has 2 little girls! I was really sad that she couldn't be there with me, but we got to FaceTime while I was in the hospital. I'm grateful for technology so we could have her with us! My dad was busy working in Arizona, but he was updated the entire time!
Kasey and I ran some last minute errands and headed up to Salt Lake to pick up my mom and sister. I couldn't believe this was how it was happening. I always imagined it would be like the movies where my water broke and we rushed to the hospital where we would have our baby minutes later. WRONG AGAIN.
The hospital said they would call me when it was time to come in, and it could be anywhere between 6am and noon, but it'd probably be around 10 or 11.

I couldn't sleep the entire night. I was afraid I'd sleep through my alarm or miss the call, not to mention I knew I was going to have a baby! I tossed and turned until it was a decent time to get out of bed. I jumped in the shower around 6:30. I was anxiously awaiting the phone call and kept checking my phone to see if I'd missed the call. Once everyone was awake, I finally calmed down and figured they wouldn't call until 11 or 12. Crystal and I decided to FaceTime with Amanda and during our call the hospital called. It was about 8:45 and they told me to show up at the hospital at 10. I felt like I had a lot to do before leaving!! Crystal and I jumped off the bed, the next hour flew by!! Thankfully I already had the majority of my hospital bag packed! I tried to eat some breakfast but I was so nervous that I wasn't hungry and couldn't eat. I had a few bites of cereal and then we headed to the hospital.
Kasey and I were so excited. We held hands the whole way there and just kept saying how we couldn't believe this was it! It was finally here. We were going to have our baby! We got checked into the hospital and I got changed and hooked up, ready for the long day. They also informed me that I couldn't eat anything until after the baby was born and I could only drink clear liquids. My mom and Crystal came to the hospital soon after, and camped out! We didn't know how long it was going to take!

 My doctor came in and broke my water, and they started me on pitocin. (I was almost a 3.5 when I got to the hospital and 100%.) My contractions started becoming intense and pretty close together. After a couple of hours of contractions, I called my nurse to come check how dilated I was. (After having such intense contractions, I was sure I had to be at least a 7 or 8!) I was at a 5. Seriously??! I then realized that I was in for a longer day than I anticipated! The contractions were coming one right after the other and were starting to wear me out! They say that most women progress about a centimeter an hour. So I had at least 5 hours left! YIKES. I started getting frustrated during the contractions. My guests (my mom, Crystal, Kasey, and Kasey's mom) didn't realize how intense my pain was and they were all just chatting away. Crystal looked at me and knew I was in so much pain. She quickly stopped talking and sat quietly on her phone. After that contraction, I sent everyone out of the room (except Kasey) so I could get the epidural. I didn't think I would have enough energy to push when the time came. Once I got the epidural and it had kicked in, everyone came back in and we hung out.

Crystal fell asleep while waiting :)

My nurse came in periodically to check my progress. Finally at 5:55 she said I was at a 10 and could start pushing!! I was so excited! We were almost done! We were so close to meeting our little girl!!!!! I pushed, and pushed, and pushed during each contraction. I had Crystal on my left side holding my leg, Kasey on my right side holding my leg, my mom at my head-fanning me, and Kasey's mom was giving me ice between contractions. I feel pretty spoiled to have so many people who love me and were there to help. Even with the epidural, I could still feel a lot of pressure during her delivery. After pushing for an hour and a half, and my doctor doing a lot of work, Emma arrived at 7:28p.m. weighing 7lbs 14oz and was 19.5 inches long! It was the most amazing feeling of relief when she was finally here. It was a sweet and special moment when they put her on my chest, and I got to hold her for the first time. Kasey cut her umbilical cord, and they got her all cleaned up. I couldn't believe it was over! She was finally here! It's amazing how much I loved her from the second I saw her. There are no words to describe my love for her. The hard work was all definitely worth it! We FaceTimed with my dad and Amanda so they could see her. Everyone took turns holding her. My mom went down and got me a hamburger and chocolate shake from the grill at the hospital. That was the best meal I've ever had!!

Once we got settled in our new room, and all our visitors left, Kasey and I spent some time together. It was great to be together as a new family, just the three of us. It was fun getting to know her and learn about the different things she does. Emma had the cutest little squeal when you would change her diaper or touch her with cold hands. She has the cutest cry!

We left the hospital on Saturday morning. My mom and Crystal (who was our awesome photographer) helped us get all of our things home and get us settled in. My mom stayed for the next week and helped us get used to having a baby at home! There were a couple sleepless nights, and after being up all night with Emma, my mom came in once she woke up and took Emma so Kasey and I could get some sleep. She also made us our meals, cleaned the house, did laundry, and so much more. She really made adjusting to having Emma home smooth and easy. I hope that I can be the kind of mom to Emma like my mom has been to me. She's such an amazing woman.
I was so scared the day she left! Now it was our turn to take care of this baby all by ourselves! Emma is such a good baby and has made the last 6 weeks so fun! There are tough days but I can't imagine life without her. She brings such a sweet spirit into our home! We feel so blessed to have her here with us!