Little Moments

Yesterday was Todd and I's third anniversary; I can't believe it has been three years. I wasn't going to write anything because I knew if I did, I'd get all sappy and crap and who really cares about reading sappy stuff, haha. But I have felt blessed beyond words these last couple of days and yesterday, I finally realized (or finally came to the realization again) what a marriage is all about. To celebrate our anniversary, my body decided to make me sick, what a nice gift. It seems that every time I get a flu shot, a few days later a wonderful cold hits me and this time was no different. The whole day I tried to convince my body that it was not sick because I did not want to be sick! Todd came home from work with a beautiful bouquet of yellow roses (I will always be a girl that loves to receive flowers, I don't care if they die) and balloons. He came through the door so happy and excited that I just couldn't be sick. I, however, was feeling worse at this time but I did not want to ruin our day. We didn't have anything grand planned but we did decided to go to Barnes and Nobles, buy ourselves some new journals and talk and relax with some hot chocolate. We never made it to the hot chocolate part because I was feeling so sick and so uncomfortable due to the wonderful person inside of me, that we went home. We got home and I felt so horrible about ruining our day, that I lost it. Here it was, our last anniversary with just us two and I'm sick. I am not going to lie, I'm a tad scared to death about being a mom. Not only am I scared to be responsible for another human being, but I have been so scared that this new little person would change Todd and I's relationship for the worse. It's crazy to me that I can be so baby hunger and so ready for this baby at one minute and so scared for the change the next minute. I have loved, loved these last three years with Todd, he truly is my best friend and I have been scared for that to change. Last night however, as he took care of me, told me he loved me, ran to the store to buy me a Milky Way and bubble bath and getting a bubble bath all ready for me, I realized that a marriage isn't built upon big, fun, wonderful things, but by all the amazing little things. He didn't have to take care of me and go out of his way to help make me feel better, he could have easily just watched the Cowboys game (which we did) and not worry about me, but he didn't because he loved me. The fact that his favorite day out of three years is a day where we were stressed, tired and worried shows a lot about the kind of person Todd is. I felt guiltily, almost, saying Disneyland or NYC when we he responded with a day that showed him we can get through anything. This all reminds me of "Up." The whole movie is about Carl trying to get his house to Paradise Falls because that was Ellie's ultimate, or what he thought was, her ultimate dream. He tries so hard to make that dream a reality and then at the end he is looking through her "Book of Adventures" and it is filled with pictures of the two of them doing simple, yet wonderful things together, like looking for shapes in the clouds. Ellie had accomplished her greatest adventure by being with Carl. In the end, it's not our Paradise Falls that make our marriages great, but it is stopping to care for the other person and taking time to cloud watch together, haha. Ok, this has gotten long and sappy but I just wanted to share my realization with everyone and to say that I am looking forward to the up all night adventures I will be having with Todd and watching each other grow as we raise this little boy. I am thankful for all the little moments in life that truly make life worth while and for a husband who is always there for me. I can't wait for our next adventure to begin... in about a weekish... WEIRD!

Happy 3rd Anniversary, Lady Ashleigh!

So, a couple of minutes ago Ashleigh asked, "Are you going to write something sweet about me on our blog?" I'll give it my best shot. Since our Anniversary is falling on a Monday, we thought it would be best to go to dinner on Saturday night. We went to Fred's Hickory Inn for dinner this past Saturday. It was a nice joint with great food. Because I'm very bad at taking out my phone while we are on dates, I made a conscious effort to try and just soak in the alone time we had together. It was very enjoyable. With computers, iPhones, TV, and Gus, it seems like we don't always get the chance to just sit and talk without distraction. I tried to throw a curveball question at Ashleigh and I asked her what her favorite day was over the past three years. She mentioned Disneyland and our date in Central Park last year. Even though I had asked the question, I hadn't really thought about it myself. Ashleigh asked me what my favorite day was. After much thought, I was reminiscing about last year as we embarked on our adventure to New York City without having a place to live. To give some background to this time, I will tell it in technicolored detail...

A week before we moved out, our initial landlord called to let me know she had two friends who were going to live with us. Since we didn't want to have roommates, we declined despite not having a backup plan. So... on September 11, 2010 (creepy), we took the redeye flight to JFK Airport.

We rented a car and started to venture over to New Jersey to meet with a real estate agent who could find us a place. I think he duped us into getting a more expensive place than we initially wanted by showing us a dump that was "in our price range." So, we decided on a decent two-bedroom apartment in Jersey City.

But... we couldn't move in until Monday. Being poor college students who had taken an unpaid internship made it hard for us to pay $250 to stay in a hotel for one night. So... being the cheap person I am, I thought we should just sleep in our rental car.

Luckily, through wonderful contacts of family members, we were in touch with a couple who lived in New Jersey, the Ewing family. They called and invited us to their place for some pizza that night. While we were at the Ewings, we ended up meeting Elder and Sister Hibbert. The Hibberts were from Teton Valley, and knew the Wilson family very well. At dinner, the Hibberts asked where we planned on staying the night. After hearing that we planned on roughing it in the car, they invited us to their place to sleep on their hide-a-bed. Because that day had been such a tiring/stressful day, we were exhausted and slept better than ever.

The next day, Elder and Sister Hibbert asked if our apartment was furnished. We had planned on renting a bed and buying some cheap pots and pans and utensils from Walmart. The Hibberts were in charge of housing for all the missionaries in the area and told us we could take whatever we needed for our apartment. We went directly to a storage unit and picked out everything. It was a great blessing.

That was my favorite day.

Compared to Disneyland and Central Park, the 12th of September, 2010 doesn't seem all that fun. However, the reason why I love that time is because it sums up everything I want mine and Ashleigh's marriage to represent. The future is unknown, yet we are in it together and determined to stay together. Our association with the church has already immensely blessed our lives. Without the church, we would have had no place to stay that night and we would have had to spend a lot more money furnishing our apartment. The restored gospel and organization of the church asks much of all of us. We are asked to pay 10% of our income to the church. We are asked to serve at church. We are asked to serve outside of the church. After everything that is asked, it may appear that a lot is expected of the members of the church. But... the blessings that come from service far outweigh the effort we put in. And when we are individuals in need, the church organization is their to support all who serve.

To sum up, I know that Ashleigh and I can endure whatever challenges may come. I love Ashleigh with all my heart. If wonder if I would have told her on our wedding day that in three years she would be nine months pregnant, we would have a dog named Gus, and we would be living in the rural town of Centerton, Arkansas, if she would have said yes. I'm glad she did. I'm excited to start a family and to see the changes that will come in the next three years. Where will we be? Бурхан л мэднэ.

Happy Anniversary Ashleigh!

Baby, baby, baby

Hello people. Since the due date of this little boy is creeping up, I wanted to take a poll on what everyone thinks about his birth weight and birthdate. To make the guess easier, here are a few facts... My actual due date is Oct 12 but the ultrasound has been putting me at Oct 9. I went to the doctor today (and I hope this isn't too much information but...) I am already 1 1/2 centimeters dilated. Last week the doctor said he was probably about 6 to 6 1/2 lbs. Ok go... I'm recording all of this for his baby book so if you can't comment because you don't have a blog or something, let me know on facebook or text me. We are getting very excited and very nervous. I keep hoping I can get everything done (even though there is not much left to do) and get some actual good sleep before he comes. This weekend I am having two more baby showers!!! Some gals in our ward are throwing me and my new friend Callie a joint baby shower and then Todd's MLP family is throwing us a baby shower as well. We are feeling very blest for all the love we are receiving. So just recap... please guess the weight and date and anything else you want to add in there (like if he'll have super red hair, no hair at all or blond). Hope everyone is having a great week!

Here is a sample of our maternity pictures by Erika Dotson!

P.S. Todd has a calling in the ward now... he is in the Young Mens... I believe he is a Teacher Quorum Advisor... maybe...

Labor Day and no labor

We had a great weekend this past weekend. Todd had a wonderful time at the BYU game, especially during the 4th quarter and after BYU won. I was able to go to a movie and dinner with some gal pals which made the weekend very bearable for me.
As you can see, our blog has had yet another facelift. For some reason Todd felt the need to change it up so this latest facelift is all Todd. He has been trying really hard to put a timer thing up to track BYU games but hasn't quite figured out how to fit it into the margins... once again, no such thing for our baby that's on his way but yes to a timer for BYU football.
Labor Day was great and I did not go into labor. We slept in, went and picked up Todd's amazing hot, new suit, spent some time at Barnes and Nobles reading "Walter the Farting Dog", magazines and drinking some hot chocolate (oh it was in the 70's all day and this morning it was 58 when I took Gus outside), took Gus to a very full dog park and ended it all with a BBQ at friends house. It was a great day and somehow very exhausting. At the close of the BBQ we had an opportunity to play the dance game on the Kinect. I got killed the first dance. I like to think I am uncoordinated due to the huge mass in front of me but I fear I just may be uncoordinated. The other few dances I battled against Todd and I kicked his butt, barely, haha... it was a lot of fun! I'm thinking that might make a good game to put me into labor. I think I could get Todd to dance with me more if we had the Kinect... might need to be future purchase. Well that was our weekend, simple but a lot of fun.

Maternity Photo Shoot

I searched for a long time for a photographer to do newborn pictures that didn't cost giving up my newborn. My search was over when I found a girl by the name of Erika Dotson. I loved her pictures; she has a very fun, vintage look. She is very well established in the wedding/engagement scene but she has just decided to get into the newborn niche and offered us an amazing deal. The deal included maternity (which I never wanted to do but now I'm glad we did), birth (which I never thought I wanted to do as well, but I'm so excited for those first moments he comes to be captured on camera) and of course newborn. Last night we did our maternity pictures and had a great time. If anyone knows me, I hate getting pictures by myself, I didn't even keep any bridal pictures (I'm NOT photogenic plus add on the fact that I've gained a fewish pounds) so I was a bit nervous. We did the pictures at the Fayetteville Library:), so not your typical maternity pictures and so fun. The best part is Todd was in most of them (side not, I got all teary eyed yesterday thinking that these are the last "family" pictures with just us two. I have loved these past three years with just us two). Erika was really fun to work with and we look forward to working with her more. I have no pictures of our maternity session but I did come across some great, GREAT maternity pictures...

*Due to the graphic nature, viewer discretion is advised*

http://www.weknowawesome.com/2011/01/18/14-best-of-the-worst-funny-pregnancy-photos/

Todd's favorite time of the year is upon us, college football. What has Todd been looking forward to this whole summer? For the weather to cool down? No. For family to visit? No. For the baby to come? Nope:) For the BYU and Ole Miss game? You better believe it! Todd is so very excited to be going to the BYU opening game tomorrow. Tomorrow, I am sure he will be like a little kid on Christmas morning. I decided not to go due to the fact I hate long drives, especially pregnant, I hate humidity and to be honest with you, the stress of the game would probably put me in labor (I get too worked up). It'll be a nice guy gateway for Todd but I keep teasing him that I am going into labor this weekend because he will be leaving. His response to my tease "oh you'll still be too early so they will just try and stop it anyways, I wont miss anything." Oh I love Todd:). I'll miss him but I'm glad he will have a great weekend; he deserves it for all his hard work.

I thought I'd give an update on Gus, Gus. Gus is doing pretty good these days. He is still terrified when people knock on the door but he slowly is getting used to his surroundings. We went to a dog park this last Sunday and he had such a great time. Gus is a perfect dog for us, he is lazy. Every morning I have to get him up out of bed; it really is like having a child. Todd and I like to believe that he knows and is excited for the baby to come. Gus will lick my belly and we are sure it is his way of communicating with the babe. He also loves the baby's room. Randomly throughout the day he will head into that room and just sit there. He totally is so excited that the baby is coming:), haha.

Well that's it for us Altom's. I really just wanted to share the maternity photos I found with you but thought I'd add a little more... as I seem to always do. Happy Football season and go BYU!