Rank

My house smells (read, reeks) of dark meat chicken.  I do not like dark meat.  At all.  I don't like the taste or the smell or the feel or even the look.  Jeremy does not share my picky palate.  And he likes that dark meat is moister than white meat.  So, in an effort to be a "good wife" back in March, I bought a package of chicken thighs to cook up.  For him, not me.  I split up the package into 4-thigh baggies.  I found a baggie still in my freezer.  Ugh.  So I am boiling them to make chicken fajitas (probably the only way I'll be able to stomach them, as they can be camouflaged with fajita seasoning, salsa, and sour cream...).  So now my house stinks like dark meat chicken.  I'm not that worried about being a "good wife" ;).  I will (and frankly have already) return to my white-meat-only buying ways.  Except for when I get a rotisserie chicken (which is rarely).  Then he can eat all the dark meat :).

Why did you care about that?  You didn't.  But it sounded like an entertaining way to start my blog post.

January has been quite the month, let me tell you. Some of this will make sense to some of you while for others it will not make sense at all.  But I'll tell the whole tale nonetheless.

A couple weeks before the end of 2012, we went to church and there was an announcement that there was a big meeting of 2 different wards (church congregations) on January 6th, and we would be discussing a ward split/boundary change.  Basically, our congregations are assigned based on your address.  This is because the same things are taught regardless of where you attend church -- we have a lay ministry, and having an assigned congregation keeps congregation sizes manageable.  There are probably other reasons for this, but that's a basic summary.  Naturally, there was a lot of speculation about where the new boundary lines would be drawn, etc.  January 6th came and we found out.  And it turned out that my mom and I are now in separate wards.  They took two very large wards and created 3 out of them.  This was a somewhat crushing blow for us who worked together in Primary (the last 2 hours of church where the kids ages 18 months to 12 years go for classes), because it meant we lost our secretary, and she was a rock star.  So we had a lovely little celebration at our last presidency meeting that following Friday.  We gave Tawni flowers and "pampery" gifts.  We had hot chocolate and no-bake cookies.  And we just enjoyed our last time all together in that capacity.  Below you can see us all.  Tawni is about 3 weeks behind me in being pregnant.

While we were just so sad to lose Tawni, we were still glad that the other 3 of us were still there and intact.  We have worked well together for almost 2 years, and we had it down pat.  But then, that seems to be when things get shaken up.  New opportunities for growth.  So last Sunday, I got a call from our newly called Bishop (the person who presides over our congregation).  I knew when he said he wanted to speak with me and Jeremy that it would involve a new calling.  I was bummed.  When I mentioned it to Christina (who was the Primary President), she said, "So you know?"  Ummm...  No, I didn't at that point.  So Jeremy and I went in to talk with the Bishop, and I was asked to serve as the new Primary President.  I was to find out later that Christina was called to serve as the Relief Society President (oversees the meetings, etc for the women 18 and older of the congregation).  Holy. Cow.  Talk about daunting!  So, I do believe the Lord calls us to serve in various capacities because it will help us grow and learn in new ways.  Yes, I've been in Primary for a while now.  I know how things run.  But now the responsibility is mine.  I have counselors to help me and to counsel with as we strive to call teachers for these wonderful children who will teach them of their Savior and all those good things.  But the responsibility is mine.  And so...  Life changes.  I find it most interesting, the way "The Lord [really is] in the details of our lives."  Jeremy and I have been going along, trying to accomplish various things.  Sometimes the answer was no; other times it was yes.  And now, I think I see why.  You see, that house we wanted to buy would have put us in another ward.  And, in fact, if we had gone to look at the other apartment we were considering, that would have as well.  Do I think the Lord had a plan for me, and He opened and shut doors to keep me where He needed me?  I absolutely do.  I am happy to serve, even if it does feel overwhelming.  I also know this will require a lot of my time.  And isn't it amazing that I was able to quit my job -- and now have that extra time?  Yes, a baby is on the way.  But by then, we will have a routine in place again, and I have two wonderful counselors who will be able to take over while I am focusing on my first priority: my family.  Anyway...  I'm still bummed that I won't be working with the fabulous ladies in the picture above.  But thanks to the fact we became friends, I still know we'll see each other and hang out.  In fact, we already did -- last Thursday night :).  And it was a blast!

So that's that news.  On to the baby stuff.  Since I'm sure that's more exciting for most people anyway.  Here is a picture of the outfits I bought.  I like thrift stores.  I know I'm a first-time mom and I'm probably supposed to be wanting brand-new stuff.  But babies grow so fast, and I just can't see spending the amount of money for brand new when I can go to a thrift store and get nice things used and just wash them.  You can see it's a lot of yellow.  Well, that's because we don't know if we're having a boy or a girl.  And we won't be finding out.  There are moments I think it would be cool to know.  But the surprise seems so fun too.  I know about 4 other pregnant women at church, and they are all having boys.  So will we break the mold?  Or follow the crowd ;)?  Baby clothes are SO SMALL!  It's amazing.

 

Below is a shot of our living room.  Things are pretty much hung up and done now.  I'm loving home.  It's cozy and inviting.  And so roomy!  But that's so nice too, because now I can actually invite people over.  Tomorrow I'm having a little craft/pinterest get-together.  With a hot chocolate bar (because who doesn't love hot chocolate?).  I'm pretty excited about it :).  

 

This is my most recent bump picture (23 weeks).  People are really noticing the bump now.  I don't just look fat now.  Yay!  In fact, today I went and bought maternity pants (again, at a thrift store -- for $1 each!).  I have reached the girth where I can no longer button any of my pants.  The beband has been saving the day (the inventor of that thing was a genius), but I think the actual maternity pants are going to be so much more comfy.

And here is what I consider the worst ultra-sound picture in the history of ultra-sound pictures.  I mean, it says there's a face there.  But seriously.  I have seen way better.  But then, I am just guessing.

I will say my ultra-sound experience was less than awesome.  Mostly because I'm a worrier.  But also because I had this idea of how it would be (based on Hollywood...  So you know how I was probably way wrong).  I just thought the u/s tech would be bubbly and warm and happy and excited for me.  My goodness.  This woman was cold and clinical and kept blowing out hot air.  She would say things like, "Baby has a bladder, so we know it has kidneys."  And then silence (except the hot air blowing) for minutes.  She only turned on the heartbeat sound when she wanted to measure the heart rate (167 beats per minute).  And she kept measuring the head and this spot on the brain (which Tawni told me last Thursday is totally normal, but she's had 2 previous babies, and I haven't, so I thought this might be a bad thing!).  And of course, she wouldn't say anything positive or negative, really (I realize she's not allowed to, but man alive!).  And when I asked if there was anything I should be concerned about, her response was, "Why would you ask that?"  Wow.  So I allowed my worry to rule me for several hours and bawled my eyes out to Jeremy that something might be wrong.  In the end, I got the results from my doctor, and everything is fine.  And now I know for next time that I shouldn't worry so much.  And also that Hollywood glorifies everything (shocking, huh?).

I feel baby daily now.  The other night, Jeremy had his head on my stomach to see if he could hear anything, and the baby kicked twice right where his head was.  That was the first time he was able to feel the baby, because every other time, the baby would refuse to move as soon as he put his hand on my belly to feel it.  Haha...  A good kick in the head.

And by the way...  Feel free to share information.  As you can see, based on the ultrasound experience, I am clueless.  So I won't view advice or info as unsolicited ;).