Merry Christmas!!!

Hey ya'll ....Merry Christmas. Have you ever seen that movie "A Christmas Story"? It's my personal all time favorite. Remember the scene where Ralphie wakes up on Christmas morning, and finds that the world out side is covered in sparkly white snow. Being California kids, having a white Christmas was something we've never knew ....till now.

Brint and I decided to go out and play for a little while, and take some pics of us and our little one in the snow. Feel the love....







A little baby time ...



Love this one ...




This one is called ..."pregnancy agression". We were playing in the snow, and how can you not throw snow balls at each other. So I got Brint ...real good. Hee, hee!!


Hope you've all had a warm and wonderful Christmas. We love you all, and wish you nothing but the best!!

Holly Cow!!

Holly Cow!! The grips of pregnancy brain has finally released me, and I'm now realizing all the things I need to catch up on. I had some time today, and thought ....I haven't read any blogs in soooo long. I logged on, and saw when my last post was. I'm in total shock ...August!? ....really!?!? I'm so sorry everyone for not keeping up on this. So I'm just going to hop on it, and give you the highlights of this great pregnancy we are having. *Click on the pics below to see them better!!*


SHORT SORIES:

*When I was 6 months along they did an ultrasound. They were having a hard time seeing all four chambers of her heart. The office said "Because of her position (breech and facing my spine), we can't see all four chambers of her heart. Happens a lot, don't worry." What I heard was "We can't see all four chambers of her heart ....worry!" Working in the medical is hard because you know WAY to much. I worked for a Pediatric Cardiologist, and I know what kind of things happen with babies that have major heart issues. My doctor saw me that same day, and repeated the same thing, "Dayna, don't worry ...she's fine." She saw the look in my eyes, and said "Let's send you to ROGS, and they can do a more in depth ultrasound. It will help us see her heart better, and it will make you feel better." Two days later, my doctor's office rocks, got me into ROGS who handle high risk pregnancies. I was there for two hours. The first hour was doing basic anatomy, and trying to get her to turn. She was still in the breech position and facing my spine. It made sense, she's comfy, warm, and had her head on a cushy pillow (my/her placenta). After the first hour, they had me drink two boxes of juice, touch my toes, stand on my head, do the hokey-pokey, etc. For a half an hour she had turned a little, just enough for the tech to get all the pics they needed. Then sweet relief came ....four chambers, an aortic arch, great blood flow, etc. The funniest part, I love my little girl - she already has a sense of humor, THE moment the doctor walked through the door, and took her turn to do her part of the ultrasound, Amelia turned back to her stubborn position where they couldn't see the heart again. We all couldn't help but laugh. Although we had a little scare, we got the best pics of our little girl!!

LOOK AT HER GLOWING BONES ...THAT'S BECAUSE HER MOMMY DRANK LOT'S OF MILK!!




*So Brint is a very informed, and very involved husband/soon to be daddy. How lucky am I!! He know's about how ALL women love their body/belly pillow. Well, I guess I'm not "ALL" women. I figured that I have broken all the rules from the beginning of this pregnancy anyway. No morning sickness and all that fun stuff. Anyway, Brint insisted that I needed to sleep with a million pillows, or that we should just buy one of those $50 pillows that are in an "S" shape. I told him don't waist money on that, I like my two pillows, and besides we could use that money to by more baby stuff. In true Brint form, he didn't listen to me, asked the girls at work about their opinion (and how much they love their body pillow), and went to Wally-world and bought me a body pillow. Thank goodness it was only $9, because I TRIED, honestly I did, to use it that night, but it was on the floor in 15 minutes. Brint woke up in the middle of the night looked over to see that I was all cuddled up with this fabulous pillow. What he saw was laying there with my two pillows under my head, blankets thrown off, faaaaast asleep! Nice try honey ...at least we have a nice "decorative" pillow for the bed now.

HER FACE WITH ARM BESIDE HER HEAD.


*One Sunday, after church, Brint and I slipped into our comfies, had lunch, and was watching a movie. I was leaning on my right side on the couch, when all of a sudden my belly was going crazy. I said to Brint "Hey! Look!!!" while pointing at my belly. His eyes just about popped out of his head, and he said "Holly crap!". My belly was bouncing from left to right. We now call this a belly dancing moment.

ANOTHER FACE SHOT, THE TECH ASSURED US HER NOSE IS NOT THAT BIG!


*It's so amazing when a baby, who is still in the womb, already have the traits of her/his mom and dad. So when we got to the 25th week, we had read in our weekly pregnancy emails, that the baby was now able to hear sounds. Of course we talk to her, and we saw her respond to my talking during an ultrasound. Now it was time to give her a little music. Brint and I are HUGE music lovers, from classical to rock, and EVERYTHING in between. First we played her some Vivaldi, my favorite classical composer. I had the headphones on my belly for about a half an hour she liked it and moved around quite a bit. Over the next couple of days, we played a couple more different classical composers, Medieval Babes (check them out, they are awesome), Lorna McKinnett, Enya, and a little B-52s to shake things up. We found her favorite ....Amelia LOVES Alison Krauss!! We listened to her old stuff and new stuff. Her favorite song, because she moved around a lot, was "Atlanta". I guess she knows she has Georgia roots!


*Another Sunday we came home from church, did our normal routine of putting our comfies on, eating lunch, and watching a movie. Halfway through our movie, I notice little Amelia moving. Then after a minute or two, I noticed that it was quite repetitive. I looked down, and could see the bow on my pajama bottoms was "bouncing" with each movement. I thought about it for a minute, and realized she was having hiccups. I called Brint over, and he just laughed. We tried to video it with our camera, and it was pretty funny to watch. I notice, probably because I am laying down, that she has the hiccups when I lay down to go to bed, or get up first thing in the morning. I love to just lay there and feel that movement, plus that's a good time for Brint to feel her too. All I have to do is roll to my other side to give her some relief, and me a little sleep! She definitely takes after her mom the "Hiccup Queen"!

AFTER THREE CONFIRMATIONS THAT SHE IS A GIRL, WE ARE FEELING CONFIDENT. HINT: LOOK FOR THE SIDEWAYS "V", BY THE WAY SHE MOONING YOU!!


*This may be a "more than you need to know" story, but I'm going to tell it anyway ...it's funny. I'm usually at one extreme or the other. Either I can feel my bladder is full all the time, or not at all. Apparently I have a built in warning system, and her name is Amelia. One night, after a long day at work, Brint and I were relaxing on the couch. I noticed that "someone" kept making quick little movement, very low in my belly. I just continued to lay there, and let her move. What I didn't know was she was trying to tell me something. So I still just laid there, feeling her move swiftly. Finally I felt this "punch" on my full bladder, that I didn't know I had. As I was trying to quickly get up from the couch, huffing, puffing, and grunting my way up, Brint asked if I was ok. I told him "Apparently ...I have to pee!". Got to the bathroom just in time, and boy did I ever have to go. Thank you my little early alert system!

MY FAVORITE, I TURNED THIS ONE. YOU CAN SEE HER NOSE (see she has a small one), MOUTH, AND CHIN COMING OUT OF THE SHADOW. WHICH STAR WARS CHARACTER DOES THAT REMIND YOU OF?

It's a ........???

As of Tuesday 8/31, I am 18 weeks and 5 days. So today we were off for our ultrasound appointment. The last time we saw our little sweetie, he/she looked like a fuzzy-wuzzy-gummy-bear. So now this was to be the real deal. First of all it will look like a real baby, not a fuzzy spot on the screen. Second we will get to see cool things like fingers, heart, head, tummy, legs, all kinds of movement, etc. Third, and this is the most important (especially to all our family and friends), is to find out what he/she is.

Here's the beginning of the adventure of the day...

So the morning started out with drinking my 24 ounces of water to fill up that bladder. The theory is so they can see the baby better. My theory ....a good laugh for the office staff. A waiting room of women bouncing, cuz they "gotta go", AND let's push our hardest on the mom's tummy to get the "shots" for the ultrasound, and let's go back and forth over the overly full bladder like a teenager practicing parallel parking ....over and over!

Yes, the simple answer would be to go to the restroom as soon as that is over, but you see there was another fun obstacle in my way before my dam was about to break. My ultrasound was at 9am, and I had an appointment with Dr.Hunt at 10am. As some of you know, you have to give a urine sample every time you come in. We were done at 930a with our ultrasound, and our sweet little tech was REALLY taking her time putting all the ultrasound pics together, and do a quick report for the doctor, so I could take it all upstairs for my next appointment. Ahhh, I'm dying here!

We went upstairs for our appointment, and thought they'd take me right back and bring me to my sweet relief, but noooo. Half an our later, Brint couldn't take it and went up and asked if I could just leave a sample, because I REALLY, REALLY had to go. I was even bouncing in my seat. The nurse felt bad, and said I should have spoke up sooner, oh well that's what I get for being polite. Finally the sweetest relief I've ever had in my life, so far. This may have been more than you wanted to know, but it was a fun story anyway.

Back to the best part. So I'm laying on the table in this nice cool room, that has soft mood lighting. She said first she will be looking at the anatomy of the baby, then asked us if we brought a VHS tape to record the ultrasound. Then she asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby, and we both said a resounding YES!!! She blobbed on warm, yes I said warm, jell and went to work. The first image was a nice sized baby on the screen, and the first thing I saw was a beating heart. Whheeewww!! That was my first concern, next ...onto normal anatomy!

When all was said and done the tech took enough pics that would have stretched across the entire room. We got to see (and all the anatomy is normal and healthy) a spine, along with each vertebrate, a cute round little head, measured her tummy, measured her femur, looked at her stomach, got to see her face (one image that was more skeletal and one that look more like a face, which was cool), her feet and toes, her hands and arms, she measured my placenta (which the baby was using as a pillow), and I asked her what position the baby was laying in. They baby is in a breech position, for the moment. At this point there is plenty of room to move and flip back around.

Ok, so the part you have ALL been waiting for..... what are we having???? She showed us an image, that even I couldn't make out, and she said we are having a GIRL!!! See the pic below. What the tech says is where the arrow points to is a side ways W. It's whiter than the most of the anatomy, I know, I know most of you still can't see it, but it's there.



The next set of pictures are really fun, and my favorite two will be the last two. The next pic is of her little foot. Her toes are on the left, and her little heel is on the right. Click on the pic if you want to see it closer.


The next pic is of her head/face. On the left is the top round part of her head, a little further to the right is her eyes, a little further past her face is her two hands and arms, and a little further is her knees/legs together. Can you see her better now?


This next pic is one of my favorites. In the pic the head is on the right, looking to the left is her two knees almost against her head. If you look a little further you can see her two legs, and they are crossed like an X. Such a little lady already, love it!!


The next pic I call her paparazzi pic. It of her tiny, delicate, little hand saying "Please ...no more pictures." Cute as can be :)


So that's her! I don't think that Brint and I were surprised that she was a girl, we were more excited to see her move and see how much she has grown. Brint said the other day "I love her and I haven't even met her yet.", that just melted my heart, but he is soooo right. We just fell in love with our baby even more. I can already feel that motherly/parental love for her, and can understand how mom's that I see at work fall in love with their babies the moment they see them.

We go back for our next appointment Sept 28th, and we get to have another ultrasound. Because of the the position she is in, legs crossed tight up against her chest, they weren't able to see all of her heart, and where the umbilical cord goes into her belly. The totally reassured me that's it's all because of her position. I asked the girls at work, and a lot of them had the same "issue". The doctor, ultrasound tech, and my friends said "that just means you get to see her again, and get more pics!". Can't wait!!

What's new...

Today I can breath freely!!! Why do you ask??? Well I just bought my first pair of maternity pants ....aaaaahhhhhh. Why are we not wearing these all the time? I had finally had it yesterday when I wanted to put on my pair of "big" jeans, it gave me heart burn when I buttoned it because it was so tight around my tummy. So I told Brint "I think it's time". Not bad, I am 5months now and I haven't bought anything till now.

Well that's not true. I did buy a belly band at Target. What it a belly band you ask?? The best way to explain it is ...it's like a tube top. What you do is you put your pre-prego pants on, don't button or zip them up (usually you can't anyway - hence the belly band), pull the band over the open part of your pants, and it will hold your pants up AND cover your open drawers. Pretty cool!!!! It saves you some money, so you don't have to buy expensive maternity pants, for a while at least. It worked last month, but this month I was a vienna sausage.

So today, I went to Motherhood Maternity and tried on some much wanted jeans. Once on all I could say was .....AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!! Even the skinny jeans gave you ample room to breath. Again, why don't we wear these pants all the time. Below are pics of what I bought. I only got pants because I have a friend at work who has emptied out her closet and is giving me her maternity clothes. Yippee!!

Another reason why I like being pregnant is that stores/companies give you free stuff, samples, and coupons. Since this was my first trip to the store, I got the goody bag below. It was full of hair product samples, laundry samples, coupons galore, and my favorite was the $25 gift card to shutterfly. Yippee!!

What's new on the baby front?!

Well as of today we are 15 weeks and 4days, and going strong. I was thinking that some of you, especially those who don't live in town are probably wondering how things are going, how I'm feeling, etc. I thought I should share some of the good stories about this pregnancy, some of you had heard the stories, but most of you have not. You know when Brint and I are involved there is always a good story, so here goes (and since we don't have any pics to share, I thought I'd show you baby pics of Brint & myself)...

~The placenta brain, as we call it in the biz, or pregnancy forgetfulness as you my know it, hit me again big time. We have a monthly meeting (third thursday of every month) at church, called Branch Council, where all the Presidents of all the auxiliaries get together to bring up calendar items, welfare issues, and other church related issues that we work together on. Right after that meeting I have a PPI (Personal Progress Interview) with our Branch President, where we talk even more in-depth about welfare issues and the needs of those in the church. So these are pretty important meetings. Well, for me, that week came and went. Usually I think about those meetings days before we have them, so I can discuss with our President about the issues at hand. It wasn't even a thought in my mind. I wasn't till I received an email of the minutes taken at that meeting, and I received that email on a Saturday. GASP!!!!! Couldn't believe that I did that, I have made it to ALL the meetings since I became president a year and a half ago.

Sunday morning, after sacrament, I went up to our Branch President and gave my deepest apologies. About how it completely did not even come to mind, etc. He said ...and get this ..."That's ok, I just told the whole council that you were excused because you have pregnancy brain." NICE!!! Well, at least he was light hearted about it and understood since him and his wife have three boys. I bet they were hootin' it up at the meeting when our leader made that comment. Very Nice! :)



~I work every other Monday to help out with payroll at work. A couple of weeks ago I got off two hours early from work. Brint and I rode together that day, and he was getting of at 5:30pm. So I needed to kill some time till he was off. Where does a girl go to kill some time ......Target of course. I actually haven't been in a couple of months, I hear the gasping out there, it's just been to hot to go anywhere. Anyway, I wanted to go particularly to look at maternity clothes, and baby stuff (price things out, etc.), but of course one has to shop Target head to toe. I think I was an hour into my shopping experience, I was half way through the baby section, stopped and looked down at the floor and thought "I could really just lay down here on this linoleum, and totally go to sleep." Never in my life has a store floor look so enticing. That's when I knew it was time to go, otherwise they would find me on isle 22 curled up with a blanket. Now that's tired!



~Got to hear the baby's heart beat again last Tuesday. Brint was so excited that he wanted to recorded it on his phone. So I laid down on the table, pulled the top of my pants down a little, and Amy our Nurse Practitioner went to work. She found the baby on my right side, after some pushing on my filling bladder. I look up at this special moment, and Brint and Amy are in cahoots to get his phone to record ...don't mind me! After a couple of minutes they were done. I sat back up, got my self re-situated with my clothes. Brint was checking the recording, and Amy asked "Did you get it?". Brint said he didn't think so, Amy said no problem we'll do it again. Next thing I know I'm getting pushed (gently) back down, and had to pull the top parts of my pants down ...again.

So Amy went to work again to find the baby, looking on the right. Finally she found the little on the left, all the while pressing again on my ever filling bladder. I don't think the baby was all to happy either being pushed on. I looked up again, and there they were hovering over the phone to get the recording....don't mind me. This time it worked, whew! All kidding aside, the coolest part was when we heard, both times, the baby moving around inside. It sounded like if you scratched a needle on a record (remember those round things that played music). I loved that part. Our next appointment will be on Aug 31st, and I will be 18 1/2 weeks along. You know what that means ....we'll be able to know what this "fuzzy-gummy-bear" is going to be. So let's all pray that his/her legs won't be crossed, or be a typical Argall and be difficult. Hee, hee!

(I think I was destined to be a Jane Austen girl!)


~For my Birthday, the girls at work celebrated it with me on a Wednesday. After an a half an hour or so they (Micki, Sandie, Gwen, Teresa, Joyce, Julia, and Joy) all came around the corner singing me Happy Birthday. Micki was holding a tray full of her yummy brownies, a bunch of fresh pick "Micki's road side flowers" (she loves risking her life to get the prettiest flowers on the side of the road), and a cute ballon that everyone had signed. The surprising part was what was going up to the ballon. Taped and stapled all the way up was folded (in different shapes) money and checks. I was STUNNED!!! They said instead of bringing in food or ordering out, they wanted to make a birthday/baby fund. Words cannot say how touched I was, and still am.

Throughout the day, when I left to use the bathroom, or had to go to other parts of the department, I would come back and more money would be stapled to the ballon string. In the end they blessed me with $200. The money will go towards a crib, and some very overpriced maternity clothes.

Thank you, thank you Micki, Sandie, Gwen, Melissa, Tipton, Linda, Joy, Erin, Sharon, Ronnie, Teresa, Joyce, & Julia (and by the way Julia made the best fresh salsa ever!). My angles of L&D ...I love you!!!

(I love that curly head boy!)

Now I've been sitting here for 15 minutes and here I am again, knowing I have quite a few more stories to tell you, but can I think of them ......nooooo! Ugh, I guess until next blog posting.

**I love the pic below, because it's of four generations. In the front on the left is my great-grandma, in the middle is my mom one month before I was born, and on the right is my grandma!**

The Surprise of a lifetime!!

Where have we been???? Well let me tell you.........

After almost 13 years of marriage, and 10 years of trying, it has finally happened!!! Brint and I are expecting our first baby January 27, 2011. We are in shock and awe. We had gone to our doctor back in November 09 to talk about using fertility meds, like clomid. They told us just let them know when we are ready to start. So Brint and I were looking at waiting 6 months to a year to start. I wanted to loose some weight before we got started.

Back on May 19 I realized my monthly had not arrived, Brint was excited, but I told him let's wait a week or two before we go crazy. So by the next week, he was driving me crazy about taking a test. Finally in the middle of work on a Thursday (5/27), I couldn't stand it anymore. Marched down to the pharmacy (love that I work in a hospital), bought a test, and took the test as soon as I got back to my department (so glad you don't have to wait till the morning anymore). Well, just my luck!!! My test was as clear as mud. I had one dark line, and a VERY faint second line. Great!! What the heck does that mean????

I pulled my good friend Gwen (who's a delivery nurse and a nurse practitioner) into the bathroom, surely she'd know what that would mean. After the first shock of what I was showing her, she said "Yep, I think your pregnant girl!!" My heart was pounding by then. I decided to take another test in the am, old school style, to see if that would make a difference. So the next morning I was up at 530am to get ready for work, Brint was following me like a little boy for Christmas. I did my test, waited a few minutes, and saw the same thing. One dark line, and a second VERY faint line. Crap!?!?

So then I just told Brint that we should wait a couple more days and repeat. By then I told my good friend Micki of our new possibility, and she was just as bad as Brint. She kept saying "you need to re-test". Then that crazy girl couldn't take it anymore, and by Friday 6/4 she marched down to the pharmacy, bought a test, and I took a third test and she took the test herself. When done we compared my stick to her stick. She said "See mine is as white as the driven snow. You are pregnant girl!!"

I was about 50% convinced. I had no symptoms, except my missing my monthly and a sore chest. I went ahead and made an appointment. My first appointment was June 8th with Dr.Hunt (love her), and by then I was 7 weeks. When I got there, my blood pressure was up a little, for me, because I still wasn't convinced that I was pregnant. I told that to the nurse, and she said "Well, you have nothing to worry about, because you are.". She held up their test, and I saw the prettiest pink and blue lines I have ever seen. Dr. Hunt examined me, which was a little awkward for me since I work with her often in L&D. She answered all our questions, and prepared us for what was to come. They drew about a half a gallon of blood, just kidding, for my prenatal labs. Then set me up for an ultrasound appointment for that Friday.

June 11th was our first ultrasound. I was nervous about weather there would be a heart beat or not. Then we caught our first image of what only can be described as a "Fuzzy-Wuzzy-Gummy-Bear". The BEST part was seeing the little flutter from inside!!! The baby is alive and thriving. Yippee, on cloud nine for the day. I remember Brint leaning over me to get a closer look at the little flutter inside. It was sweet. He is the happiest guy in the whole world!!


Although it's our first fuzzy picture, and we love it, the technician moved her had a little when she captured the picture. Seconds before you could really see a shape of the little one. Oh well, just grateful for the pic we do have, at such an early time. Boy does it make it even more real.

This week we had another appointment (July 6th). I will be 11 weeks on July 8th. This appointment was for lab results, questions, and fetal heart tones. I was very nervous about that. Since the last appointment the only symptoms I've had is major fatigue, my chest is sore, and I have to make sure I eat every meal and on time. Otherwise, I feel like crap the rest of the day. So since my symptoms have been so mild, it was making me worry. Most of my friends say, consider yourself lucky. I was still worried beyond belief, thinking of friends and family that had lost a baby at the same week I currently was at. Brint and I have been praying for this baby's life, growth, and development from the first day we suspected.

However, today before we left to our appointment, we got on our knees and prayed to our Heavenly Father. So the moment came where she asked me to lay down so she could check for heart tones. She said "Now don't worry, it can take a couple of minutes to find it." Not worry ...me ... yeah right!! The whole time I kept saying in my head "Please Heavenly Father, please let there be a heart beat.". It seemed like it took for ever, and my heart was really starting to pound. I think my nurse practitioner could tell, because the next thing she said "It's ok Dayna, it's like trying to find a needle in a hay stack." A couple of seconds later she said "There it is!". She turned the volume up, and there it was. My sweet relief!! The sound brought me to tears, as I heard that little heart galloping like a horse. He or She was alive and thriving with in me. Brint was behind me tearing up just the same. The NP said "See, everything is going to ok! You are both healthy and well." She was right. I feel 100% convinced that everything is going to be ok. Although, there is a long rode ahead of us, I am looking forward to it now.

So there it is, in a gigantic nut shell. That's is where we have been, and what we have been doing these past two months. I promise my next blog will be soon, now that we are further along and I'm comfortable letting everyone know. Thanks for all your support and the faith you had for us over the years to have a family. I am thankful to my Heavenly Father for this opportunity and this blessing. This baby came at Heavenly Father's time, not our time, which makes this baby even more special for us. I can't wait to see what this little one will grow into, and can't wait for him/her to grow in the gospel.

On our church's website they have video messages, that are always beautiful, warm your heart, and bring a tear to your eye. I think this one was dedicated to me. It calmed my heart long enough till my last appointment. Please go to the web site below. Enjoy!!!

(Copy & Past Link below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbYLKVgwztY&feature=player_embedded

P.S. I have already had a placenta brain moment (or what others call "pregnancy induced ....what do you call it???" DUH moments). I had pics of my pregnancy stick and my friend Micki's pregnancy stick, to go with the stories above. When I went to down load the pics from my memory card, from my camera, instead of putting it into the memory card hole. I put it right in the CD hole!! So now my memory card is floating around the inside of my laptop. And so it starts, Mac City here I come!!!

A happy man!

I was just talking with my mom today on the phone, and we were catching up on things. I told her that I think I just made my Uncle Bill very happy. We had our friends, Katie and Ryan ...and Nicole too, over for dinner on Sunday before they left for their trip. I also had forgotten that we had signed up for the Missionaries to come over too for dinner. So in total we had seven people over, including Brint and myself.

I made something simple, and something you can make a lot of.... soft tacos!! All these people need so many plates, what is a girl to do?? Well, use the new plates she just inherited of course. So into the pantry I went to get the pretty cream white plates, that are newly washed and ready to use. These were my Uncle's party plates. He had, and now I have, twenty of these "party plates". Super informal, yet super pretty. My dinning room table, is pushed off to the side in the dinning room, so we all couldn't sit there. Plus our kitchenette table is way to small. So we all ate alfresco style on the floor around my Uncle's coffee table. One of the the Missionaries sat in the "Kings Chair". After dinner he said, "I could go to sleep in this chair!". I told him he would be one of many men who have sat in that chair of my Uncle's, and fallen asleep after a good meal.



After dinner, we had Katie's YUMMY red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. Woo, hoo! What could I put these beautiful slices of heaven on, well of course my Uncle's glass plates. So back into the pantry I went to get those newly washed, waiting to be used, dishes. Perfect!!

As, we all sat there eating, enjoying our leisurely good time, I realized how much of my Uncle's items had been used. And had been put to good use!! I could feel his presence about us, happy as a clam that we are using his items they way he use to use them. I felt a sigh of relief, and a sense of accomplishment. All I can say is, that is more dinner parties to be had. Who want's to come??

I am grateful!

I am grateful for what I witnessed yesterday! My good friend Laurin's son came home from his mission last night. We all came together to meet at the airport to welcome him home. There were family members, friends of the family, and almost our entire branch. Boy were the TSA agents happy!! Anyway, as the plane landed we all stood up as a large group holding signs, and posters. We all notice another family with their own poster, which said "Welcome Home Captain ......., We Love You". One person asked the family who they were expecting, and they said their loved one from Iraq. So we decided that our group would cheer for that soldier when he came through the door too.

Two flights came in around the same time. The first flight was carrying the soldier. It was such a great moment, he came through the door full fatigues and pack. Very surprised to see all the people, the whole airport broke out in applause. His wife ran to him and it was such a great moment. I looked around, and thankfully, standing next to me was my friend Dest who too was tearful over this moment. As soon as the applause quieted we all yelled out "THANK YOU!!". Such a great Goose-bump moment.


Then the second flight arrived, all of our hearts were pounding. Especially for our dear friend Laurin as she has literally counted down the days. We all held our breath with each person that step out, thinking it might be our return missionary. A lot of the people getting off the plane smiled at the posters that said "Welcome Home Elder Howell". A pilot from one of the planes knew what the word "Elder" meant, and quickly asked where the mom was. He talked with Laurin for a little bit.



On a side note, no matter where you go in the world, LDS church members are all alike with our similar back grounds, love of the gospel, and support for each other, even if you've never met. Love it! After some time, that much anticipated Missionary came through the door. His mom and sisters just went running, and showered him with love, while we all cheered and applauded. Again, it was a great moment!

I am so grateful to have experienced these two young men return home , one from protecting our country, and the other spreading the gospel. They volunteered to leave their family for long periods of time, protect and changed the lives (for the better) of people whom they'd never thought they'd meet, they both fought for good against evil, and were watched over closely by our Heavenly Father. I feel comforted knowing there are young men like these protecting our world both physically and spiritually.

For the love of California!!

I have been helping quite a few people lately plan their trips to visit California. With all the talking that went on, and some blogs that I follow, made me yearn a little for home. So what is the best way of bringing a little bit of your old home to your new far away home?? The internet of course.

I spoke with people about San Francisco and the ocean coast. All the nook and crannies that made my life a sweet bliss. Everything in our family is based on food. We say "Oh if you visit there, you must eat at such and such!". Well I did it, I carried on the tradition. "Fooding" my way through California.

So what was my first thing I droolingly (I'm full aware that "fooding" and "droolingly" are not words, yet they best paint my picture) spoke of???? Well, of course, if your in San Francisco you MUST visit the Boudin bakery (hey, Samantha Brown did a show about it!!). Where, as my stomach starts to growl, you get the BEST sourdough bread in the world. Then they push the envelope further, by making it into a bread bowl with a creamy, potato filled clam chowder!! I'll wait a minute, while you wipe the drool off your keyboard.....


In fact they even have a "what kind of bread would you be?" quiz. And here is what I am ...explains everything!!


Anyway, I went on line and (THANK HEAVEN FOR TECHNOLOGY!!) looked up the Boudin bakery web site. Wheerrrreee, you can buy loaves of their heavenly bread. This sweat, savory, tangy, crusty bread. That is ONLY made in San Francisco since 1849 .....and that is Sour Dough Bread!! Here is what showed up at my front porch. (Props to Timber and Kiki for not tearing open the box ...brave FedEx man!)


Amen brother!!

Here is the rest of the pics of the heavenly items we received!!


The hardest part was trying not to rip open the bags and go at it. I put one immediately in the freezer, before it was harmed in any way. The second I put in the pantry, behind dishes, till Brint came home. That night we had some toasted buttery slices with our dinner. Boy was it worth the wait. I missed that flavor, texture, and twinge in your neck from the sour dough. Aaaahhh!!

Of course the whole time, I was thinking of the person who introduced me to this heavenly bread. Well, and "fooding" your way through a trip. I have a pic of him in my kitchen, as that was his fav place to be, and to entertain!! I think the pic of the Boudin bread and my Uncle Bill says it all (click on the pic to see it close up, I just unpacked the green stemmed wine glasses he has on that table. And last week I washed those white dishes!).



Now, another place I've told my friends to go, it to a small town just out side of Monterey. Can any of my Calif. friends guess it?? Castroville, the artichoke capital of the world!! I told my coworkers about a town where ALL it was, was a town full of farms that grew artichokes. Artichokes that are grown right up to the edge of the ocean cliffs. Artichokes, that are kissed every morning by the misty ocean fog. Artichokes, that are from the size of a small cell phone, to bigger than a baby's head.

So now I have one friend in particular ready to sign up. We looked up the web site to a family farm that I knew of, and apparently Martha Stewart too (she just did a show there). The farm is called Pezzini Farms. The prices are amazing. She decided to order them online (Again~ THANK HEAVEN FOR TECHNOLOGY!). The next thing you know they were shipped straight from the California soil to her house in North Carolina. I totally scored, as she gave me a big ziplock storage bag full of the baby artichokes. These are the kinds where you snip off the tops, to get the thorns off, and toss them in the steamer. Then ....wait for it ...you eat the WHOLE thing!!! Aaaaahhhh!

Here are the little beauties just steaming away!

Sorry that these next pics are blurry, my camera was getting low on battery juice, and refused to take the pics with the flash. Rude! Anyway, I know everyone has their own love of what they dip these little yummies in. Some with butter, some with mayo, and some with dipping sauces. As for me and my home, we use mayo!!

I served these jolly green minis with a pan seared and wine glazed pork chops, fresh chive mashed potatoes, and some Boudin bread. Which I regret that I didn't get a pic of, since the slice was already in my mouth!

The nice thing about these little guys, is that you don't have to worry about the prickly "choke" in the center. You just eat it up! So what is your favorite food and from where. Do go "fooding" through your trips?? Please say Brint and I are not the only ones!?!