levi's birth story

my baby will be one week old in a few hours. i have never had a week fly by so fast and it's kind of freaking me out that this is the speed in which he will grow up...time needs to stand still and let me enjoy this precious little human!

so, for the birth story! first, cory and i lived in about four states during the course of my pregnancy-several months of which were spent in a hotel. thus, i saw four ob/gyn's as opposed to one midwife which i would have preferred. i wanted to have a natural birth but really didn't do anything until maybe three weeks before he was born when i bought a book on hypnobirthing. i still haven't finished it (we did pack it in our hospital bag. i guess i thought cory would read me statements of affirmation like "my body was specially designed to have this baby". HA. to be fair, i did listen to the hypnobirthing relaxation tracks after my water broke on the way to the hospital and in the beginning. however, i dispensed with the ear buds real fast when people kept asking questions and i had a blood pressure cuff and IV hooked up to me. i also used the visualization technique of blowing up a blue balloon through contractions.

i had not had any real contractions up until after my water broke, so i was really surprised to be 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced at my 35 week appointment. my next appointment was scheduled for december 24 at 8 am and i was eagerly anticipating the doctor's report, as i had felt lots of pressure but no "contractions". in hypnobirthing, those are called "surges". tuesday, december 23, i had a normal day-walking the dog, cooking, cleaning, reading etc. i made dinner and cory and i decided to stay in as opposed to going to a christmas party. we watched the office and got ready for bed a little after ten. we were both looking at our phones when all of the sudden, i felt a huge gush come out of me (TMI) and i jumped up and ran to the bathroom, saying excitedly "cory! my water just broke!" he replied, "are you sure that's what it is?" and then "wow! that's a lot. like a waterfall!" we didn't really know what to do since i wanted to labor at home as long as possible, but i hadn't had any contractions. i called the doctor's office and they transferred me to the hospital. the nurse said to come in right away, but we took our time. and by that i mean, i put on makeup and then we put the last few items in our bags. i started experiencing little contractions shortly after my water broke, but i wasn't timing them and they weren't painful enough to incapacitate me. i remember walking down the sidewalk to the car and there were some ladies talking outsides and i was thinking, "wow. i'm on my way to have a baby and they're just living life". the car ride was quiet, as i listened to my relaxation tracks and focused on breathing.

we made it to the hospital and slowly walked into the emergency room because it was after hours. i had pre-registered but it still felt like we were standing at the desk doing paperwork forever. we walked to the elevator and rode up to the room where levi was born!

i changed into my gown and began experiencing REAL contractions. i was kneeling on the bathroom floor, not wanting to move when the nurse came in to do the full check. i think we were all shocked when she said i was 7 cm. when did that happen?! as the contractions happened, my resolve to go natural slowly disappeared...i was laying on my side and then moved to the side of the bed where i just sat with my feet on the floor and my hand squeezing the bed rail. i didn't want to talk or anyone to talk to me. occasionally i would bark, "cory, rub my lower back" or "cory, rub my arm". i kept telling the nurse i needed to go to the bathroom, which is a sign you're close to delivery, but we were waiting for the doctor to show up! i had tested positive for group b strep, which no one told me until that night, and i had to have penicillin. in the beginning of my pregnancy, i threw up A LOT and just that day, i had told cory i would most likely throw up during labor. i fulfilled that promise, and the nurse only gave cory a cup to catch it in and he almost lost it himself. the nurse kicked him a trash can, but he was okay. TRUE LOVE. that also is another sign that the baby will be arriving soon.

i had decided against an epidural because i was progressing quickly and i was so close, that i felt like i would regret not going natural later. it was probably like 2:30 am and i laid on my side and told the nurse i NEEDED to push. i had said that several times earlier, but the doctor wanted me to wait just a little longer. at that time though, the nurse came in and said it was okay. they put my legs in stirrups, and told me to push when the contractions hit, 3 counts of ten while holding my breath. this was contrary to hypnobirthing where you "breathe your baby out". i was so happy to push because it meant i didn't have to endure the pain of contractions. i had been mostly silent throughout the contractions, mostly i was so tired, falling asleep in between contractions. when i started pushing at 2:45, i didn't quite have the hang of it, even though i was really trying. it really wasn't painful, mostly it was annoying that i was trying so hard and it was not successful (in my  opinion). i had my eyes closed most of the time. and they wouldn't let me move my legs, so that was probably the most obnoxious part because i pushed for an hour and having my legs bent back like that without being able to stretch was quite uncomfortable! i had a nurse on one side telling me to push, a tech on the other side holding my leg back and cory holding the other leg. everyone was shouting encouragement. cory attempted to feed me ice pebbles because i was SO hot and sweaty :)

finally, the doctor said she needed to give me an episiotomy, so she gave me two numbing shots and soon after that i was able to push levi out! it felt really slimy and the doctor and nurse immediately yelled, "it's a boy!" cory and i were both laughing and tearing up.

 i kept waiting and waiting for the "ring of fire" but it never happened-i'm not sure if it was the numbing shots, or the fact that the contractions felt more painful than anything, either way i'm grateful! i did end up with a second degree tear which the doctor stitched up afterwards. i had wanted to delay cord clamping but by the time i said that, it was too late. it was okay though because levi's umbilical cord was really short. cory cut the cord, a nurse cleaned up levi and then i was able to hold him for almost an hour while we called family and fawned over our sweet baby. levi was born at 3:44 am on wednesday, december 24, 2014. his original due date was january 10, 2015.

after an hour or so, cory went with levi to the nursery so he could do all his tests and get some shots. he was 20.5 inches long and 7 lbs 8 oz. he got a 7/8 on his APGAR exam and he didn't pass his hearing test. we will go back next week for a follow-up. cory and i were taken to my postpartum room about 5 am where we slept for maybe an hour or so, while they monitored levi in the nursery. they brought him in after the pediatrician examined him. miraculously, i felt back to normal that day, but they wanted us to stay until at least friday morning so they could make sure levi didn't have any of the group b strep since i wasn't able to get the full dosage of peniciliin before he was born. the nurses were great and cory was such a champ the whole time, sleeping on the couch and changing levi's diapers. we had some friends come and we spent a lots of those 2 days facetiming family and friends. levi picked up on breastfeeding quickly which was a relief to me! he was at the middle level of risk for jaundice but when we went back to the doctor on sunday, he was fine and back up to his birth weight! makes sense considering he wakes up every 2-3 hours consistently to be fed for 30 minutes. SHEESH :)

in retrospect, i feel SO blessed to have had what i feel like was an awesome labor and delivery experience. truly a miracle! i have tremendous respect for people who endure labor for FAR longer than i had to, as well as mothers of multiples or babies in the NICU. women are amazing and the ability to grow and birth a human is a spiritual and life-changing experience. there really is nothing that can be compared to the high you feel after birthing your baby. i can't adequately express my love for little levi and how perfectly he fits into our family.  i had no idea what i was missing until he came into my life.

our story series: wedding

cory and i got married april 21, 2012-the saturday at the end of finals week at BYU. it also was two days after cory's brother chad came home from his mission and the week my brother erik graduated from college. with those two big events, finals, bridal showers and bachelor parties and dinners...it was kind of a crazy week!

saturday morning, i woke up in a bunk bed in a room i shared with my sister at a house my parents rented for the week. i got ready and went with my parents to my hair appointment at lunatic fringe. we quickly headed over to the salt lake city temple, and i was so excited/nervous/is this real life?! we sat in the lobby waiting for the groom for a looonnngg time :) our wedding day coincided with the SLC marathon, so traffic was kind of crazy since the streets were all blocked off. my mom helped me get ready and then cory and i waited to go into the sealing room. we were sealed for time and all eternity by a wonderful man who said, "i love you, but honey what did you do to these tacos?" i remember my mom shoving my veil into the back of my hair and how we wandered around the hallways trying to find a. cory or b. an exit. we got the flowers and then cory and i made our exit to see all our family and friends! there were many pictures and we wandered around the temple. i'm so grateful we had so many friends and family there :) 

lindsey steward of green apple photography did all our pictures and she was phenomenal at wrangling spots around the temple. cory and i did pictures until about 1-my parents stuck around, so my mom could help me out of my wedding dress. cory and i headed over to jamba juice and there were some girls who complimented me on my outfit and hair and i just felt giddy thinking "i was just married! it's my wedding day!" my mom made sure that i didn't have to do any work that day, and i will be eternally grateful to her for that. we showed up at the reception and changed and took a few more pictures. our reception was held at the old meeting house in murray, utah. i loved it because it had a vintagey feel and allowed us to have good lighting (for me) and it was indoors (we weren't sure about the weather). i really loved all the decor and personal touches-my mom had so many good ideas. 

we had a ring ceremony before the reception for family and friends who were not at the temple sealing. the only little hiccup that day was that bishop hill was late to the ring ceremony because he thought it was at 7, not 6:30. but of course, everything worked out! i loved having the traditional walk down the aisle with my father and to exchange rings with cory in front of our loved ones. 

we had a full spread of food, including salmon, brie en croute (which cory said was apple pie, ha), fruit, meatballs, cupcakes, and many flavors of lemonade. our wedding cake was delicious and beautiful-a layer of snickerdoodle with cream cheese filling, chocolate with raspberry filling and italian cream with pineapple filling. i loved the photobooth and the pictures we got from it. i had fabulous yellow heels on but my feet were killing me by the end of the reception (we stood the whole time) and i had a pinched nerve in my big toe for two days after. 

one of my favorite things was the chapstick wedding favors-which we still have floating around in our closet :) the only thing i regret about my wedding day is that i didn't do dancing! cory and i don't dance, but i went to a wedding after we were married and the dancing was so much fun! i really can't complain though because it was such a perfect day. 

it's a baby movie 35 weeks and 5 days

BABY YAWN

BABY RUBBING EYE (or as cory's dad says, is pulling his "signature move" #thecraig)

my loves.

cory: how can i even sum up how hard you work? or how motivated you are to do certain things (like compile, format and print out addresses on envelopes for our christmas cards)? you get to work early every day, unlike practically all your co-workers at other offices. you never leave early, much to my chagrin :) i can tell how much you truly strive to help your patients and i know they can tell too. you've been so great at balancing work and having to take me to do errands; i wish you could know how grateful i am that you never complain and we always make it work, even if i don't get to go to all my stores or you don't get to relax that night. i love that you've been so snuggly lately-it's so uncharacteristic of you, and it makes me so happy when you pull me over to cuddle with you! you have put together and tested out everything we've gotten for the baby (with a teddy bear) including the pack'n'play, the car seat, the ergobaby and my wrap. most men would hardly care, or have to be begged to assemble those things. you were a rockstar helping with the church christmas party! and you don't seem daunted in the slightest by your new church calling (EQ secretary). right now you love oscar's breakfast burritos, grabbing my belly to talk to the baby, getting the car washed, all the mail/packages we've received and eating those little chocolate donuts you always "sneak" into the grocery carts.

baby: we can hardly wait to meet you! i almost thought i was going to have you yesterday after five hours of constant pressure during and after church. luckily, it went away. i mean, we don't even have the car seat installed yet or have a hospital bag or diaper wipes or a pediatrician! whoops. guess i should be working on all those things, instead of blogging? you love, love to kick me in the top right rib and in the bladder (which literally feels like someone poking your internal organs with a sharp fingernail or knife). you move ALL the time and i really do love it. if only you would move when people touch my belly :) i have my last ultrasound this week and i am intrigued to see how big the doctors think you are because i feel like there's no more room in my body for you to grow! you love when i laugh and i love when you hiccup (at least a few times a week). it really did seem like pregnancy flew by, even though in the beginning the weeks seemed to drag on. i got a hypnobirthing book and am going to try to have you naturally, but we'll see. i'm still working on convincing (daddy?-i haven't said that yet, it feels weird) to get in the birthing tub with me at the hospital. also, you give me the most swollen feet ever, i still love you though :)

sienna: i guess you count as one of my loves, seeing as i tear up at any dog story these days. you've been pretty great adjusting to life here in tennessee, especially in an apartment. i'm glad you're sleeping more, because you are not going to get as much attention when the baby comes! we can't say so many words around you cause you're so smart-the newest is 'park". you love the dog park right next to our building. i do too. so convenient! and i like taking you for walks to get out of the house every day. i do not like how you jump on the bed when i'm sleeping and nestle in the crook of my legs, meaning i cannot move the blankets and that i am forced to the tiny edge of bed i originally claimed. your morning food schedule has been off the last few days meanning i've slept in until 7-7:30 twice without waking up at our customary 5:30. you make me feel loved and safe and even though you have bad breath and whine, i'm grateful you're a part of our lives. now we just have to find a chocolate lab christmas tree ornament!

give thanks

it was a whirlwind november! cory & i bought a queen size bed during the veteran's day sales, but we didn't expect so many visitors back to back. however, it was so lovely to have the gresses, then cory's parents stay with us. trey may be coming this weekend but we'll see. the next person to arrive will be our baby and then my mom!

shelly & craig made a huge sacrifice in coming out here because they worked all tuesday, then drove through the night (usually 10 hours, but nearly 14 with traffic/accidents) to get to tennessee! cory took me to my doctor's appointment that morning and then we headed up to his office in nashville because the doctor's office took FOREVER. cory's parents met us at his office and he tested their hearing (perks of being related/married to a HIS). they were tired, so we went home so they could nap and we finished up last minute thanksgiving shopping. we took them to jim and nick's bbq for dinner, where i was less than impressed with the food. such a bummer! everyone was tired, so we went home and played games.

thanksgiving day! i was excited to put on my first thanksgiving, but at 34 weeks pregnant, with just cory's parents (not big eaters) and us, i was not planning anything super fancy. however, we did a nice gold tablecloth and linen napkins (under $15 from kohl for all!) and we used our wedding china for the first time! i made: orange and sage turkey, spinach/vegetable stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, squash, fruit salad, cranberry sauce and we bought some rolls and sparkling cider (my favorite). shelly made her yummy chocolate pie (and gravy to go with the potatoes)! it was a feast and nobody ate too much, so we had leftovers for days :)

cory's family loves to bargain shop, so black friday is widely celebrated among his relatives! it was my first time going, and even though it was MUCH better than i thought it was going to be, i don't think it's something i will voluntarily participate in. it's a lot of work to narrow down the best sales, get the items in a timely manner and wait in line! shelly was such a pro-her boss was PAYING her to get christmas presents for his family-and she knew all the deals at all the stores. we went to best buy and walmart with her, and none of the really good black friday deals were marked, so you either had to know what you were getting or wander around with the ads.

friday morning we went to a cowboy boot store in nashville where cory and his family all got boots! it was quite a dilemma for everyone to decide on boots-they had quite the selection. we stopped at a mall in franklin to check out some more deals. we ate dinner at chuy's, the best mexican in town (at least that we know of)! on saturday, we did some more shopping and returns and our day was kind of interrupted when the hills' car battery died! luckily, everything worked out and we got the car fixed and made it home to rest for a bit. we tried to see "interstellar" but it was sold out, so we ended up having a quiet night.

on sunday, it was so fun to have shelly and craig at church with us, especially since cory gave a talk! they had to leave soon after we got home and we took long naps. those two are like energizer bunnies and make me feel like an old woman :) it sure was fun to have them out here. i'm so grateful for family!

friends!

our friends matt and katie came into town for the weekend before thanksgiving and it was SO much fun! cory and i haven't really had a chance to make friends since we left provo in may, so it was such a treat so spend time with some of our best friends, who we are so comfortable with!

on friday after they flew in, we went to martin's (a barbecue restaurant featured on diner's dives and drive-ins) in nolensville, tn. it was kind of out in the country and there was a buck in the road as we drove into town! i think it's my favorite barbecue place we've been to, thus far. WARNING: apparently southern cornbread is a different thing from the rest of the world's cornbread. it is like a corn pancake and it is not good. we went home and played games and i stayed up later than i have in months!

saturday: we had a yummy breakfast (i'm slowly loving breakfast foods, thanks to the ease in which it takes to make a german pancake). afterwards, katie graciously took family pictures of us at the stones river battlefield. we then went up to nashville, which is not much of a city. chicago sure has spoiled me and now i have these terrible expectations! we walked around the capitol, the library, the ryman musical hall and then to broadway street! it was pretty cool as there was live music pouring out of every bar and on the streets. cowboy boot stores everywhere! we went to the cutest candy shop where a train carried fresh-made taffy around and sampled pralines and admired fancy rice krispie treats. continuing on our barbecue exploration, we ate at the peg-leg porker! i've come to realize that barbecue is SO different everywhere you go, even within the same city. personally, this place wasn't my favorite, as they had a limited selection but i think the boys really liked it! after, we went to a local board game store and got "sheriffs of nottingham" and proceeded to play that!

sunday: we went to stake conference and then relaxed the rest of the rainy day! we ate chili and played games and talked and watched "pitch perfect". this late in pregnancy, i am all about relaxing, so this was so great, especially with close friends.

monday: matt and katie flew out to DC for thanksgiving and it was a sad day!

i am excited for all the visitors that will come in 2015 to see the baby. it really is such a delight to be with those you love and i'm glad the gresses reminded us of that :)

it's a baby

squishy baby face!

i went in for my glucola test and an ultrasound at my new OBGYN today and this was one of the pictures we got. look at that face-it looks just like cory :) everything looks normal and nobody is worried about anything but me because we found out that baby is measuring at 4 lbs 10 oz! typically a baby at 31 weeks is 3 lbs and 6 oz. so i'm kinda freaked out we are going to have a monster baby...

the house is all unpacked and put away and we are expecting house guests (our friends from school and then cory's parents) in less than two weeks! life is moving FAST and i still only have a diaper bag and a pair of baby moccs. oh well :)

third trimester!

i am entering my 28th week of pregnancy and i can't believe it! although 3 months seems so far away, when i tell people "12 more weeks," it starts to get really REAL. did i mention we still have nothing for baby? did i mention we actually don't have anything in our apartment besides two suitcases, two camping chairs and an air mattress? the baby will be cool with that, i'm sure.

i don't feel nervous about having the baby or the baby being here-what i am stressed about is finding an OBGYN and getting the baby stuff. frankly, i just can't wait to sit on my new leather couch or in a soon-to-be-purchased-rocking-chair-i-hope cuddling my sweet child. i think living for two months with my 3-4 month old niece helped me realize that babies can get by without all the fancy things baby registries tell you are necessities. the surprise of finding out my baby's gender is also lending labor a surprising appeal. i've read many birth stories and looked at all sorts of pregnancy and birth checklists and i have formulated my goals, but i'm also pretty flexible regarding birth and baby.

first trimester was defined by sickness, which spilled a little into the second but maybe about once a week until week 18. after that, i was HUNGRY and it didn't help i was living with my own gourmet chef, my mom. i felt great for the most part-no jogging or working out as hard. i didn't really watch what i ate, but i made sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables each day. i've experienced lots of body aches over the last few weeks, mostly in my back and recently....sore feet! i craved salty foods a lot during the middle weeks (i always wanted cheetos or nachos, not that i ate them....often). i tear up or cry anytime i read or hear anything sentimental. i also LOATHE sleeping on my side. that's about it!

here's a progression of my belly over about 15 weeks, it's getting so big. i don't love gaining weight everywhere but i do love stretchy maternity clothes. i feel very grateful to be experiencing this and i'm so thankful for everyone's love and support and excitement. cory and i cannot wait for our little boy or girl to join our family in january!

peace & blessings

2014 has been a crazy year for us, and i feel the need to publicly express gratitude for the MANY blessings we've experienced over the last few months. cory and i have had to make many life-changing decisions, we've encountered many obstacles, yet as i write i feel so much peace and love for my heavenly father and his blessings.

cory began looking for jobs after graduation in winter 2013 and spent many hours perfecting his linked profile. we went to career fairs, networked with family and friends and read lots of books/articles on life after college. he had about three main options by winter 2014 and we had to really think about what was best for us and our future family. we would've ended up in alaska, oklahoma or somewhere that would be a total surprise to us (with accuquest). with scheduling, cory couldn't fly out to illinois for his third interview with accuquest until the beginning of april (a mere three weeks before graduation!) and was told they would most likely extend him an offer. we waited over a week for that offer and finally, after a few emails from the VP, HR sent him the offer. it turns out they had sent the offer to cory three days after his interview...to the wrong email address. nevertheless, we felt so grateful and sure that this was the job for cory, even though it meant i would be hanging out in a hotel all summer with sienna.

we had packed our two suitcases for the summer in the extended stay, booked a cruise, booked a moving truck for our cross-country trip when i found out i was pregnant. it was SHOCKING. we had been trying for less than six months, but i was convinced we couldn't have children and was emotionally working through that. it had been a hard five months and i was planning to work once cory finished training. in retrospect, i have NO doubt it was the Lord's timing at work, because with the morning sickness i experienced my first trimester, i would not have survived work and school. another blessing of being pregnant at this time was that i could help pack and move (several times, so far this spring/summer), and that i could be with my family for part of the pregnancy. also, i think i would've gone crazy for two months in the extended stay if i didn't feel so sick. blessings in disguise!

the plan was for cory to train in illinois for two months, then complete his last month of training in august in indiana. my sweet parents came down to chicago and got sienna and i to take back up to minnesota for the month because i was still feeling sick, but getting better, thus boredom was setting in. it was surprisingly hard for me to be away from cory. maybe it was the hormones, but when he found out the company was keeping him there for another month, we were both a little bummed. he hadn't done as well with his sales his first two weeks, but he did phenomenally the last two weeks and by that point, the decision had been made. one of the doctors said that they felt bad they kept him there for september because he obviously didn't need to stay. HOWEVER, the Lord has a plan and cory did great during his second month and ended up with the highest averages in the region and was placed in tennessee with TWO offices, instead of the customary one. i was holding out for south dakota, we kind of expected to move to california or pennslyvania since they had many openings in those states, so when cory said he'd be working in murfreesboro and franklin, it caught me totally off-guard.

it was tricky planning our move to tennessee because we had less than two weeks until he would start work down there and the company wanted us to either live in the extended stay or find a short-term lease. did i mention that cory and i really have never spent time in tennessee, nor do we know anybody who lives here? after a few days of looking non-stop on zillow and craigslist, we realized we would just have to move here and then find a place to live. a house was out of the question because we may really be here less than six months, and apartments charge way more for less than yearly leases, oh and there's crime to consider, too. we had one apartment complex we were really holding out for, hawthorne park south, and they had an opening when i called friday morning. we were making the trip two days so we could spend some time with friends, meaning we wouldn't get to tennessee until saturday night and we had an appointment with the leasing consultant at 1 on sunday. well, we drove down to murfreesboro on sunday to find out they had sold the lease right before closing on saturday. we were devastated and kind of at a loss. i mean, we had back-up places but we really wanted to live in those apartments because they are so nice, safe, clean and fit our budget. we drove around to about four other apartments and toured them with no real love for any of them. we were disheartened when we went back to the hotel sunday evening. on monday morning, we went to the first place i had on our list, one that several church members lived in, and it reminded us of BYU housing. it was a few miles from MTSU and we could easily fit a 3 bedroom apartment into our budget and it seemed like it would be great. they were older apartments, but for the space and price and overall atmosphere, we felt like we could live there and completed the application. during the tour, i got a call and voicemail and i knew before i listened that it would be hawthorne park south. they weren't going to have any openings until mid-november. i had felt such a peace that morning driving down, as well as the impression that i should call them, which i figured i would do after touring the first few places on our list. anyway, our first-choice apartments had miraculously had a two-bedroom apartment open up that was available for immediate move-in. we went over, filled everything out, found out we were approved yesterday and now we are waiting for the head's up from cory's boss to sign the six month lease. these are blatant MIRACLES in our lives. i could go on and on, like how we had to get a doctor's note yesterday and called and went to many places without success but in the afternoon, cory was finally able to get all his records from all over the country and get the doctor's note signed. and, we found out sienna had lyme disease two days before we left, and we were able to get her help and on the road to recovery within 24 hours. i don't know what we would've done if her symptoms had shown up even 48 hours laster, while we were on the road, away from a vet. i just feel SO blessed and i know that it is the doing of a loving God.

as i stated in the beginning, this has been a crazy year, especially for two people who love planning SO much. cory and i have literally had to put our trust in the Lord so many times this year and even though things haven't happened when or how we thought they would, they have always been for the best. i just want whoever reads this to know that these incidents may seem like luck, but i know without a doubt it is my Heavenly Father shaping our lives in accordance to our faith in Him. mostly, this year has been a learning experience for me about timing and trust, and gratitude. i could go on and on, and i hope that many other blog posts will follow this theme.

p.s. i would be remiss if i didn't mention the blessing of a healthy baby :) he/she is doing well and kicking all the time! 13.5 weeks left!

our story series: engaged

miraculously, my mom's mom called me one day in september/october and said she had a diamond ring from her mom's mom (my great-great grandmother's wedding ring) that i could have if i wanted. oh, i wanted! she sent it down and i loved it. this is one of my most precious possessions, a ring that's over 110 years old, passed down through my family, with a matching wedding band cory and i designed to fit the antique ring-past and present. cory also has a gorgeous wedding ring from his maternal grandpa-white and yellow gold, and it goes beautifully with my rings. we have such wonderful and generous family members and i love the stories of our rings. so since i've gone on about rings, you guessed it-we got engaged!

i knew when we dropped off my ring to get sized and when it should be done and i was anxiously awaiting that ring's arrival on my finger! i had no idea how cory would propose, i think we had a temple date set for saturday, april 21, 2012. it was wednesday, october 26 and my roommate and i were going to meet cor at his roommate's basketball game. cory says we took forever, but i maintain it wasn't me, because if i thought i was getting engaged, i would've put more effort into my outfit (black v-neck, long burgundy cardy and moccs), and thus more time into getting ready, therefore, it probably wasn't me. meanwhile, cory was at the smith fieldhouse talking to my dad on the phone, asking for permission to marry me (i guess he had been waiting all day to hear from back from my dad). alyssa and i arrived at the SFH and i kinda knew something was up because cory, my t-shirt and gym shorts-loving man, had on a sweater. the one he wore on our first date.

not soon after we arrived, cory told me we were going to go pick up some pizza (yuck) and instead drove us to the provo temple. HMMMMM.

we parked and walked in the dark around the temple for what felt like foreverrr. i just wanted him to propose! finally we got to the east side and sat down on a bench and cory said some sweet things (that will remain our secret) and "didn't kneel because i wasn't sure if you'd see me" which is plausible, but also, implausible because there were lights. regardless, he slipped the ring on my finger, we probably kissed and then we hopped in his 1970's VW bug and proceeded to pick up his favorite bacon pizza (yuck, again).

i remember sitting in his basement and the two of us calling everyone we knew and sharing all the details and it was just so great and i didn't get any homework done but my professors said it was okay.

my mom came out a few weeks later-the first time she'd met cory in person!-and we looked at reception venues and found the one we liked that same day (the old meeting house in murray). the next day, after class, mom and i went wedding dress shopping and i found tons i loved! i found one late at night at abella bridal in provo, and it was so simple and oh, was going to be on super sale on saturday morning at their sample sale for...$250! i was adamant about not having a veil but mom found one there with beautiful floral embroidery and it was just so pretty. however, we went up to a shop in salt lake city and i found this gorgeous straples dress with tulle on the bottom and embellished with fabric flowers all over the top. i loved it, but was not in love with the fact that i'd have to get sleeves added or wear a jacket. it was a tough decision, but saturday morning, i was the first person in line at abella (an hour before it opened, probably) and got my gorgeous dress and veil! we then went to the old meeting house and took care of some details. after that, wedding planning was pretty much a breeze. we had about six months total, we had my mom with her color-coded binder and etsy!

the hardest thing about being engaged was having to say goodnightgoodbye every night. cory was a sweetheart and walked me home every night. also, registering for our wedding was quite the challenge as cory and i are both very stubborn and have certain opinions about things. however, most everything in our lives is because of a decision made together, which drives me crazy when i'm decorating our house, but it's also nice to know that cory doesn't resent anything because i frivolously purchased it.

december 2011, i had a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL bridal shower thrown by my mom's best friend, jan, at our neighborhood clubhouse. i will never be able to thank her for all her hard work and the gorgeous details. she made these pretty yellow invitations with vellum and little studs. there was a cute advice book when you walked in which i love! we had a yummy luncheon of croissants and chicken salad, fruit, vegetables, punch and special cupcakes made by a family friend, and probably more that i've forgotten! i was so spoiled and am so thankful for sweet friends and family who made starting a life together much easier and less expensive!

we spent christmas with both families (traveling on christmas morning to meet cory's family for the first time). january, we did engagement pictures and february we finalized wedding details. in march we went to cedar city/st.george our third trip of the two semesters (thanks granny and dorothy for always putting us and our friends up!).  in april, my girls hailey and lauren threw me a fabulous bachelorette party/brunch and it was so fun and cute! they put so much work into it and i'm so grateful to them for thinking of all the little details (the sparkly sprinkles on the cupcakes).

then...WEDDING WEEK!

our story series: the summer apart and reunion

the very next day, i got home from class in the evening to great harvest pumpkin chocolate chip bread and the ensign magazine (lds.org) on my doorstep. man, that boy moves fast. the next day, we went on our first date which included deseret bookstore, in'n'out, toy story 3, red mango and utah lake. cory and i bonded over the fact that we both wore old spice fiji deodorant-a thing of the past, since being married makes you poor and your husband coupons and buys you old lady deodorant...and i learned of his love for in'n'out-california boy at heart, and now my favorite fast food place ever. we cried during toy story 3 at the dollar theater and then feasted on fro yo with mochi at red mango. and of course, utilizing his ubiquitous apple products, showed me all the constellations through an app on his iphone. i also neglected to mention how i started off the date by saying this wasn't going anywhere because i had a missionary. cory didn't really let that stop him.

from october to april, cory was definitely one of my closest friends, as were his roommates and my roommates. we both dated other people, but it always came back to cory. there were so many fun dates to temple square, out to eat, divine comedy...we watched endless movies and shows at his apartment, went shooting, went hot tubbing. neither of us really thought of our friendship as something that would evolve into a long-term romance. i mean, cory had lots of girls he could and did date, and i was still waiting for a missionary.

 in april 2011, i left to go home for the spring/summer, while cory stayed in provo to work on the grounds crew. i remember driving in my brother's honda civic with a broken cell phone (not my fault-always SPRINT's fault), using my mom's green slider cell phone to text cory.

maybe it's because i got an iphone and was finally worthy of cory's true love, maybe it was the distance, maybe it was just time...but we began to communicate in excess. i mean, facetiming, skyping, using voxer, texting, calling, facebooking, tweeting. i began my internship in june and i remember my co-intern asking if we were dating because cory and i talked all the time. cory had mentioned dating in may, but i shot it down, as i did not want to date long-distance. yet, when you have that desire to share even the stupidest details of your life with someone and stay up half the night video chatting for hours, your relationship grows whether you like it or not. so, in early june, i began calling cory my boyfriend (and vice versa-like it wasn't just me making up this couple thing).

honestly, it didn't feel weird or new or different because we already knew each other so well. i don't know when i fell in love with cory. i surprised him over the fourth of july weekend, one of my greatest successes! i had a free flight from southwest and managed to get a day or two off work and told cory, on sunday, july 3, that i wasn't bringing my phone to church or that my mom wanted them turned off, and hopped on a plane to SLC (he could track my location with that one app and i never knew how stalkerish he truly was). he was so mad at me for lying :) my friend darcy picked me up at the airport and then she and i went straight to his door where we rang the doorbell a bunch of times and FINALLY he came and opened the door and looked at me and turned around! he was so surprised and i think it took a little bit for it to settle in. we had a bbq at his apartment for the holiday and laid on his floor to watch movies cause the AC was broken and it was SO hot. it was not so bad leaving, knowing i would see him at the end of the next month.

we started talking about marriage in july, and of course, cory began talking about getting a dog and posting all sorts of pictures of dogs on my facebook or texting them. he left for a family vacation for two weeks to glacier national park and yellowstone. it was such a treat to talk to him. he called me from the middle of a forest, collect, and i remember walking around work in the middle of the afternoon, outside just loving the chance to hear him. in august, i went with my family on a trip to europe and that was really rough because nobody cared about wi-fi, except me and my sister. so a few times that week we would get to use my dad's blackberry or a hotel computer to send emails to our boyfriends :)

back to utah for school...and the chance for cory to meet my dad and brother and aunt! and to learn how the hatches love red iguana. by the beginning of that semester, we knew we were getting married, we just didn't know when-december or april. i told my mom in september and for nearly a month, she asked me every day if i was engaged yet! it was such a fun time of trips to zion national park, camping, shooting, big bang theory and curry take-out. we took astronomy together and went to basketball games, all while looking for wedding rings.

our story series: the introduction

every couple has a story. here's ours:

autumn 2010, my roommates and i were settling into our new lives as sophomores at regency apartments in provo, utah. one of my roommates tara and i had roomed in building one during spring term and spent several weeks with gaping holes in the kitchen ceilings due to a mold outbreak and although we got a month of free rent (i hope the cancer's worth that $100 later in life), we requested having our contracts moved to building two for fall/winter semester. i don't know why we thought that building two would be better, or safer, but ultimately, our move precipitated many wonderful friendships and marriages. so roommates, tara and i say "you're welcome".

it was halloween and half of our apartment-tara, katie and i, had been assigned new home teachers (lds.org) who set up an appointment for that day. earlier that afternoon we all dressed up in white shirts, jeans and colorful cardigans and took "roommate" pictures up in sundance. yeah, that's a thing BYU girls do. our home teachers were two roommates from promenade 17, adam and matt. only adam was busy that day, so one of the other roommates, cory, came over with matt. normally these visits are about 30 minutes or so, but i recall them staying over for several hours. they asked us lots of questions including our favorite foods, and i remember us all saying things that started with a "p"-i said pumpkin, tara said pudding and i don't remember what katie said. they chatted, matt played guitar, we laughed and then they left.

however, cory left behind his keys (probably on accident). immediately katie snatched them up and ran into the back hallway with them as she heard cory come back for them. he searched everywhere and beginning to panic, left empty-handed. we, being the sweet girls we are, made a batch of jell-o and stuck cory's keys in the jell-o mound. YUM.

later that evening we dropped of the jell-o at cory's apartment and i'm pretty sure he was mad/disgusted/relieved. i mean, holding someone's keys hostage in a gelatin dessert is a pretty cruel trick for halloween. i remember him coming over to our place because as katie and i walked back with him to his apartment, i was holding onto katie because i can't see in the dark, and cory grabbed my hand to help me too. and so then i grabbed katie's hand to make it less weird (for me, since cory doesn't really think about social implications like i do). we went to adam's room to sort through his extensive movie collection for a scary movie and returned with "secret window". so it was about six girls in our apartment and cory as we watched that weird movie and he sat by me and played with my hand (BOLD for meeting that day) and tried to show off his new ipad to me (something i could care less about). after the movie finished cory left and my roommates and i sat and talked about him and how fresh he was, by our somewhat inexperienced standards :) in retrospect, i realize that is just how cory acts-authentic and impervious to social norms.

he left with the promise of a date for two days later.

i measure my life in weeks now!

cory's training was extended an extra month, so instead of being apart for just six weeks, it's now ten weeks! and i'm now 22 weeks pregnant, with only 18 to go. which means 16 weeks until christmas and six weeks till my birthday....it's all about the weeks, people. 

that being said, i have so much to look forward to and i'm trying not to focus solely on the future. we had a great fast and testimony meeting (lds.org) at church yesterday where many people expressed feelings related to the passage of time and living without regrets. for me, that means savoring these weeks of relaxation and the lack of stress! i've never had a time like this in my life and it's so foreign, but i'm really trying to appreciate the openness and spontaneity each day can bring. even if it's just making a meal or going to target :) 

updates on cory: he is still in indiana and will receive his placement around the third week of september depending on his sales. he is loving what he is doing, so i'm SO grateful and happy because he is still by himself in the extended stay living off costco salmon or leftovers from his lunches. when we found out he'd be staying for another month, cory got some tickets and flew up to minnesota for labor day weekend to be with his clingy wife and needy dog. 

it was kind of weird picking him up at the airport and holding him again! it'd been a month and how could holding someone's hand, that you've held millions of times, feel so new and different? we went to the minnesota state fair with my family, which is legendary. it's all anyone talks about and it's on all the news outlets for months. it covered many blocks and was mostly food, and rides and typical fair things. we actually stayed for fourish hours. we got sweet martha's chocolate chip cookies (not as good as their reputation) and then erik ate a corndog, dad ate alligator on a stick, cory ate deep fried reeses' and shared cheese curds with me. apparently the day we went had record number of people-over 200,000 attendees! it was intense. 

we got tacos that night from my favorite place here-la taqueria la hacienda and cory and i finally started the latest season of "parenthood" which he forbade me from watching until we were together. sunday, we went to church and then went swimming! sienna loves when cory is here because he actually plays with her and encourages her to swim. i usually do everything in my power to keep her out because she always splashes me and sometimes gets me with her sharp nails. mom always spoils cory with his favorite foods, and made him a huge breakfast on saturday and his favorite meal of salmon and homemade mac and cheese on sunday. everyone has to suffer through that weird combo for cory. even though i love those two things too, it grosses me out thinking about eating them as a meal. 

monday morning was sad cause we knew he'd be leaving, but we went to the outlets where ainsley works and cory and erik got some good deals like $19 oakley swimsuits! i actually had gotten cor one the week before, and we got another cause they were such a steal. amongst other things, cory also got his first bow tie that weekend :) before he left we had a "last supper" so to speak, where of course, cory got wonderful steaks grilled for him. all in all, it was a sweet weekend and i'm so grateful he spent the money to come up here. we miss him so much! 

update on ash: and baby: i stopped throwing up when i came up here (with the exception of three times) and i've felt pretty good during this second trimester! my body's exterior is definitely changing-rounded belly and all. i'm more tired and sometimes i eat a lot more than i usually can (a whole chipotle burrito bowl in one sitting, foks!) and other times, i don't have much of an appetite. i consistently go to the bathroom about three times a night and i HATE side sleeping. i'm pretty sure it aggravates lower back pain too, which is another side effect of pregnancy, which since i'm not super far along, isn't bad yet. my sense of smell is killer though. i want to be nesting, but i don't have a home yet! i've got all our rooms planned out and have bought pillows and am going to reupholster my mom's kitchen chairs (cause we get their dining set, woohoo!) and have made a fabric-covered magnet board. a few more projects and i should be set till the beginning of october! 

baby bump pictures

fourteen weeks-at the extended stay!

15 weeks-used in our pregnancy announcement

21 weeks at my parents' house

the not so suite life...

cory has to spend about 3 months training and testing to become a licensed hearing instrument specialist, so we will spend at least 3-4 months living in various extended stay hotels across the country. and it is not as glamorous as one might think! 

what exactly is cory doing for his job?

aside from 3 months of training, and 6-12 months as a junior partner, cory will essentially be running his own hearing aid clinic in which he cleans and fixes hearing aids, tests and diagnoses people with hearing losses and sells hearing aids. after his first year, cory will be placed somewhere in the country with one or more offices to run. 

where will you live?

june-july 2014: schaumburg, il

august 2014: merriville, indiana

september 2014 and beyond: unsure! so far cory has had to fill out applications for tenneesee, iowa, wisconsin and california.

personally, i would love to live in minnesota or the pacific northwest, close to my family. cory would like to live in texas (somewhere warm, with friendly gun laws). who is surprised? 

what does cory do during training?

the first month, he had to commute an hour each way to work. he's in a training class with two other guys. basically they just learned about ears, hearing, how to interact with patients, hearing aids, the company...all that jazz. he's doing the same thing this month at the company headquarters five minutes away. next month, he and one of his classmates will pretty much run an office by themselves with guidance from a senior practitioner (i think), and basically meet with patients all day. he had homework and sometimes has to watch training DVDS. he has to wear business professional clothes-ties and slacks every day-and his white coat! cory seems to love his job and i'm SO happy because it seems like the perfect job for him. he just loves to help people. 

what does ashley do all day?

honestly, not too much! i've done a lot of reading, netflix-ing and walking with sienna. in one way, this confinement has been SUCH a blessing because i had a really sick first trimester. like all day sickness and lots of throwing up every day. it's getting better week by week, but i still don't feel completely normal. evenings are the worst time for me. one of the cons of the hotel is that it is SOOO smelly and i am very sensitive to smells. i hold my breath whenever i walk out of our room. so pregnancy combined with traveling means i haven't cooked since april. and i hope that everything will go back to normal. i feel like the worst person because we have a bag of frozen chicken breasts from costco in our freezer that have been unopened for over a month. so stay tuned for life in the hotel when i actually feel good! p.s. there's no pool or workout facilities. i've been doing jillian michaels shred on youtube. seriously. 

pros

cory's company is paying for the hotel costs...so we save a ton of money on rent!

free maid/repair services

you can go to the front desk to ask for whatever you need: free toiletries or linens..etc

there's a room down the hall where we drop off our trash

free wifi and cable 

free breakfast

blackout curtains

AC/heating whatever setting you want, for free!

cons

smelly! 

we have to walk sienna around on a leash

SO many smokers outside all the time. so nasty! 

not really close to anything within walking distance

you have to pay $1.50 to use the washer and $1.50 to use the dryer! 

the whole living in one hotel room thing with a kitchenette

neighbors who can be loud at all hours of the night or morning 

having to walk sienna out on the leash to go the bathroom...especially in the late night or early, early morning

our cruise to baja mexico

as soon as cory accepted his job offer, we knew we'd have to be in chicago by may 1st or june 1st. since his offer was late, we figured he'd start in june. thus...we booked a cruise! it was from monday, may 12-friday, may 16. the weekend before we drove out to his grandparents in wrightwood with sienna so they could pet sit her for the week. they dropped us off in long beach on monday and we hopped on the boat, the carnival inspiration!

snorkeling at lover's cove! 

we were SO excited to lounge around, lay in the sun and enjoy the endless food...which is exactly what we did! tuesday, we docked at catalina island and cory and i went snorkeling at lover's cove. it was one of the coolest things ever! we had on wetsuits, which were the WORST to get on. i was so scared to only breathe out of my mouth and it took me a few minutes to get used to it. cory had on his go pro and we swam around together looking and touching all the fish! that night we had a formal dinner, which was kind of like every other night in the dining room. we always had appetizers, entrees and multiple desserts. i was surprised by all the mormons on board-many family reunions and honeymooning couples! the pool deck was very hot, but we managed to go out there several times and enjoy the sun and then the pool. cory got us me a pina colada (n/a obvs) and it was magical. i didn't eat as many soft serve cones as i thought i would. however, we did order room service a LOT. mostly cory though, getting several sandwiches and juice at once. wednesday, the boat went to ensenada, mexico. i tried to make cory walk laps with me on the upper deck track every morning and as we did, the boat pulled into the mexican port. we saw dolphins and it was so cool! none of the excursions appealed to us, so we walked into the downtown area and looked around at some of the shops, searching for some pullovers. we got one for me, sean and baby! basically, the cruise was us reading, eating and relaxing. it was perfect! 

sunset on the last night on board

cory's sweet aunt saundy picked us up, fed us and we got to see his cousin effie's cool band concert! one more day of rest at his grandparents and then back to provo for us so we could move to illinois the next day! 

graduation month

april was off to a busy start with general conference, finishing school, cory's accuquest interview in chicago, easter and our anniversary. and then came graduation!

general conference was so good this year and i loved how so many talks felt like they were just for me! visit lds.org with any questions :) of course we spent a session at aunt nicki's house for waffles. the next week, cory had to fly out to chicago for his final interview with accuquest. we were fairly confident they wanted him and he wanted this job, but this was the final test. he was told he had the job and would be receiving a formal offer by email a few days later. well, a week went by and the executive had emailed twice saying HR would be sending further information but cory still hadn't gotten the FORMAL offer. he finally called HR and the HR rep had sent his offer to the wrong email address. some other cory hill has been getting a lot of cory's emails...

friday night cory took me out to art city trolley for our anniversary. it was a fun place to eat and he bought frozen so we could watch it on the big hill on campus under the stars (awww). the next morning, we hit up great harvest bread for our bunny shaped bread and drove to granny and dorothy's house in cedar city! we had an italian lunch with them, the murphys and nicki's family. afterwards, cory, granny, dorothy and i headed to st. george where i so wanted to go to the st. george art festival! we got a beautiful plate painted/stamped with irises by a japanese artist. i've always said i'd love to live in st. george but i have to say, it was really hot for april! the next day the easter bunny came...even for cory and i! we had a nice church service and lunch/dinner with all the family. it was sad knowing it would be our last one.

monday was my last final and also our second wedding anniversary! cory got me some beautiful flowers and my favorite noodles & co. as we prepared our house for all our guest to begin coming that week!

my parents arrived on tuesday and we ate at the red iguana with aunt mindy (family classic). we went shopping at city creek where i got some awesome shoes for graduation. the next day we went to waffle love because ever since mom saw the pictures, she needed a waffle. we went to logan to put flowers on my grandpa's grave. we visited my great-uncle and his wife. after, we ate at maddox, a place my grandparents loved and another restaurant mom wanted to visit.

thursday i had to work, while cory went for a hike with his grandparents. we went to pupa's with them for lunch and then had to go home to get ready for commencement! it was crazy getting there, as we had lots of sweet family attending and lots of traffic :) president uchtdorf spoke, as well as my uncle tracy's mission president elder cardon. it was so fun to eat at the smoking apple, a bbq joint in lindon, with cory's granny, dorothy, his hill grandparents, his parents, siblings and my parents! so grateful they could all be there!

on friday, our graduation ceremony was at 11 am. i was surprised by how quickly they moved things along. cory and i had had priority seating and had previously arranged for me to graduate with him and the japanese majors. they loaded us into a hallway and the two of us walked up a ramp (woohoo) and shook some hands and got our diplomas! it was so surreal! everyone came home to our house where we had kneaders sandwiches, chips, pasta salad, fruit, lemonade and....3 gallons of graham canyon ice cream! what a whirlwind two days! lots of eating too, as we ate at texas roadhouse with cory's parents and family later the day and cracker barrel the next morning with my parents. mom, dad and i went to the sacred gifts exhibit at the MOA, then i got a pedicure with jodie, candice and shelly. we all went to the provo temple where cory and chad did the baptism and confirmation for their grandpa darrow. finally, we finished off the weekend eating at la jolla groves with my parents where cory indulged in hazelnut italian soda-his new favorite drink. WOW. i don't even remember what happened after all that action-just work for a few days (for me) and two weeks (for cory) and packing up the house. i'm so grateful for our time in provo. we certainly had a blast, loving our cute little house (most of the time) and our dog and our family and friends and BYU for the most part. i can't think of the last few years without much fondness and a little desire to go back. mostly, i'm so glad cory and i both decided to go to BYU, where we were successful in our educations and had the opportunity to meet each other. i'm sure we'll drag our kids around one day to all our old haunts while they roll their eyes. i have no idea when we will return back to provo!

MINNESOTA.

one day i was having a really hard time being away from my family and i was talking/sobbing/complaining to my mom about hard it is not to see your loved ones more than once  year. well, that good woman said she would come visit. and then she said that cory and i should come to minnesota instead! so thanks to dad's airline miles, we scored tickets for the president's day weekend/valentine's day/dad's birthday (a whole four days to be with my family)!

i have to say, growing up in chicago winters and living in utah, i feel like i know the cold. i was SHOCKED when i went to minnesota! it was like a race to get from the car into the house into a store into a car, where there was heating. we spent friday exploring my parents' awesome new house. it's already gorgeous with several acres of beautiful land, but mom has been redoing several of the rooms. there's columns and lots of huge windows and fun hexagon tile and a pool and hot tub and a basketball court and double doors everywhere and a butler's pantry and two fireplaces and a five-car garage! they had to buy a john deere riding mower/snow plow because their driveway is SO long and it can't be shoveled!

erik came down from minneapolis that night and we had a dinner and cake for dad's birthday. the next day, we went to a downtown area with little shops and looked at those until we got too cold :) we had a tasty dinner at redstone restaurant, with the most amazing banana cream pie. ahhh, what i wouldn't give for that right now!

sunday, we went to church with mom and dad and spent the day lounging (a nice break from classes) and monday, we couldn't figure out what winter sport to do! snowmobiling is fun (we did it in logan) but so expensive. so we settled on snowshoeing! i was SO bundled up in about ten layers with mom's eddie bauer coat on. i was sweating while we were snowshoeing around lake cleary. it was really fun but not when you fell over! it would take the assistance of someone else to pull you up!  we went to the mall of america and mexican food! mom bought me a beautiful red wool coat that i only got to wear a few times as the weather in provo became unseasonably warm! too bad i'll have a big belly next winter! it was such a wonderful time spent with my family. i love them so much. i love the ease and comfort of being together. of playing family games and eating mom's delicious meals. i can't wait to be with them again!

my favorite recipe blogs

once upon a time (pre-pregnancy), i loved to cook! and my two greatest sources for recipes never failed me.

1. mel's kitchen cafe
2. prevention rd

these two blogs have so many fabulous recipes that are usually healthy, always tasty and pretty easy!

some of my favorites from mel include: stacked enchiladas, sweet and sour chicken, lemon/garlic/spinach pasta

favorites from prevention rd are as followed: tikka masala and taquitos

christmastime!

i have to admit that i was kind of sad this christmas because it was my first one without my immediate family and all the traditions of the christmas season...we stayed in provo because jodie's baby was arriving in the weeks after the holiday and cory desperately wanted to be there for the birth! also, cory's family was coming to utah to celebrate the baby and the holiday, so we figured it'd be best to work through break and spend time with the hills! :)

thus, i bought us cute stockings off etsy and cory had to go in the crawlspace under the house to get the "6 foot" tree that really was like 4 feet tall. we decorated it with some lights and ornaments from costco, classy, and created a wrapping station in our guest room! earlier that summer, i had made a 25 days of christmas gift/note thing for cory, so each day he would get one of his favorite things or a coupon or a note. it was fun for the first part of the month and then i stopped doing it. poor cory! at least he got some good presents out of it and we had a few fun activities and date nights together! aside from the birthday cake oreos, iTunes gift card and reeses, i think he enjoyed coloring and baking the white mugs with sharpie markers! i even made one for my mom saying "master gardener". too bad the marker came off in the dishwasher! that was a sad day for all! 

we enjoyed having cory's family close by and went to vernal for a day and a half for my cousin haley's wedding! it was a beautiful winter wedding with fun pb&j's and donuts at the reception! i loved going to temple square and starbucks with my in-laws and nick's family to see all the beautiful lights! on christmas eve morning, jodie's water broke, so all the plans were on hold for christmas! i finished up a sour cream pumpkin cheesecake and my favorite winter salad and we headed up to nick's for a christmas dinner-one that shelly, craig, adam and jodie were noticeably absent at! cor and i took some food over to the hospital around 9 that evening and stayed for an hour or so while jodie labored and then we went home to sleep, with dreams of nieces dancing in our heads! 

around 3 or 4 am, we got the text that our first niece brierly michele murphy was born! we were so excited, we decided to celebrate by opening all our christmas presents! it was quite an atypical christmas, as we headed to bed after unwrapping all our carhart clothes and fine china. we woke up later and went to a gas station to get some hot chocolate to take to the hospital to jodie. i remember us telling the gas station clerk "merry christmas! we're off to see our new niece!" it was so fun to hold tiny brierly! we went home and kind of sat around for awhile not knowing what to do...everthing was clean and it was quiet and it didn't really feel like christmas! that night, cory and i went out to yamato for christmas sushi-a tradition i doubt we will partake of again. unless of course, there's another christmas baby! 

later that week, we had a little celebration at jodie's house with cory's whole family, including #chandice where shelly and craig spoiled us all with presents and stockings. it was a christmas i doubt we'll ever forget! 

that next week, i threw jodie a baby shower for her baby girl, thanks to my mom who sent a baby shower in a box! it was so cute with pink everything and a little luncheon and lots of people showed up considering how late notice it was (sorry!). brierly was blessed the next day at church by her dad and it was perfect because all of the family was there for it! 

one of my presents was a big recipe binder from granny and/or dorothy....and as my goal was to meal plan for 2014, this was the perfect place for me to store all my recipes. i curated all the recipes i love from my computer, online websites, pinterest. cory's goal was to coupon and so we would look for coupons that matched meals and i have to say, we were very successful at it all of winter semester! i'm hoping to pick that back up once we are in our own place again! life is in limbo, here in the hotel :) our winter break was definitely relaxing as there was NO snow, and i was able to go home early most days due to NO one being at the office. i'm so grateful we have so much family to spend our holiday with and especially grateful for this season to remind us all of christ and the spirit of giving.