Baby BOY Brady is on the way!

I don't even know where to start.  I guess I can start with the basics.  Our sweet little baby boy is due on July 26, 2012 and we absolutely could not be happier!  It was a long tough emotional difficult and strengthening experience to finally have him on the way.  This experience alone has strengthened me and brought me closer to my Heavenly Father than ANY other experience in my entire life.  I can't say thank you enough to the many friends and family members who were a shoulder to cry on month after month and gave so many words of encouragement.

For the backstory on our struggle with infertility read here: http://macandjaime.blogspot.com/2011/10/noteworthy-notes-about-life-in-alaska.html

After 13 months of infertility, I often still find it hard to believe that there is a little person growing inside of me (although that is getting harder and harder to deny.) I'm now 14 weeks along and I can feel my body stretching and I can definitely see my belly starting to poke out.   At our ultrasound yesterday we got to see our little guy bouncing around and waving his arms.  THAT made it very very real and I don't think I stopped smiling all day long!  They were doing some tests and that little stinker had his head wedged way down in the right corner of my uterus, so we got to watch him for 30 minutes till he finally moved from that spot so they could get the measurements they needed.  I was cheering him on as I was loving all the time we got to have to watch him on the screen.

When we first got to our ultrasound the ultrasound tech said he "might" be able to tell us the sex of the baby, but it was really early.  So after one glance he said he was pretty sure we were having a boy.  Then as the ultrasound went on it progressed to "I'm 95% sure you guys are having a boy!"  So, I guess we could have a really big surprise at our next ultrasound in 4 weeks and find out we are having a girl, but I think we've both felt like it was a boy all along.

So now I get to enjoy the "honeymoon" phase of pregnancy, or the 2nd trimester.  I don't know that it will be much different from my first trimester since I was never sick, and my only real symptoms were being hungry 24-7 and tired just as much.  Here are some pictures to enjoy from our ultra long ultrasound and our pregnancy photo shoot the day we found out we were prego!

A Tail of Forbidden Love

This is Bobby, (you have to click on the picture to see the whole thing) he is a delightful young dog from the Clan Chihuahua. I first laid eyes on this strapping young man last week as part of my ritualistic combing of the internets in order to find a dog to buy/adopt. Bobby was given up by his owner-I assume because the dude couldn't handle such a rock n roll hound-and is being held hostage by an organization known as Friends of Pets.

Now I know you may be thinking right now that any organization with the word "friend" in its title has to be legitimate, but the process they make you go through in order to even have a chance to look at the animals they have in their facility (read prison) would make you think otherwise. It seriously is easier to adopt a kid than one of the dogs they have; it might even cost about the same too. Anyway, I filled out the required paperwork and submitted electronically a few days ago and now our file is being reviewed by one of the cronies that work there. There were several sections in the application where the applier is encouraged to elaborate on his or her answers, so I laid it on thick. I utilized every scrap of writing ability I learned throughout my college years and applied them to this application. When they get done reading it, I'll bet you dollars to donuts that they think Jaime and are aristocratic, or possibly Democratic.

Now it's a waiting game. Because the agency is only staffed by volunteers, they work on nights and weekends and try as hard as they can to get applications processed in about a week. As of this writing we are Submission Day +2, so I will keep you posted as I receive more info. Once the application is processed, and they think we would be a good match for Little Bobby, they give us a chance to come in and meet him. If we pass that phase, they will then come to our home and do a residence visit where they will assess our living space to ensure it meets their requirements. Now I don't know if any of you have ever seen a Chihuahua, but they are the smallest breed on earth, averaging about 6-12 pounds. I've eaten more pizza in one sitting than that. An adequate living space for the tiny Mexican pooch would be a laundry basket, so I don't think we'll be disqualified for that. Assuming we make it that far, Ole Bobb-O is placed in our care for a trial adoption. If that goes off without a hitch, he's ours!

So, if in your Christmas spirit you feel like sending good thoughts and feelings our way, I think Bobby would appreciate it. It has been a fun experience so far and I hope we get a chance to go see the little guy.

The Little Things

You know what is really annoying?  Having your power windows freeze when you are attempting to go through the drive through.  Now that we live in Alaska, it is below freezing most of the time/all of the time. :)  We have found that our windows freeze right around 20 degrees.  from 20-35 degrees we might have to "help" the window a little by pushing down on it, but usually it will open.

Today it was a brisk 25 degrees when I went on lunch from my work training.  I was craving Arby's so I headed over there, navigated through the icy roads and finally made it to the drive through.  As I pulled up to the window I tried to roll down my window, and it was stuck!  Yes, yes, I could have just opened my door and ordered, paid, and got my food, but number one, that is just awkward.  And number two, it is freezing cold, and who wants icy air coming in an open door while they sit and wait?  Not this girl.  I was already cold even though I was bundled up in a Down coat zipped all the way up and had gloves on.  I don't even want to think about how cold I would have been with the door wide open!

Luckily, at the last second I was able to "help" the window open and a crisis was averted.  So today I'm grateful it was just warm enough for me to roll down my window at the drive through!

Our first Christmas tree

What would you say if I told you this was our first Christmas tree as a married couple?

It's true.  We have never decorated a Christmas Tree together until this year, and this is our 3rd Christmas together. Let me re-cap our previous two Christmas' together:

Christmas #1: Newlyweds.  We cut down a beautiful tree in Manti and left it at Mac's parents house, with the intention of getting it in the next day or two and putting it up in our apartment.  Fast forward to Christmas 2009--the tree was still beautifully decorating Mac's parent's lawn.  Oops.

Christmas #2: Moving in with the Parents.  Yep, the beginning of December 2010 we moved in with my parents to save money for our big move to Alaska.  So we just mooched off my parent's tree but didn't really decorate it.

Christmas #3: OUR FIRST TREE!  We got this little beauty at Fred Meyers.  It is super cute and we love it.  It would have a star on top...but....Mac doesn't know his own strength, and broke the star we bought.  haha, it was a pretty sad moment but we had a good laugh about it.  We think our tree is still beautiful!

Mac and our broken star!

How lame are we?  We only dressed from the waist down for our first Christmas tree picture.  Here is the full view: 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Moose Alert!

This morning I got up early to clean the church at 9am (since the sun doesn't come up till 10am it is really easy to sleep in!)  So as I walked to the church at 9am it was still pretty dark outside.  We live really close to the church so I just decided to walk in celebration of the heat wave passing through Anchorage (it was 38 degrees yesterday!!  I thought it was summer for a minute.)  Anyway, as I was walking I passed this wooded area that is across from our parking lot.  I've always thought the moose would love that spot but I've never seen one in there.  So as I walked I thought to myself, "That would be scary if there was a big moose in there!"  So of course I looked to see if anything was there (it was kinda creepy/scary because it was dark and foresty looking) and sure enough!  I big huge bull moose just chilling right inside the tree line.  Having watched all the alaska outdoors shows where people get attacked by moose and bears and all that jazz, I kinda panicked and started walking really fast (and quietly) so as to not startle him.  He just looked at me as I cruised past.  He was only like 20 feet away from me.  Wildlife viewing is so much more fun from the safety of a car!!  Oh, and no, I didn't get a picture because I was too busy putting some distance between me and him.

New Beginnings....

I think I posted a little on here a month or so ago about how awful my job here was.  I finally decided I had had enough and took a leap of faith by quitting my job before I even had another one lined up.  I knew it wasn't good for me to stay there so I just had to trust that things would work out for us, and they most definitely have!!  I officially accepted my new job today and start on Monday!  I really am so excited.  I will be working as a Foster Care Licensing Specialist for Denali Family Services here in Alaska.  I have been wanting to get out of Substance Abuse Treatment and into Adoptions/Foster Care for some time now, and it seems like this job just fell into my lap.  It's amazing.  I know there will be ups and downs in this job, as in every other job out there, but I know I will at least be supported by my supervisor and encouraged to do well instead of put down at every turn.  Here's to new beginnings and hopefully making a difference in the lives of some very special children!

You know you live in Alaska when......

I always love this type of joke....."you know you're a redneck when...." "You know you live in Utah when....."  "You know you grew up in the 80's when....."

My new favorite is, "You know you live in Alaska when...."

Yesterday mac and I walked outside to the truck to run some errands around 1:00pm.  It was a GORGEOUS day in Anchorage with blue skies and a bright sun.  This was a very welcome change as it has just been dreary and cold and dark for the last little while.

As we were walking to the car (bundled up in like 1,000 layers) I said, "wow, it is really warm today!!" I was thinking to myself that I probably could have just worn a sweater today and been warm enough! When we got in the car and saw the temperature, it read 23 degrees.  HA!  I guess when it has been in the negatives, a freezing 23 degrees can feel like a warm spring day!

So.......

"You know you live in Alaska when you think 23 degrees is WARM."

Maybe you have to live in Alaska to appreciate this one....but I think it's pretty funny. :)