We have had an absolutely WONDERFUL Christmas!

Christmas started for us a week ago (holy cow I’m behind on blogging!) Thursday we came to Kaysville to start spending time with family. We had the best time seeing our niece and nephew and getting all festive!

Friday we did some shopping and the rest of my family arrived, and Randy and I got to have an ultrasound with little dude! He was SO cute and even waved at us! Then we went to the Candlelight Christmas at This Is The Place Heritage Park, which was SO fun! We ate donuts and gingerbread cookies, saw a live nativity which was one of the highlights of the season for me, and danced like the pioneers would have, making wax candles and DIY garlands. It was SO fun to hear carolers singing Christmas songs and it really got us ready to celebrate the season. We got to write a letter to Santa and then burn it because they told us that’s how the pioneer parents told their children their letters would get to Santa! Randy even folded a paper crane (in about 30 seconds) and wrote his letter on it in Japanese! It was really fun! Christmas charades rounded out the evening and we stayed up WAY too late laughing.

Saturday we went and saw Jumanjii (which was funny!) and had pho for lunch (my favorite!) Then we played with our nieces and nephew, had delicious food, and spent time with Randy’s family. It was a really relaxed day just full of fun memories.

Sunday was Christmas Eve and we jetted off to church with Randy’s family, had a delicious ramen and gyoza party there, then went back to my parents house for a Christmas Eve dinner, then back to Randy’s to talk to Elder Low! He is doing SO well and it was wonderful to get to chat with him! He seems so happy in Japan, and we couldn’t be more proud of him!

Christmas Eve night was full of opening books (my family’s tradition) and getting everything ready for the big day!

Christmas Day of course was too much fun. We ran back and forth between our families houses and were spoiled absolutely rotten. From clothes for us and our little dude, to surprise bath bombs and tons of vinyl for Randy, we were so lucky. We really have the best families and it was so fun to give them things and show our love for them.

Fun fact, my dad got a lock picking set and everyone, including Candace, had to learn how to use it!

It was SO magical to have little kids with us on Christmas morning and got me and Randy so excited for next year when we have little man here!

The days after Christmas have been filled with more family and fun and we are so lucky, it’s been so perfect to have a break and refocus on things that really matter.

As we talked about Jesus Christ and His miraculous birth, I can’t help but think about His Heavenly Father and Mother and His earthly parents. All of them had so much love for Him, and for all of us. They were willing to give a child so He could grow up and save us. I think about how overprotective I feel about this little babe I haven’t met, and how fiercely I love him already, and it makes me sob.

There is so much good and so much love all around us. It’s easier to feel at Christmas, but it’s something I pray I can carry through every day of the next year.

Merry Christmas!

We have been having the best time gearing up for Christmas! Randy finished his finals on Thursday (he worked SO hard and I am SO proud of him!) so Friday we had to do some fun stuff!

After work we went to see Star Wars The Last Jedi and we LOVED it. So many people have been saying they don’t like it for one reason or another, but we thought it was really good! You have to let go of your expectations a little bit, but I really loved it and so did Randy.

Saturday morning we slept in a bit, then headed off to do some Christmas shopping! It was snowing a tiny bit and we listened to Christmas music which always makes me so excited for the holiday.

We saw Santa Claus at City Creek, but he wasn’t nearly as popular as all the Star Wars characters that were available for pictures! There were maybe 4 people in line to see Santa, and several dozen in line to see the Star Wars characters, which was a riot.

We met up with Bethany and Jarem at Trolley Square for some dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory – we got to eat in the train car which was really fun! After wandering around for a minute, we headed up to Temple Square and after getting stuck in some bad traffic, finally parked and got over to the MoTab Concert! It was SO cool to see so many people in line at the JSMB for the new Church Vending Machines, all wanting to donate money to serve others.

We got to the concert and it was one of my favorite ones I have ever been to. Sutton Foster was breathtaking and her songs were beautiful. I seriously teared up hearing her sing Sunshine On My Shoulders by John Denver (one of my family’s favorite road trip songs). Hugh Bonneville was also fantastic and SO cool to see in person, and of course Richard Elliot the organist played an AMAZING solo that got a standing ovation. The whole congregation sang Jingle Bells and it was SO fun to see everyone try to keep up with the conductor.

Baby boy was bouncing around like nuts when the singing was going on – I think it’s safe to say he’s his father’s son, and loves music.

We’re having the best time this holiday baking cookies, wrapping gifts, and I’m trying really hard not to get too caught up in things and just be excited about what we get to do and see. It’s been fun and we can’t wait for little man to join us next year!

Week 18:

Randy and I are THRILLED that we are having a baby boy!! SO many people thought it was a girl (75% of our Instagram poll) but once she told us it was a boy it just felt SO right. It feels obvious and we are so insanely thrilled. It’s just the right first step for our little family and we couldn’t be happier. We had a blast finding out and sharing with our families.

Symptoms: I have been gagging at EVERYTHING. It’s the weirdest thing! I don’t feel sick to my stomach, but Randy will have his hoodie strings in his mouth or something and it makes me gag! It’s SO weird. I’ve also had some random shin-split pain and things that may, or may not, be associated with the pregnancy.

Sleep: I’m less tired which is amazing! It’s so nice to have more energy! 

Baby is: The size of a box of an action figure! He’s supposedly going to be able to start hearing right around now so I’m trying to talk to him more, as strange as it feels! I also feel like I have felt him move a couple times, but they say starting this week or next week I should be able to start feeling him move for sure!

Gender: BABY BOY! Right now we are liking the names Graham, Winston, and Hudson.

Dad is: The very best! He is getting ready for finals and is still so sweet and always makes sure I have everything I need.

Mom is craving: Sour candies still (so weird) and PASTA.

Funny things this week: We had a blast at the Festival of Trees and couldn’t stop staring at every, single baby we saw!

 

I’ve debated sharing this post, but I know I will want to remember this story and the testimony building things that happened. I won’t share all of it; some things are far too sacred for words. But it’s important to remember and be grateful for our journey and our story.

So here we go.

Randy and I were 21 years old when we got married. We were teeny babies who had a whole lot of love, and a whole lot of living ahead. I’m SO grateful we got married when we did (see this post). We joked with everyone we knew that weren’t going to have kids for a LONG time, five years or so. I thought 26 sounded like a good age to have a baby. Randy still had a LOT of school left when we got married, I had just graduated and started a career. I was very content with the idea that I was going to pursue my career and that Randy would finish school before we decided to have children.

Lots of my friends were “baby hungry” and while I knew I wanted to be a mom and was super excited to be a mom, I wasn’t feeling that “baby fever” to have a baby right away or anything. Which I was really grateful for. I thanked Heavenly Father for not giving me that “baby hunger” and asked if I could just hold off getting it until we were SUPPOSED to have a baby. I didn’t want to just want a baby, I wanted to know that it was the next step for our family and that the timing was right.

So we went through our first year of marriage, then the first year and a half, blissfully happy and moving forward in our lives. I progressed in my career in ways I was extremely proud of, Randy finally got settled into a school and was on his way into the Accounting Program, and we were just thrilled with that.

Then around November/December of last year, I started to feel a tug. A whisper. “Someone’s missing.” I ignored it completely. We were in NO position to have a baby in my mind.

But the tug kept pulling.

I remember one specific day in December, a friend of ours posted that they were going to have a baby. Randy and I drove home that night and I was sobbing. I was SO happy for them, but my heart was also SO jealous and wanted that too. Randy, of course, is perfect and said that once I decided I wanted to start trying, he was on board. He said he had been dreaming of being a dad since we had started dating (of course we wouldn’t have done that then) but that he was SO excited to be a dad and knew that we would make it work.

I cried and cried saying we couldn’t afford it, saying that I didn’t want to keep working full time and that he needed to finish school and about a million other things.

A few days later we decided to look seriously at our “baby timeline.”

We had said we wouldn’t have a baby for a LONG time, maybe start trying after Randy graduated. But that was obviously not going to be the case now. Because we knew that Randy would be graduating in December of 2018, we decided January of 2018 would be a great time to start trying.

I felt really good about that, and was able to put it out of my head. Our timeline was adjusted, we would have a baby sooner than I thought, and we could spend 2017 getting ready.

A few weeks later we got our tax return, and it was MUCH larger than we had expected! We were floored, and debated what to do with the extra money. Pay off a car? Put it in savings for tuition or for a baby?

I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that we should go to Japan. Randy hadn’t seen his grandparents in 10 years, and not since he had learned to speak Japanese. I had never met them. They are older, and we just don’t know how much time they will have left. I knew it would be harder for us to travel once we had a baby (and more expensive) so we prayed and thought, and decided going to Japan would be a great idea.

We started making plans and booking and I was THRILLED.

But in the back of my head there was always the baby.

I heard the whisper more and more that someone was missing. That we were supposed to go to Japan so we would have the chance to go before we had a baby.

I started panicking. How in the world could we do this?

I messaged dozens of girlfriends who had husbands in school and a baby, asking how they did it. (If you were one of the people I messaged, THANK YOU. You have no idea how much you helped me.) They were all SO optimistic and happy. They said that it wasn’t always easy, shared some of their tips and tricks, and then every, single one of them bore their testimony to me that God provides, that if it’s the right time then things work out. They all told me that they sacrifice and work hard, but that it is so worth it.

I started praying and explaining to Heavenly Father all the reasons why we couldn’t start trying to have a baby before January 2018. It went something like this: “I felt like I was supposed to graduate quickly to have a career, and I’m moving up in my career and having a baby could harm that. Randy is working SO hard in school and doesn’t have to work right now which is really helping him to well in classes. I don’t want to work full time and be a mom so I don’t think it would work. I don’t know how we’d have insurance. Randy really wants to be a great dad and I’m worried it would take away from his studies.” on and on and on.

Finally one day after saying all these reasons again and again, it felt like I got a sit-down chat with Heavenly Father.

Don’t you think I know that Randy has school work? Don’t you think I know that you’ll need money? Don’t you think I know how hard you both have worked? Don’t you think I know you need insurance? Don’t you think I know all the things you’ll need and all the things you’ve worked hard for? And don’t you think I know what’s best, and how you’ll get through it?

I can’t explain how hard that hit me.

After listening to a LDS Face-to-Face devotional the next day, and some serious prayer, it was made absolutely clear to me that this was the right next step. And that even though I was so scared, it would be OK.

That was in April, we left to Japan in May (which was amazing and one of the best decisions we could have made), and got pregnant in August.

Randy has been the absolute pillar of faith in all this. I have learned SO much about faith in these past six months. I have been wildly uncomfortable with walking forward in the dark, not being sure at all what’s ahead.

And it has been miraculous to me to see how perfectly things have worked out. How things have lined up. Not to say it’s all sunshine and roses, easy-peasy. But with our hard work, things have lined up.

It’s been miraculous to me how I’ll listen to a conference talk that will speak EXACTLY to my faith, or flip open my scriptures and read EXACTLY what I need. It’s amazing that a talk in church or a lesson will bring me to tears because it’s SO OBVIOUS how much God knows my heart and my fears.

I’ve had about a million heroes of faith from Nephi, not knowing beforehand what he should do, to Mary the mother of Christ, who didn’t ask questions and didn’t need all the details before committing to moving forward. It’s not about going in blind or being unprepared. It’s about being as prepared as you can be, but mainly being prepared to TRUST in the Lord and move forward.

And every time I start panicking about how unsure it all is, Randy just simply says, “We have always been provided for, it has always worked out, and we have always had what we need and been happy.” And he’s right.

And man, oh man. After we saw that little baby squirming and punching and seemingly smile at us, I get it. It’s already been so worth it and made us happier than I ever imagined.

Now let me finish this out. I’m not saying just go out and have a baby willy-nilly. Randy and I have saved and done extensive research, planned and prepared for this baby. I don’t think you’re ever as perfectly ready as you’d like to be, but I think it’s insanely important to save and plan, prepare and do anything you can to be ready.

And then let God make up the difference.

I am saying that it was made perfectly clear to us that someone was missing, and that if we made the CHOICE ourselves to have a baby, that it was the right time and things would work out. I don’t at all feel like we were told we HAD to have a baby. I felt the whole time that if we wanted and chose to do so, it would be the right time and it would allllll work out.

If I have to say one thing, it’s that God is SO REAL and loves us so much. Being pregnant has given me the teeniest, tiniest glimpse of that. Because I am already so protective and love this baby so fiercely. I can’t even imagine how much more I will feel once he’s here. And I can’t imagine how much more God loves us.

I seriously took ZERO pictures of Thanksgiving. We were running around like crazy people and I feel so dumb for forgetting! Oh well! You can look at my popping belly and decide if it’s pie or baby in there.

Before we left to spend time up north for the break, we decorated our little apartment for Christmas. It was SO fun to put up our tree and all our decorations. I’m in love with Christmas!

Wednesday after Randy finished school, we headed up to Kaysville for the break!

We immediately did a gender reveal for my family, who were all in town for the holiday. It was SO fun (see next post for the video!)

We then had a Thanksgiving dinner with my immediate family which was really fancy and so special! We celebrated my brother in California who passed the bar (Way to go Ben!) and baby boy Low!

Wednesday night we played games with my cousins and ate pie, having a blast.

Thursday we woke up early to go play our Thanksgiving Frisbee game. We’re all getting old and there wasn’t very many of us, so we didn’t last long! We did a Thanksgiving Gratitude Journal entry, made brussels sprouts, and got ready for the day. We popped in on my extended family Thanksgiving for a bit before heading up to Logan for Randy’s family Thanksgiving.

We did a gender reveal with his extended family the moment we arrived, which was so fun!

We spent the day playing games, eating delicious food, and making music! It was just the best day!

We stayed up way too late again Thursday night eating pie and hanging out with cousins.

Friday, we were up bright and early to do some shopping! Randy and I spent WAY too much money and got most of our Christmas shopping done! We also got some deals on stuff for our little dude, which was too fun.

We went back to Kaysville to decorate for Christmas at my mom’s, and have a delicious dinner with Randy’s parents. We stayed up super late AGAIN playing games and decorating the Christmas tree.

Saturday we went to see Wonder and it was SUCH a good movie! It’s unfair to make a pregnant mom of a little boy watch that movie though. I was BAWLING the whole time!

Randy had to do some school work up at the University so I did some more shopping, then we went to a delicious Ramen Restaurant in Ogden and saw the Ogden Christmas Light Parade, which was really fun.

We headed home and spent Sunday relaxing and getting caught up on all our house things. It was one of the best Thanksgiving weekends I can remember, and we’re THRILLED that next year we will have our little man with us!

Don’t worry, I’ll be posting a whole video and blog post all about finding out the gender of Baby Low!

We are THRILLED to be having a little boy, and I’ll tell you all more about it in that post! (I just have to get my act together and edit the video!)

For my Maternity Monday, I wanted to share one of my very favorite shops Wight Gold. It has the CUTEST stuff and they are having a HUGE Cyber Monday sale and posting new arrivals every few hours!

I seriously LOVE Wight Gold, they have darling things and as I’ve been shopping for things that I can keep wearing throughout the pregnancy, they’ve been one of my favorites! You can clearly tell which items will keep working, and they even have a “nursing friendly” section of the website to make it obvious which items will be great for after Baby Low arrives! I’m seriously in love with this shop! And it’s owned by the SWEETEST girl, for sure go check it out!

Symptoms: If I move around too fast I still feel nauseous, and I can’t eat as much at each meal as normal! So I eat a smaller meal and then I’m hungry again in a few hours haha!

Sleep: I’ve been sleeping better at night, but I am still SO tired! 

Baby is: The size of a box of Crayola Crayons (or an avocado). My sister told us that if people kept growing at the rate they do before they are born, they’d be bigger than the earth by age 5! Super crazy!

Gender: BABY BOY! I have already bought SO many things for our little dude.

Dad is: So helpful! He was sick this week and still was hopping up and down, getting me anything I need. He’s so sweet. I hope our little boy is JUST like his daddy.

Mom is craving: This week I was in love with the mashed potatoes and gravy from Thanksgiving! 

Funny things this week: We put out an Instagram poll for the gender of Baby Low, and over 75% of people thought it was a girl! We were all surprised together, but it just makes so much sense and totally fits that we are having a darling little dude.