Week 1 Results

4 LBS

The bulk of the weight loss I experienced this week happened right at the beginning of the week.  And I started my week counting a night time weigh in before my diet started.  To make my number more realistic, I went ahead and used the number from the morning of Day 2.  Even with that adjustment, the bulk of this weight was lost in the first three days.  I have been at the same number for a couple of days now.  It's kind of discouraging.  But the fact that I legitimately lost four pounds this week is awesome!

The past several days have been frustrating for two reasons.  One, I haven't seen any real loss.  Two, I am still in my ten pound range that I've been playing with for the past two years, so I don't really feel like I've made any progress whatsoever, yet.  I am about three pounds away from the point where I will start feeling like I am seeing numbers that haven't been on my scale for years.  That will hopefully feel good.

I am finding that losing weight is a mental battle.  Sometimes awesome weight loss is discouraging because I realize how much I still weigh even WITH the loss.  It is a huge reality check about how high I really let my weight get.  But I guess that is just all the more reason to stick with it.

This week I wasn't even tempted by a snicker's bar that a series of unfortunate events caused me to purchase.  It is still in my back pack. I made cookies with my kids, and didn't eat one.  (I did taste a small nibble of one, though, and I am not sure they turned out very well, so that definitely wasn't temping!)  I also attended a scouting dinner and stuck with my own diet bar an hour after everyone else had eaten (since that was the schedule my food was on that day.)  I think I've done well in resetting my relationship with food this week.  And it is getting easier.  I think having  some more pounds fall off in the coming days will really help keep the motivation up, so I hope that happens.  I knew the weight loss would slow, but the first few days seems to have such huge variances that I was really hoping to get rid of the first 16 pounds insanely fast.  I'm still hoping that I can accomplish that goal in the first month.  Those 16 pounds is my first "goal" because it puts me into the "overweight" category instead of "obese".  I am currently 12 pounds away.  Oh well, 12 pounds away is better than last week.

And seriously, four pounds in a week is awesome if not a little scary that it is perhaps not healthy or sustainable loss.  So I should be happy.  And although there are a lot of little voices in my head trying to ruin the celebration, there is a part of me that feels quite good about what I've accomplished.

What This Semester Looks Like

My sister-in-law recently e-mailed me with some cute questions, trying to get better connected with what I am up to these days. I decided that I would just post the answers here so everyone can know what I'm up to this semester.

I totally didn't realize you were already 2 weeks into school! How has it been??

So far school is going well. It is still just a major adjustment period. We have all sorts of crazy changes happening in our schedule right now, so I feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants. In another week we should be done with all the changes and just ready to settle into the routine. I'm looking forward to that.

How many credit are you taking?

I am taking 11 credit hours and I'm kind of bummed to have so many. I only have 17 left to graduate, so I was going to take 9 this semester and 8 next semester. Unfortunately/fortunately, I realized I had a class I needed to add in for applying to the graduate program, so that threw in an extra three credit hours that doesn't help me at all towards graduation. Oh well, it's only for 4 months, right?

What classes are you taking? Are they ones you like, or do you dread some of them?

I have four classes. They are: Adolescent and Emerging Adulthood, Social Psychology, Social Work as a Profession and Field Study. They are all fun classes. The only thing I dread is trying to keep up on so many at once. I have always done best at school when I only have a few classes. My preference is to only have two at a time. Living at the U, I was required to have at least three. Throwing in the fourth class is kind of stressful for me when I still get to be the mom and do school around my kids schedule.

I have taken a lot of development classes, so Emerging Adulthood is more of the same - just about development in the teen years. I've enjoyed taking the different development classes. Last semester I was in Infant and Childhood development so I got to learn about the phase my kids were just exiting. This adolescent stuff might be a little more interesting. We'll see. This class is online.

Social Psychology is one that I am SUPER excited about. It seems to be dealing with the psychology of people in the context of different setting etc. We have a great book called Taking Sides that will give differing views of some of the major debates in the field. For example, last week we talked about whether or not it is ethical to have a study where the people in the study don't know/understand what is being studied. It was an interesting thing to consider. This class is also online.

Social Work as a Profession is the class I need for the graduate school prerequisite. It is a great class and I am SO glad to be taking it. The only problem is that it was taught at TERRIBLE times. I only had two options about when to take this class, and the one I ended up with (because it was the better of two evils) is Monday from 3-6 at the U. So basically, I am gone on Monday from 2:00-7:00. Andy works nights, so this means I need a babysitter who can get my kids from school and feed them dinner. It just makes me sick to be missing in action that long on a week night when they are already fatherless every single night. But it is what it is. I have realized that it is a way bigger deal to me than it is to Ammon and Peter. My mom watched them the first day, but I got home super early because it was the first day of classes and it just ended early. Last week I had a friend from our old ward watch them. That made it not as long because they were with me during the travel time. Yesterday was Labor Day so I didn't have my class. But from here on out they are both in school so I can't take them with me which means it's going to be the whole time. I asked your mom to watch them the next two weeks since I don't think she starts her job until after that. I had considered the idea of getting a babysitter from the ward, but that would cost a few hundred dollars over the course of the semester and tuition ended up being a lot more expensive than we had planned. Plus, I just decided I was more comfortable having them with family. My mom's house is just as close to their school as our house is (just the other way) so it shouldn't be too hard for it to work out. Right now I am just taking it a week or two at a time.

My final class is called Field Study. I am excited about this, but it makes my schedule crazy. This is the class that pretty much takes my volunteer work and translates it into credit hours. I need to do three hours of volunteer work per credit hour. I am taking two credit hours which means six hours of volunteer work every week. In addition to the volunteer work, I also have meetings for class (about one a month) and assignments (a couple of papers) that I need to do. I think just taking another online psychology elective would have been easier and less time consuming. But this will give me quality experience and also look good on my graduate school application so it's worth it. I really had to talk myself into being OK with taking on so much stuff this semester and I am partly overwhelmed by everything I am trying to do. But it just feels like what I'm supposed to be doing so I'm trying to have faith in that and just do everything as best as I can.

Are you having to travel up to the U every day?

So this basically got answered already, but just to clarify - I only go up to the U on Mondays and about once a month on Wednesdays. It's not bad. But when we moved I didn't know I'd have to do the Monday thing, so that was kind of a bummer to find out.

Day 4 - Why I Like My Diet

I don't think I've ever spent more than about three hours attempting a diet.  I have always tried things that were less extreme.  I'm a big believer of the "all things in moderation" concept.  But I have never been good at finding the appropriate level of moderation.  Sometimes I would be TOO strict and run the risk of boycotting my weight by not having enough calories.  On days like that, I might grant myself some unhealthy food just to meet the minimum level of calories.  Other days, I might splurge on a treat or binge at the end of the day because I had room left in my diet.  So basically, I would often be super careful and strict to the point of unhealthy, and then find an unhealthy correction to the problem.  This diet keeps me in a schedule where calories are steadily and consistently rationed out to me throughout my day.  In addition, it gives me one meal of "real food".  The portions allowed are really generous, and I get to develop my culinary skills and taste buds to familiarize myself to healthier types of meals than I would usually eat.  I don't know if this diet is for everyone, but it's a great fit for me.

Day 3 - Getting Easier

I did it!  I heard that the first three days were the hardest, and I think I believe it.  Today I wasn't nearly as hungry.  In fact, after my lean and green, I was completely stuffed!  The food is getting more palatable.  It's amazing how good things can taste after you've spent three days starving yourself...

Anyway, it's been a good day for the diet.  Andrew and I were out today and I kept wanting to stop and get stuff.  You know - the stuff I probably wouldn't have really gotten anyway, but the fact that I couldn't made it torture.  I wanted a candied apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.  I wanted a candy bar from the check out lane at Target.  I wanted a hot fudge sundae from McDonald's.  Don't even start to ask me about the dessert menu at Applebee's.  And then there was the pizza at my sisters house that her husband had loaded with extra toppings that looked amazing.  In fact, you should have seen me drooling over Peter's Kraft macaroni and cheese (I hate Kraft mac and cheese, by the way).  Anyway, I'm still experiencing a LOT of food triggers, but I did it and it's getting easier.  I felt good all day and was never really physically hungry - just emotionally wanting.  I have never really thought of myself as being a food addict, but watching myself go without it makes me see things a little differently.  It's been kind of fun and interesting for the budding therapist in me.

The fun thing about this diet is that I think it will help me learn to really love cooking an entirely new way.  I think I will learn more about flavoring with herbs and spices and how to cook more with vegetables and create deliciously palatable healthy things.  I figure I can start slowly by learning to cook these things on a small scale for my lean and green meal, but eventually I will feel comfortable with it and start pushing it on my family too.  Tonight at Applebee's I ordered a from their 550 calorie and under menu.  I had a steak and this delicious portabello mushroom stuffed with spinach and topped with a slight amount of parmesean cheese.    The flavors were delicious.  It tasted so rich.  And yet it was so low-calorie.  That's what I am hoping to learn how to do.  Tomorrow I want to make these great stuffed peppers that I have had before from SkinnyTaste.com  It will be yummy.   

Day 2 - Loss and Mourning

I was drinking water like crazy, so it wasn't really a huge surprise when I woke up at 5:30 in the morning to go to the bathroom.  I was immediately depressed.  My entire day was being planned around my eating schedule, and yet I wasn't going to have any real food to speak of.  I wondered if I could really do this.  Again, I reminded myself that I was committed and that I really wanted to accomplish this goal.  I had started the program with a "let's try this and see" sort of attitude.  But as I went through my first day I decided that I would stick with it at least long enough to shrink out of the "obese" category and into the "overweight" category.  (About 18 pounds.)  I reminded myself of my first goal and recommitted.  Then I went back to sleep.

In some ways, the second day was easier.  I knew what to expect with the medifast "food".  I tried to keep myself occupied between "feedings".  I continued to drink lots of water.  My meal of real food wasn't scheduled until late at night so I could eat with Andrew.  It gave me something to look forward to, but kept me with a pretty bleak eating day.

Despite the struggles, it was an exciting day.  I knew that this was going to work if I would just keep doing it.  I spent the day dreaming about the thinner me and found myself incredibly impatient.  It was like pregnancy when you just obsess over every aspect every minute.  I tried to do some reading for school, and I did.  But there was a lot more I could have done had I not still been so distracted by all of the feelings associated with dieting.  There is hunger, excitement, depression, loss, and enthusiasm.

The kids wanted a really basic, unappealing meal again, and though it would have been against my normal routine to give it to them, I took the easy way out for my second night.  And when Andrew came home he grilled up some delicious chicken that I ate with a cucumber and lettuce salad complete with a homemade salad dressing mixed with a little teriyaki sauce.  It was delicious and worth the full day wait!

In the mean time, Andrew spent this day remembering that he had opted against the diet because he felt comfortable doing his own thing, so he determined that he had better get started on doing his own thing so he could lose weight with me.  It's great to have such a supportive spouse!

Day 1 - What Was I Thinking?

I really thought I'd have this diet thing licked.  No big deal.  I had been using DoTerra's Slim and Sassy oil which I felt really did help reduce cravings and even feelings of hunger.  My dad talked about being always hungry on this diet, but he eats a lot more than I do and he wasn't using the slim and sassy.  And he had stuck with it, so it couldn't have been that bad.  I woke up excited to eat my first "food".  I had "chocolate chip pancakes".  They were N.A.S.T.Y!  Disgusting!!!!  They tasted like protein powder and it was hard to get them down.  That was the first time I started to wonder what I had gotten myself into.

But I was going to lose weight!!!  I could do it.

Three hours later, when it was time to eat again, I was hungry.  I pulled out a Lemon Meringue granola bar.  I had heard that most of the food was pretty terrible, but that the bars were what made this diet do-able.  I was excited to have branched out to a citrus sort of flavor.  I had to gag it down.  It was terrible.  By this time I was feeling pretty deflated.  And hungry!  My slim and sassy, which had been great for me in days prior, was no match for this diet.  I started to mourn the loss of all food and wondered if I would ever be able to have anything yummy ever again.

The way the diet works is that you eat five of the medifast meals and then you have one "lean and green".  For example, I am allotted six ounces of boneless skinless chicken breast and 3 cups of lettuce, so a salad is a great option.  I can have two tablespoons of dressing and a couple of other random extras during my day.  I started playing with the idea of ordering a salad from Wendy's.  I knew that my dad did a lot of restaurant salads for his lean and green and the diet was working for him.  When I looked it up, I was surprised that the salad would more than double my daily calories.  And it didn't exactly fit the diet requirements.  On the other hand, it would put my daily calorie total at 1230, so really, that was healthier.  On the other hand, if I was going to commit to medifast, then shouldn't I try it their way?

In the end, I felt that I "needed" something to get me through this first day.  I asked my grandma more about what my dad was doing for his lean and green meals, and she confirmed that he did a Wendy's salad all the time.  So I went ahead and had a nice lunch out with Grandpa.  I took the entire day of any school responsibilities and just gave myself that day to make the diet work.

I quickly realized that I was a social eater.  Every time Andrew would call home on a break, I would be triggered into wanting to make a food plan for when he got home.  At one point I even found myself daydreaming about him and me ordering a pizza to eat later that night after the kids were in bed.  (Something that we have rarely if ever done, so it was a weird thought.)

I had planned ahead and allowed the boys to have quick and easy microwaveable dinners for themselves.  They were super excited and thought it was a special treat, and I didn't have to cook for them.  That helped.

I drank tons of water, which means I was constantly in the bathroom.  Every time I went to the bathroom, I would step on the scale.  I wanted immediate results.  When I looked at the depressing number, it just reaffirmed how much I really needed this diet.

I went through some major feelings of loss, mourning the fact that I would NEVER be able to eat real food again.  I missed the idea of nachos.

By the end of the first day, my weight did seem to already be down a few ounces and it helped.  The day had been a lot harder than I expected it to be, but I had done it.  I was excited to keep going.  I had heard that my Aunt says the first three days are the hardest.  But my dad said it never got any better for him.  I decided to go with the three day theory and decided that if I could just get through the first three days, I'd be good.

I went to bed hungry, mourning the loss of food, and excited about the weight that I hoped would be falling off of me.

Diet

My dad recently went on a diet.  He has been fighting with type 2 diabetes for several years now, and he was at the point where he could no longer stave off the need for insulin.  Having daily insulin injections is something he absolutely did NOT want to do.  So, despite his love for food, he went on an extremely rigid diet.  He must have been really motivated, because he stuck with it!  And the pounds started falling off.

On the other hand, I was monitoring my weight closely, and though it kept fluctuating in a five pound range that I was able to kind of manage, it was at the very top range of any weight I'd ever been at in my life.  And it kept jumping to the top number a lot quicker than I was  happy seeing.  I suddenly realized that if I wasn't careful, I would soon outweigh my 6'3'' father.  

I just couldn't let that happen.  The diet my dad was on was something he had heard about from my Aunt.  I was interested in it when I had seen her on it, and after seeing my dad's success I became even more interested.  I started playing with the idea of going on the same diet.  It was going to be a huge financial commitment as it is one of those programs where you buy their food.  I called Andrew up and asked, "What if we just tried it out?  I can order a months worth of food and you and I could each try it for two weeks."  He wasn't thrilled and asked if we could talk about it when he got home.  My biggest concern was the money.  But I quickly realized that his hesitation was different - he just didn't want to try it.  He's always been more successful about managing his own weight on his own than I have.  So I tried again.  What if I just try it for a month?  He said that it was up to me, and if I wanted to, he would support me.

And so, for the first time in my life, I invested a couple hundred dollars into a diet program.

I was excited.

I thought, "I can do this!"

And I waited anxiously for the food to arrive so I could get started.

While waiting to start the diet, Andrew and I made one final caloric splurge on Astro Burger.  I felt gross and the scale knew what I had done.  A couple of days later we had a more acceptable binge as we split a Red Mango.  The next morning my diet began.

The diet I am on is Medifast.  I ordered it before I realized I had some concerns about it.  The biggest concern I have is that this diet reduces your calories to under 1200 a day.  Everything I have EVER heard about dieting is to never drop below that magic number because your body will go into starvation mode and start hoarding fat instead of releasing it.  But I've seen this diet work first hand, so even though it was scary and a little bit unsettling to pursue an option that seems so contrary to common advice, (and since I had already ordered the food) I decided to try it.  The way it works, you eat at regular intervals, every three hours, all day long.  I think this constant incoming of food is what prevents the body from going into that starvation mode.  Andrew's biggest concern was that I will be able to lose the weight on this program, but as soon as I go off of it, I will gain it back.  I'll admit, that's my concern too.  But there is a good transition phase and then maintenance phase that is designed to help.  I guess I'll face that challenge when I get there.

Life is Good

Do you ever feel completely overwhelmed with the joy in your life?  Sometimes I am not sure what to do with these feelings.  To ignore them seems ungrateful.  To acknowledge them in the wrong setting seems boastful. Hopefully this setting isn't completely inappropriate.  For some reason I just feel compelled to share some of the thoughts I've had recently.

One thing that has taken me completely off guard is how much I LOVE my house.  I mean, it's just a house, right?  But it's not.  It's MY house.  Every time I back out of the driveway and pause just for a moment I am struck with the fact that my house is amazing!  It is modest and humble, but cute in it's own way.  I love our yard, even though there are plenty of improvements we want to make to it someday.  When we first moved in, I never even went downstairs.  I genuinely didn't know how to live in this much house.  I am acclimating, though, and last night I found myself inside, feeling the same way I do when I look at my house from the outside.  I love being IN my house and just living here.  When we first looked at this house, I didn't really think this house was my dream, although I knew it was among the best we looked at in our price range.  But after living here, I found that this house IS my dream because of the way it fits us.  We feel so comfortable and content here.  When we first got married, I was afraid to buy a house this size.  I remembered being part of an eight person family and outgrowing a house this size.  I didn't want to get stuck in something so "small".  But my family didn't grow to be nearly the size I had originally imagined or anticipated, and I have found that anything larger would be overwhelming for our family of four at this point in our lives.  I LOVE how perfectly matched we are for this house and how well suited it is for us.  I just didn't know that a person could be filled with so much joy and love for an inanimate object.  It's just a house.  But it fills my heart on a daily basis - and the feeling surprisingly grows in me and is getting bigger and bigger every day.  I feel so blessed.

Another part of life that sometimes surprises me is the amount of romance I feel on a daily basis.  We are coming up on our eleven year anniversary, and I sometimes feel like we are still in the newlywed phase.  (Or maybe back to the newlywed phase would be more accurate as married life hasn't always been a pile of roses for us.)  Just as my house fits our family so well, my husband and I fit each other so wonderfully.  It is a great blessing that I don't go a day without feeling awed by and grateful for.  In some ways, Andrew and I are really different.  Somehow we seem to compliment each other in our differences, though.  His weaknesses are my strengths, and my weaknesses seem to be his super powers.  In other ways, we are so very very similar and it is nice to have common goals, ideals, and perspectives on life.  I love having a husband who flirts with me every day, kisses me often, and always tells me he loves me.  Over the years we have learned about each others love languages, and so we can sometimes adapt to certain forms of communication when the other is feeling particularly low and needs some extra love and attention.  But for the most part, I feel like love just pours out in all of the different languages and is a constant, flowing part of our daily interactions.  When he is gone at work, I listen to love songs and sigh like a love sick teenager, anxious to be in his arms again.  Once he is home, we usually spend our time together.  One advantage I always felt we had by living in apartments together for a decade, is that we never learned how to be apart at home - there was never room.  We do so much together - the chores and the play.  It suits us both and we like it that way.

I can't write a post about my good life and not mention my precious children.  They are each such a blessing to me.  My favorite teacher was my third grade year and Ammon seems to be following suit.  Every time I ask him the best part of his day he tells me, "My teacher."  Ammon had a really great first grade teacher who I know just genuinely understood and loved him in a way I thought only his mother ever could.  When you love someone so intently, it's always nice to have someone else see them the same way that you do.  It is validating and so rewarding to know that someone so precious to you is seen as precious to someone else.  I thought the experience with his first grade teacher was a once in a life time deal in terms of a teacher/student relationship.  But he seems to be blessed with another great teacher who day after day is noted as being the highlight of his day.  It makes my heart happy.  Likewise, Peter seems to be with a teacher that works for his personality.  It is so fun to see him taking on the responsibilities of homework and diligently working on getting his handwriting just right.  He loves everything about school, from the schedule, the routine, the sociality, the responsibility, the learning, and the play.  He and I spend many mornings playing Uno and SkipBo together.  I love the time we share.  So often I wish I could get a recording made of him working on his homework or playing games.  He has such a personality!  (But he always acts differently when I turn on the camera.)  

I know that the joy in my life comes as a great blessing from Heavenly Father.  Sometimes we say things like that and it seems to imply that when we aren't in such a "cup runneth over" with joy phase, that perhaps it is because He doesn't love us.  That's not true.  I've had plenty of phases when life has been more of a struggle than it is right now, and He loved me through all of those times, too.  Sometimes, letting us go through those harder moments are actually the demonstration of His love.  The strength and peace He gives me through the hard times as well as the indescribable joy He showers me with in the good times are both great blessing for which I am extremely grateful.

Back to School and Other Fall Activities

Ammon started the school year off with a bang.  When I went to pick him up from his first day, he wasn't there.  It's our first year at his new school and even though he has a history of disappearing on me, I was getting pretty upset when I couldn't find him.  I searched around the building.  I checked in with the office.  They paged him.  I searched inside the building.  I checked back at the car.  I looked in the office again.  No Ammon anywhere.  Ammon's teacher came down to the office to talk with me.  The office workers asked if we should call the police.  I said I would call my mom instead.  I asked her to go searching the roads between the school and home.  I didn't want to leave the school grounds until I knew where he was.  We paged Ammon a few more times.  His teacher searched the building while I searched outside.  I kept waiting to hear back from my mom.  I tried to call her and didn't get an answer.  I didn't know if she had forgotten to take her phone with her or what.  After checking out by the car again, and realizing that the school had turned into a ghost town, I started to lose it a little.  The people in the office encouraged me again to contact the police, so I give the go ahead for them to make that call.  I spoke with the detective.  I called Andrew and filled him in on what was happening.  I still hadn't heard from my mom.  The police sent out two detectives - one that would go straight to my house to look for Ammon, and one that would meet me at the school.  By this time there were enough people at the school looking for Ammon that I felt safe leaving the grounds to drive around myself for a minute.  Just as I was getting into my car, I received a text message from my mom saying she had found him!  For some reason one or both of our phones just wasn't connecting right and our calls just weren't getting in touch with each other.  I ran back into the school to let them know we had located Ammon.  On my way into the building Andrew called to tell me he was coming home.  I let him know that we had JUST located the boy.  Ammon had decided to walk home and at least he had headed in the right direction.  I was worried that he wouldn't be sure.  By the time my mom found him he had actually missed one of his turns and was coming back, a little confused.  I'm glad it turned out OK.  This is just a classic example of Ammon's adventurous spirit.  He has had a lifetime of heading out on his own and just not worrying about whether or not I know where he is.  Ammon is just fearless that way.

We had fun at Ammon's first pack meeting with our new troop.  They welcomed him and he even got to select a scout cheer.  We had a police officer come and talk about honesty.  It was a fun activity.

We had fun going to the hospital to meet the third of three nieces being born this summer.  My brother spoils me with his beautiful red-headed daughters.  I just adore them!  This little girl is no exception.  Of the three babies, this was the only one we were able to meet in the hospital.  It was fun to go see her so tiny and new.

One crazy Wednesday evening, my sister invited us to attend the Brigham City open house.  It was a crazy hour long drive each way in addition to several hours at the temple itself.  We did this after school and after Ammon's first piano lesson with his new teacher.  We got home around 10:00 at night the night before Peter's first day of Kindergarten.  I was skeptical about whether or not it would be worth the exhaustion and potential crabbiness.  It totally was.  The long night and tired next day are already forgotten, but the memories of the temple remain priceless.  Ammon was big enough that I could easily whisper in his ear and tell him about the different things we were seeing.  His favorite part was the mirrors in the sealing room.  Although he confessed with amazement, "I thought they were special mirrors, but they are just two ordinary mirrors that hang across from each other."  Peter had a great time scoping out all of the pictures of Jesus throughout the temple.  He was particularly excited when he recognized the picture that is in the front of the Book of Mormon.

Peter's first day of Kindergarten went well.  He somehow managed to be in the opposite class of pretty much EVERY kid in the neighborhood.  But he did luck out and get his cute cousin in his class.  They were completely precious on the first day of school.  I'm happy for him that he is already so comfortable and content with going to school.  He has always loved being out with other kids his age.  I can tell that he takes his school work very seriously and he even works very hard to make sure his coloring is as neat as possible.

For the second month in a row, we attended a baby blessing on the first Sunday of the month.  Little Emma had one of the more memorable baby blessings I've seen in that the Bishop actually forgot about it!  The Sacrament hymn had started before Emma's daddy had to go remind the bishop of the schedule.  As it turned out, there were also some newly baptized members that needed to be announced as well.  Afterwards we enjoyed a fun afternoon with the extended family who were all there to celebrate this little baby.  

After years of hard work and effort, we finally had the opportunity to celebrate Peggy's graduation, passed test, license and new job in the nursing field.  When Andrew and I first started house shopping we told her that if we had a new place, we would love to host a party for her.  Well, we got our house, and we were excited to be able to follow through on our offer.  Everyone in Andrew's family was there.  We had great food, fun and games.  Kara made her mom a Texas sheet cake from a family recipe.  Jennifer planned some great relay races for the kids.  It was a great night!