Sunday

Today we played with the kids & went to church with Lincoln's parents. They spoke today in church & gave great talks. I was crying so hard during my father-in-law's talk...he was talking about his grandkids & included Jackson in the grandchildren count. It really touched me. I know he won't read this, but I was so thankful to him for including him like that.

Here are Lincoln & Reaves...this kid is hilarious! He is so cute & sweet. Everyone thought Reaves looked like Lincoln when he was born. Can you see the nephew/uncle resemblance? Linc is such a good uncle!

Before we left town we went to the cemetery. Hopefully next time we go, there will be a headstone on Jackson's grave...we picked one out on Thursday & are just waiting to get the proof so that we can ok it & they can make it! We are so excited about it!

We had such a great weekend with all of Lincoln's family. We never want to come home from Snowflake! We love it there & we LOVE the company there! Here's to yet another fabulous trip to Snowflake!!!

My 25th Birthday!

I know this sounds so ridiculous, but being halfway between 20 & 30 really freaks me out! This past Monday was my birthday & it was such a good day. I had some very nice bday songs sung to me by my nieces & nephews & friends, & received gifts, texts, phone calls, cards, etc. It's so nice to feel so loved!

The first part of the day was pretty uneventful. I slept in & talked to a few friends. Linc had worked the night before so he was sleeping. After he woke up, the fun started!

Here are the Moak girls (they live next-door) & I just hanging out watching tv. I LOVE these girls! They really are some of the cutest kids I have ever seen. They provide me with much entertainment & really know how to cheer me up! It was fun to have them over for a few minutes that day. Thanks girls!

After that Lincoln & I went to Joe's BBQ for dinner. For those of you who haven't heard, Joe's gives you a free sandwich, side, drink & dessert on your bday! It was so yummy! I really took advantage of the bday freebies this year. :) After dinner we came home to change & as we were walking up to the door, I could see streamers inside our house. I was thinking that maybe Lincoln had planned a surprise party & all I could think was that my kitchen wasn't clean at all! Well, to my relief nobody was there. Brandon & Christa have a spare key to our place (since I lock myself out every month or two) & they had come over and decorated the whole downstairs with streamers & balloons. Christa also cleaned our kitchen! I was a little embarrassed, but very grateful. THANK YOU CHRISTA!

They also left a ton of cupcakes on my counter...white rainbow chip cake with rainbow chip frosting, which is my FAVORITE, along with all of the other preschoolers in the world. :) There was also a gift & card on the couch. When I opened it, here's what I found...

a foot massager! I tried it out that night & it felt so good! We ended my birthday by going to Steve & Erica's house to play Rock Band & eat some yummy cake that Erica made. We got home at about 12:30am & I couldn't sleep, so Linc being the nice husband that he is, stayed up until 2:30am with me, watching The Bachelorette. I used my new foot massager & then Linc gave me a good old-fashioned foot rub. What a day! Thanks everyone for making it the best birthday ever!

My Hottie of a Husband

I really like this picture of Linc. I am kind of obsessed with this guy. He treats me so well when I am so sick & worthless, who knows how he'll treat me when I am actually normal & productive? Hmmm.....This was at my parents' house last week...he helped get the food ready. Don't you love the apron?!

Tagged

5 things on my list of things to do today:
1) Go to sleep (it's 2:22am)
2) Get rid of the nasty smell in my house from the RAW MEAT we accidentally left in the trash when we went out of town! Now I will TRIPLE-CHECK the trash before we go out of town again. :)
3) Unpack & clean
4) Make & deliver Primary Softball invitations
5) Set up an eye doctor appointment

Snacks I enjoy:
1) Cold cereal
2) Dill pickles
3) Wintergreen lifesavers (I get so excited when I find the ones that crumble)
4) Yoplait yogurt
5) Spoonful of peanut butter :)

5 things I would do if I suddenly became a billionaire:
1) Buy a bunch of clothes (I don't usually buy clothes...& I need them!)
2) Get Lincoln a big truck that he can get lifted as high as he wants
3) Go on lots of trips with Lincoln!
4) Hire a personal chef to make me yummy healthy food for every meal!
5) Buy a house with a big yard

5 places I've lived:
1) California
2) Gilbert, AZ
3) Mesa, AZ
4) Thatcher, AZ
5) That's it!

Jobs I've held:
1) Day care
2) Bahama Bucks
3) Woods Construction receptionist/secretary
4) Legal assistant...kind of...I don't know what it was called. I just was a witness for signing of wills, did secretary work, etc.
5) Arizona Stone receptionist...I kind of miss that job! (I know Tyra, you're probably laughing right now, but I really do!)

5 things people don't know about me:
1) I have a freakishly long tongue & can pick my nose with it (but don't worry, I don't)
2) I'm really good at word games
3) I used to eat live cockroaches when I was a baby
4) I don't like talking on the phone
5) I get overwhelmed really easily...it's something I'm working on :)

I tag.....anyone & everyone!

Pain Management

I went to a specialist last week & he told me that he thinks I have something in addition to my endometriosis that is causing my pain. The same afternoon, my ob/gyn called & told me that he thinks the same thing. These doctors hadn't talked to each other, so it really surprised me that they would both come to the same conclusion on the same day. In a way I am relieved because I have always been told that my case doesn't follow normal endometriosis cases. I am really worried though, because I have NO idea what else I would have. Obviously it isn't something that has shown up in ultrasounds or surgery. The specialist thinks I might be having pain in a different area than the problem is in (I can't remember what the name for that is). Anyway, until we figure out what is going on, the specialist wants me to start getting massages regularly & also wants me to do acupuncture. I am wondering if anyone knows of any cheap places to get either one of these things done. I've heard that if I get a note from my doctor saying that these things are medically necessary for me, that my insurance will cover it. That would be great if they would! I need to do some research in that area. Anyway, thanks everyone for your support! I really appreciate it!

Straight A's!!!

Congrats to Lincoln for getting straight A's this semester! I am SO proud of him. He never really had to study in high school, so he knew that he had to develop good study habits when he started college. He has definitely done that! He's awesome & is really so incredibly smart...it blows me away how much he knows about EVERYTHING! I'm really excited to be able to spend time with him this summer. No more school until August! We couldn't be more excited about that! It was a long semester!

Aaron's going to state!

This picture is from last year, but it's the only one I have of Aaron running hurdles. His prelims were last week & he qualified for state in both of his events! He is running in the state prelims tonight & will run at least one event on Saturday night. He is really good & has improved his time by so much this year! In the 110 meter hurdles he got 14.5 seconds...for anyone who doesn't know, that's a great time! I'm really proud of him. We are excited to watch him run on Saturday! He was also invited to run hurdles at the Adidas nationals in Cali this summer...WAY TO GO AARON!!!!!!!!

Update...

Well, this is just going to be a boring post with no pictures...so you don't have to read it if you don't want to. :) I know that I make random posts on my blog about my health & that I'll say I am feeling good & then I'll talk about how much pain I'm in...so I've realized it's probably kind of confusing. I also will tell people I am fine when I am actually in a ton of pain or having a really crappy day. So I decided to just tell you exactly what's been happening. (Please don't think that I hate my life though, I just hate the situation!) So here's what's going on: I haven't worked at all for the past 2 or 3 weeks (luckily it's for my parents & I just work when I feel good); I'm on some medication that has lots of stupid side effects because it makes my hormones go crazy, which makes my endometriosis grow back faster; on bad days I take about 6 Vicodin a day & on good days it's probably 2 a day; I think I fell asleep after 5am four nights last week & slept until 1pm two of the days; I am really stressed with this whole situation, which makes everything so much worse. Lincoln is working full-time & going to school full-time. It's hard because he is trying to provide for us but we really need some more income & I am too sick to work right now. He is so busy it is ridiculous...we really don't have much time at all to spend with each other.
However, I want to tell you about a few things that are going great in my life! First of all, I feel good every Sunday. I seriously think I have missed two Sundays, because I was sick or in pain, since I was put into the Primary Presidency (last July) & that in itself is a miracle. Before I was called, I missed church about half the time & actually told the bishop that I'd accept the calling, but that I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to fulfill my responsibilities at all. I am about to cry as I write this...Primary has been the biggest blessing to me. I know I've mentioned this before but let me tell you why. The kids have so much LIFE in them...they just make me want to live better & be happier. There are three girls in Primary who have come to my house to give me pictures that they drew & I absolutely LOVE that! This calling makes me feel like I have something to offer, & I am actually able to accomplish things in this area in my life. I seriously go to church feeling good & sometimes within an hour after I come home I am laying on the couch in pain. Most of the time I feel good the whole day on Sunday though, & then Monday hits and I am in pain/sick the majority of the week. I seriously have to sometimes lay on the couch all day for 3 days in a row (of course eating & showering in between :) ) but come Sunday I am FINE! I am seriously SO blessed!
One other thing...I have a good marriage. I can't say that we don't fight, I can't say that we haven't made each other really upset before, because we definitely have! We are SO different from each other, so we think it really is so strange that we ended up together. But now we are starting to see WHY....we teach each other things every day. We are so open with each other (maybe too open, I don't know) but I can say that we are great friends. We try to look past each other's faults (& trust me, there are some big ones with us both) & help each other with our struggles in life. Sometimes all I can think about is having a baby, but then I stop & think about how we are supposed to put our relationship with our spouse before our kids. I realize that Lincoln is my life right now, and that children will hopefully come with time, & I have REALLY learned to enjoy the fact that we've been married for 4 years & aren't raising a child or two. Of course this was definitely not in our plans...most of our marriage has been COMPLETELY different than we had expected or even hoped, but it's good. We would love to have Jackson here, we would love to be pregnant again, we would love a lot of things...but we are learning to embrace our situation. It makes me realize that Heavenly Father knows what I need SO much more than I know what I need. Anyway, I just wanted to share an update but it turned into more..... I do want to thank those of you who always ask how I'm feeling. It means a lot to us! Thanks!!!

Night Out With the Girls

This picture is actually from a few months ago, but I saw it on Ashley's blog & wanted a copy. This was for her bday & all of these girls are or were in our ward. Since most of our ward consists of the townhouses, there are tons of couples our age in our ward. This was a really fun night! I want to always remember these awesome girls & the things that they have taught me!

Helping Gavin

My friend (who happens to be Lincoln's cousin) Bethany & her husband Andre have a little boy with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. His situation is getting worse & he is in need of a liver transplant. They are trying to raise money to cover all of the expenses & have already received quite a bit. They still need help though, & I figure since Lincoln & I won't be able to donate any money, I could post something about it in case someone can. Click on the picture above to go to Gavin's website. I really admire the way that Bethany has handled this trial. I can tell that they love Gavin so much & want the very best for him. Please help if you are able to!

Last-minute Trip

Lincoln's family called us on Saturday morning to see if we wanted to come up to the cabin. I had some things planned that day, but was feeling really sick anyway, so we decided to drive up there. It was just what we needed! We took a walk in Camp Lomia, hung out by the fire, played cards, spent time with our nieces & nephews...it was so great. When I am on vacation I don't have a care in the world...I love it. Our drive home was really good...Lincoln & I had an awesome talk. We seriously have our best conversations on the way back from Pine & Snowflake. I am thankful for the time I was able to spend with him. He teaches me so much about myself & about life. Linc is studying for finals this week so it was great to get some quality time in. I keep forgetting to take pictures with Lincoln & I in them...I guess I'm just too obsessed with these cute kids! They make me so happy!!! I'm also SO thankful for Lincoln's parents & siblings. They are so great to us & we really enjoy spending time with them.

3 MORE MONTHS!

Well, it's official...in less than 3 months both my brother & sister will be home from their missions! Melissa on July 10th & Shawn & Stetson (my cousin) on July 30th. I don't think I could be any more excited. The picture of my sister & I is from when she got her mission call. I had had Jackson about a week before that. I am really close to her. She has always been my best friend. Now she is tied with Lincoln for that title. :) I can't wait to talk to her on the phone & hang out & just laugh with her. I was 7 months pregnant when Shawn left...man, so much has happened since he left! Sorry about the flash in Lincoln's face...it was the only picture I had. Shawn & my cousin Stetson (in the last picture) went to the same mission on the same day & they come home together. If you knew these two you would laugh because they are such good friends & have done so many things in their lives together. They played together when they were little, went to Prom together (well, in the same group :) ), graduated together, went bungee jumping together...it's so funny. We didn't believe Stetson at first when he opened his mission call & said he was going to the same mission as Shawn. They get to talk to each other and see each other a lot in the mission too. I am SO, SO happy that they are all coming home so soon.