IT'S A GIRL!!!

22 Weeks!

We have some exciting news we wanted to share! On Thursday we went in for our first ultrasound(which was surreal, by the way). It was strange to see the little person inside, Melody could hardly believe it. Scott was glued to the monitor( it was like the discovery channel for him). The baby had the hiccups the entire time we were being ultrasounded. At first the baby didn't want to cooperate with the technician trying to determine gender. So, they moved on to measuring bones, etc...They couldn't see all four chambers of the heart and tried to get the baby to roll over so they could see better. After prodding my belly a little the baby did move and then promptly rolled back to the previous position and continued kicking those beautiful legs! And then.....they discovered IT IS A GIRL!! So, until we hear different we are working on that theory.(the picture was pretty clear though). We are pretty excited! So, one more girl will be added to the family November 29th!

A Growing Belly, 11 and 16 1/2 weeks!!

Recipes have become a new hobby of sorts for me. I enjoy trying out new recipes and Scott is always so supportive and eats everything I make! So, I thought I would occasionally post some of our favorites, especially the easy to make ones. This sunday we tried out a recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup from a book called "Missionary Meals for 2".

Chicken Tortilla Soup:
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1/2 15 oz can of whole kernel corn
1 14.5 oz can of chicken broth
1/2 15 oz can black beans
1/2 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 4 oz can diced green chilies
1/2 tsp cumin
salt to taste

Garnish:
tortilla chips
shredded cheddar cheese


We didn't add any salt and instead of torilla chips and cheese we had tortillas and guacamole on the side and it was so wonderful! I tripled it, approximately and would recommend the same for anyone else making it.


A few weeks ago we also started having Hawaiian Sandwiches, the recipe is from another missionary cookbook of mine.

Hawaiian Sandwiches:
Toast 2 slices of bread
Layer sliced ham, sliced pineapple and cheese on top of toasted bread for an open faced sandwich and broil until cheese melts.

We like to use white bread and white cheese. I personally like to heat my pineapple in the microwave before I put it on the bread so it gets really hot and toasty but Scott doesn't mind either way!

New Growth

At the beginning of the semester (around september) I bought some little houseplants and replanted them all together. I was very excited to have plants because it makes me feel very wifely and nurturing. Sadly, they didn't last long. As the temperature droped they began to wither one at a time until all three had shriveled up into little black sticks. I had almost given up on encouraging life in the apartment when I had some inspiration while looking at an avacado. We toothpicked the avacado pit and put it on a cup full of water to help it sprout into a tree. For a long time the pit didn't do anything and I was about to give up when it began to crack open so the roots could come out. A few weeks ago it began to grow in leaps and bounds and sprout out the side(it's supposed to come out of the top but it was in a place where the light was coming from the side). I was so excited that it was finally showing progress!!

So, after ignoring the messy bed you will see the finished blanket folded in half!

Christmas was a very busy time for us, with school, work and making Christmas presents. In my family we are assigned one sibling and their family to give gifts to because there are too many of us. This year we had Ben and Athena and their two darling little girls. About three months before Christmas we decided to make a blanket for them and after much thought and several brainstorming sessions with other siblings and my mother we decided on a cream color for the yarn and got to work. After three months of work a rather large and impressive(at least to me) blanket was produced from my crochet hook. I have to say I am rather pleased with it and thoroughly enjoyed the learning process that I experienced!

This has been a momentous week in the life of two "first-time" married renters. On thursday, Scott's birthday I took him to work and ran a few errands. When I came home, I walked by our kitchen windows on the way to the mailbox and I could see the light shining through a crack in the curtains. I walked down the stairs to the apartment as quietly as I could and the door was slightly ajar. If I had been smart I would have called 911. But, I eased the door open and peered in to see a strange man with his head under the kitchen sink. I assumed it was the landlord because I had seen a familiar car outside and we needed our sink fixed. He didn't introduce himself but just said he was trying to fix the sink. I didn't want to leave him there alone in our apartment so I changed my schedule to stick around. I was irked!! Scott was even more angry than I was, what if I had been in the shower or something!
Scott called the landloard and he was thoroughly uncooperative and said he'd "try to call first next time". So Scott looked up the law online and it's illegal to enter our apartment without 24 hours written notice! Scott emailed him and we haven't heard back but next time I'm calling the cops!!!
The adventures of being newly married never end!