Wow, I tell you what, wow!

I think it is about time I updated this blog. A lot has been happing in our little family. I’m sure this will turn into yet another long blog… maybe I should update a little more often…

Chuck (aka baby Altom)- From the last blog post, you might have guessed that Todd and I are expecting a little baby in October. We feel like it is truly a miracle and a blessing that this is happening to us. It has taken some time and some heartache but we couldn’t be more excited to add this little person to our family. Chuck (our Unidentified Fetal Object, UFO) is expected to arrive sometime around October 12. So far everything seems to be going good. We have heard and seen the heartbeat and Chuck always waves to us when we sneak a peak at him or her. I’m currently 15ish weeks and it has been a loooonnnggg 15ish weeks; time has not flown by.  I have tried to control my excitement but now I can’t help looking at everything baby and planning everything baby. We can’t wait to find out what we are having (mostly me because I just have to buy things) and see this, hopefully, healthy and beautiful baby come October.

p.s. pregnancy is an interesting ride…

Chuck at 10 weeks

Graduation- Todd made it to graduation. It was so exciting to see him graduate and I couldn’t be prouder of him. It was so nice to have Mark and Debbie come up and have my family here to celebrate.  We had a great time at all the long festivities ;) and had a very delicious lunch on Saturday. Here are some pictures of the weekend.

Todd at the new BYUI Center

Job/Moving- I was reading the second to last blog and it made me laugh. I mentioned that we thought we would know about Wal-Mart before Todd’s birthday, that so didn’t happen, haha. Todd finally got a call from Wal-Mart the day of his graduation. I was once again was so amazed and proud of my hubby. Out of 1000 people, he was 1 out of the 4 they selected (and he wasn’t black or a woman… inside joke). We had to hold our breath for quite sometime but it was very nice that Todd was able to go to his graduation saying he got the job. Todd also got another job offer, but this one was in Utah… and that’s where it got complicated. As much as I knew this Wal-Mart job was a great opportunity, I definitely was rooting for the SLC job. Living in Utah where family and friends were close and might I add, NOT HUMID, would be so wonderful. Even though we would both love to live in SLC, at the end of the day, we decided that Arkansas is where we need to be… :(… I’m still a little heartbroken even though I know this is best for our family. We will be moving to Bentonville, Arkansas sometime in the middle of June. We are always up for a new adventure and as long as we have each other (all four of us) we will be fine, we might melt away but we will do it together.

Gus’ Birthday- Yes, our baby boy is 1 or 7 or whateverJ. This past Saturday we held a little celebration in his honor. I made Gus, puppy approved cupcakes and he shared them with his uncle’s Otis and Suni (my parent’s dogs). We even went as far as to put the poor dogs in birthday hats. We had a great time; I think Gus kind of did. This sounds extremely cheesy, but Gus has brought so much happiness to our lives and we couldn’t picture our lives without him. He is our first-born… I’m even thinking of getting him a shirt that says, “I’m a big brother”…. Yeah, we are now crazy dog people.

Doesn't he just look so thrilled?

Virginia- Sadly, Todd has left for a month to once again sell alarm systems. We figured it would be cheaper and I could actually make money if I stayed here. He flew out yesterday and I already miss him like crazy. I don’t know if it is because I’m so in love him or my pregnancy hormones, but I am one big river of tears. We are both so glad this will be his last time selling and it is only for a month. I wish it was the middle of May though. 

Sigh... I got exhausted writing this dang thing. Good job if you completed all of it. Well that is it for the Altom's in Idaho... soon to be the Altom's of Arkansas. Ok, I need to go take a nap now... or go to bed, Nighty, Night.

News

Updates!

Let's see... where to begin... Gus got a haircut yesterday:). He has had four haircuts during his short life and yesterdays was his best yet. The lady did exactly what we wanted with no shaved baboon bum and no shaved nose; he looks like his cute puppy self.

As most of you know, Todd is heading down to Arkansas for a final interview with Wal-Mart. He leaves on the 10th and we should hopefully know before his birthday if he gets the job. It's hard to believe that after a couple months waiting, we will find out if we will be in Arkansas in about two weeks; what a relief. If this job is not meant to be, we once again are back to the drawing board. Family and friends might be happy to hear that our other options are much closer to home, Utah, Colorado and California. I know Todd really wants this job but if we have to go to the other three, I wouldn't mind; closer to home and not humid!!!

About a week ago, maybe more, Todd won some tickets to "Disney on Ice" on the radio. His 31 minute drive to Rexburg has payed off. We get to go on March 12 and hopefully Todd is back by that evening but I'm going with or without him. But with that being said, Todd and I will be in Utah that weekend. It feels like forever since we made that trip from Idaho to Utah... more like 7ish months.

Todd is getting close to the end of the line with this whole college thing. I joked with him last night that it's not that big of deal, I already beat him to it. But it is a big deal and we couldn't be more excited to be getting done with this college thing (although I miss it). Todd has about a month and a week left, which hopefully this month goes fast because January and February have not. I'm sure Todd will miss the college scene, he really likes his teachers. Oh, can I just say, Rexburg has changed so much. Besides the whole new building, there's like stop lights and new apartments being built; it's crazy madness up there.

This blog is mostly about Todd, because I got nothing. Still working, still wishing I wasn't, haha. My job is pretty relaxed and everyone seems happy with me but I need a change of pace when it comes to work. I also have been fighting off a cold for the last week and a half and I think it is finally on the down slope. I've also gained weight, but I'm bound and determined to lose it. My client at work keeps telling me I eat to much and it's bound to catch up with me... it has:(. Oh well, working out will give me something to do.

Oh, the whole BYU basketball stuff has been big in our house this week. The game on Saturday was great, the game on Wednesday, not so great. It's weird because I asked Todd on Saturday if he thought the coaching staff would kick someone off the team at this point, for not following the honor code. He didn't know and said their is a difference in what people should do and what they actually do. As sad as it was to hear about a team member leaving, it is great to know that when push comes to shove, BYU holds strong to it's beliefs. The team may or may not have an amazing end to the season, but we believe all this publicity will do some good.

Well, that's all we got. Still living, still laughing and still loving.

Valentine's Celebrations

Well hello there everyone. It has been a couple weeks so I thought I would update our blog. Todd just told me a funny story, so first off I'll share that. Apparently Todd has a lot of group work that he does in school and in one of his classes, his group usually does really good on school work but also goofs around a lot (surprising...). Well the other day another group asked how they did so well when all it really looks like they do is goof around. After that, a childhood fight started, "Our group is better than yours" and such. The group then said that their group could beat up Todd's group. Todd's group responded "Are you kidding, we have Todd, he is huge", "His arm is bigger than our necks." After Todd told me this, I started busting up. Nothing against my husband because he is strong, but they made him sound like a body builder. The other group then responded with "but he is so nice, he wouldn't hurt anyone." The conclusion of this argument was that Todd was a gentle giant, bhahahaha. Todd then proceeded to tell me that all the guys weigh like 150 lbs so to them, he is a gentle giant. Todd responded to all of this with "I'm just bigger than girls." I thought it was funny:).

This past weekend, Todd and I decided to celebrate Valentine's Day since Monday isn't a very romantic day. Todd and I went to a matinee and watched "Just Go With It." We thought it was hilarious... those kind of movies are perfect for us; humor that Todd likes and a cute love story that I like. We then went to Coldstone with a gift certificate I got for participating in an activity for Todd's school group. It was a cheap, perfect way to celebrate Valentine's Day. Todd then had to watch the BYU game and I went to the library to pick up "The Help." While I was there, this random old man came and talk to me for a good 5 minutes. I was a little creeped out by him but then I realized he was just a lonely man who missed his wife. I'm pretty sure we talked about everything under the sun from high school football to Egypt to heaven to the BYU game (can't seem to ever get away from BYU basketball).

On Valentine's Day morning, Todd made me heart-shaped blueberry pancakes. After that, VDay was all work and school and no play. At work, we break up the day by doing stuff in the actually building and by going out into the community. Around three, I was just getting back from taking a group out to community and I got bombarded by people when I walked in. Everyone wanted to show me something so I finally moved into the teacher's room and found these...

Pretty yellow roses:). The note that came with it said it was from my "secret admirer," Figured it was from Todd. Everyone kept telling me that my dad delivered them but they were from my husband. My dad helped a local florist deliver flowers on the biggest flower day of the year; I was bummed I missed him.  Todd also got me "Life As We Know It" (which we watched that night... still want that house and Josh is cute!!) and I got him "Iron Man 2" (so romantic). 

The rest of the week has gone pretty normal but we are pretty excited we have a three day weekend. Tonight we are meeting up to have dinner with Craig, Jac and Liv and Billy, Alesa and Eliza; it should be fun. Well that's it, we are still alive and trying to hurry and get through this semester.