Christmas is in the Air

Merry Christmas everyone! James & had fun yesterday putting up our Christmas tree and the rest of our apartment decorations. It did take a few hours to complete the popcorn string that we borrowed from James' family traditions. But we finished it together and it looks great on the tree. Another tradition that we began when we got married was the collection of Christmas ornaments. We have tried buying an ornament on different trips we take or for special occassions. We're still trying to find the perfect "expecting parents" ornament, so we don't have that one yet. :) But we did include some pictures of other ornaments we have collected this year.

Have a happy holiday season everyone! We love you all!

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Quick Update

Hello all. I just wanted to give you our quick update on the baby and I. I had my 24 week appointment today and everything went great. I have gained 4 pounds since my last appointment, which is exactly where I'm supposed to be. The baby's heartbeat was very strong and he is measuring right on schedule. As you can tell in my picture, I am starting to show a bit more than my last picture. Good times ahead!

Generosity

I just wanted to make a quick blog about something I was overwhelmed with today. Generosity. I have been so impressed and shocked with the amount of help we have been offered since we found out that we were pregnant. Case in point... a guy I work with asked me yesterday if I wanted some of his son's old baby clothes and his old crib they had just sitting in the garage. I said yes without thinking too much about it. I got to work this morning to find a beautiful wood, almost new crib and a huge box of super cute baby clothes just waiting for me in my office. I offered to pay him at least a little bit for everything and he refused to take it. He said they were done using it and were happy to pass it on to a deserving family that needed it. I feel so blessed. This is just one incident of people offering to help us or lend us their own children's clothes. I just wanted to send a big thank you to everyone! We know how lucky we are to have such wonderful families and friends that are willing to do even the smallest things to help us on our upcoming journey of parenthood!

Thanksgiving and the Crazy Day-After

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! James & I had a great holiday weekend! We were able to make it up to Salt Lake for the weekend and it has been a busy one for the books. Thanksgiving Day we went to Pleasant Grove to celebrate the season with my dad's whole side of the family. Too many Christiansen's to fit in one house, so my grandparents opted for a cultural hall. :) The food was delicious and the company was refreshing. We only see the whole family 1-2 times a year, so it's always nice to get together. After the dinner wrapped up, we went to see the new Disney movie, "Enchanted" with my parents, Ange (my sister) and Craig (her hubby). Can I just say... what a fun movie! I know I may be a 25 year old soon-to-be mother, but this movie made me feel like I was 6 years old discovering my new favorite princess. I just thought the whole thing was cute! The songs, the costumes, the characters... A+++!

Now onto the "Day-After"! As some of you may know, I am one of those crazy people that wakes up before the sun does just to stand in line for the season's best deals. What can I say? It's a family tradition. So we mapped out our course the night before and our Friday morning alarm clock went off at 3am. This year my sister & I were even able to convince our newby husbands to partake in the fun. We met at my parents house at 3:30am and made it to Kohl's before their opening at 4am. We did have to wait outside for about 20 minutes, but that wasn't too bad. The clock struck 4:00am and the race was on. After the 200+ people in front of us in line... we were off! We each had assignments and had them completed within the first 5 minutes. Ange, Craig & Travis had plans to hit a few other stores, so they immediately jumped in line and were out of Kohl's by 4:40am. James & I stayed at Kohl's with my mom and shopped a while. Big mistake! Don't get me wrong, we got some great deals! But because we missed the window of oppoortunity for short lines, we were forced to stand in line for 2 1/2 hours! Meanwhile, our other group that left early was able to hit Shopko and Target's openings at 5am and 6am and were still done before us! Oh well. We met at IHOP for breakfast and called it a morning. After a 3 hour nap, a few of us decided to give it another go. And we went until 8pm! James & I didn't buy a thing, but we sure had fun helping my mom complete every single thing on her list. Mission accomplished!

Thankful

All this talk about Thanksgiving has really got me thinking... I am truly blessed. Not just blessed because I get to eat my wonderful mother's homemade Thanksgiving meal tomorrow, but blessed for countless reasons. I am so thankful for my family! My wonderful husband is such an inspiration and support for me. He spends countless hours working and studying in the library just to ensure his graduation next spring. I'm sure he gets stressed with the pressure of supporting his family, but he would never admit it. My loving parents and father-in-law are also an amazing source of strength. When I lost my job a few weeks ago, neither of them hesitated to jump right in and help our lil' family. I'm thankful for modern medicine. It is so amazing to me how far we have come with our medical technology and medicine. Hearing my unborn son's heartbeat and watching his little hand wave to me during a "routine" ultrasound is something I will never take for granted. I am thankful for friends. I have the greatest friends in the world! Even though I have not seen some of them in months or years, we never lose touch because of the gift of communication. Which reminds me, I am so thankful for email! :) I am thankful for the gift of eternal families. Knowing that I will be James' wife forever brings joy to my heart everyday. It helps remind me of the smallness of the trials we bear here on earth. As long as we maintain our focus on the long-term eternal goal, the rest of this stuff is just... stuff. Because of the plan we also have the calming knowledge that we have only been temporarily separated from James' beautiful mom. What relief that brings to my heart!

I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving holidays! We are such a blessed people! What are some of the things you are thankful for?

Happy Halloween

Hello everyone! James & I finally got around to carving our pumpkins for Halloween last night. We had a blast & they turned out so cute... uh, I mean scary! James' dad was even here to judge the best one, but he called it a tie. :)






Today was also the day of the halfway point of my pregnancy... I am officially 20 weeks! Yeah! As you can see in the picture, I'm still not showing much. However, I did feel the baby move for the first time in Sacrament Meeting today. That was pretty cool. He's really in there! Hooray!

It's A Boy!!

IT'S A BOY!!!

Hello friends and family! This is the official announcement that James & I will be welcoming a BABY BOY to our family in March! We had the ultrasound today and I can honestly say, that was one of the coolest things I have ever seen! We watched him for about 45 minutes just kicking, waving and rolling around. It was awesome! He's an active little guy, so wish me luck next trimester! And I can proudly say that James was the first one in the room to recognize the 'boy parts'. They projected the images onto the wall and before I even knew what I was looking at, I hear James yell, "IT'S A BOY!" Yes, daddy's proud of his (unmistakable) little boy! Check out our pictures below.

We Love You Mom!

On September 19th, 2007 we lost James' beautiful mother to a 12 year battle with brain cancer. After a very emotional week with our family, I have decided that there are no words to describe how wonderful she was or how much we are going to miss her. Instead, I have decided to show you some of my favorite photos of the world's greatest mother-in-law in celebration of her spectacular life. Enjoy!

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My visit HOME!!

I just thought I would share a few things about my recent trip back to St. Louis. I say recent as I am still sitting here in my fathers old office upstairs in the house I grew up in.

First the new comer. One eyed Willie is the cutiest baby ever. I couldn't get enough of him. I was forced to give him up alittle today so that his father could spend time with him before he left back to West Vergina. I was okay with that....kind of. He is very healthy and very calm. He was born 8 pounds and one ounce and is about 21 inches. He has a face like it was modeled after his father which is by no means a bad thing. Like I said HE'S CUTE!! His parents call him frog boy because he likes to stay cureled up like a frog where ever he is. His favorite place to sleep is on my stomach so I don't know what jenny going to do with out me. LOL!! I am sure that they will get along just fine. ( but seriously jenny if you need to call me and I will come out to WV to put him to sleep.) He is adorable I will miss him just as much as anyone else. So you guys better keep the pics coming. To see pics for those that don't know there is a link here to the brights blog on the left. Go see one eyed willie!!

Now my Mother. What a sweet woman. She hasn't lost a step as far as her knowledge ands memories go. Infact she still remembers stuff that I don't. But unfortunetly the cancer has progressed to a point that she really has no motor functions. she has almost lost the complete ability to swallow as well so she is currently being feed three times a day by a tube that has been surgically put in to her stomach. Its good and bad....its good because she dosn't have to taste any of her meds or that gross ensure. Its bad because she can't have some of the stuff she loves ie. beans, salsa, wheat bread, beans, and more salsa. She is able to communicate slitly as the meds where off through out the day. The rest of the time its a mumbled wisper. She is as frustrated with this all as the rest of us as we try to hear her and are unable to get her what she wants. Luckly dad has been blessed with a on had urnum and thumum and has got really good and desifering what she wants just by reading her eyes. Mentaly she is the same old mom that loves us all physically she just doesn't have it. Every morning she would ask to go for a walk or to go to the bathroom forgetting for a moment that she can't do any of that on her own in any shape or form. Dad has been a great support. I don't know of a better fater and husband. He is an inspiration to me of who I want to be. I had a chance to sit down with him and talk one on one, one of the thing he said to me is that he desn't care how long it will be but he will do everything in his power to make Mom as comforatable as possible. I have witnessed this first had. A quick example, this morning mom said that she needed to go to the bathroom dad said just go, because she has her depends on. She said she wanted to use the portable toilet that they have now. so dad lifted her in to the toilet. He left her there for about 30 min and nothing happened. so he put her back on the bed, 15 mins. went by She again requested to use the toilet. dad Repeated the steps previously described again nothing. another 30 mins and she does it again. knowing full well that she will not go and that it is alot of pain for the both of them. WHAT MOM WANTS SHE GETS!! This a testiment to the kind of person that my father is. He knows that our mother could leave us at any time yet he does nothing but look forward to the next 24 hours of serving his wife! He is my idol he is my friend HE IS MY FATHER and I Love Him! Thank You dad for taking care of Mom!

The past few days I have had the opportunity to cry, laugh, love, be loved, and serve. I leave St. Louis with the knowledge that I know that my Heavily Father is watchign over us and that he has a plan for us. I know that Families are together forever and that I will never be seperated from my Mother! I know that miricales are real as I have been given 12 yrs and counting with a mother that was give a year to live. I know that I have a savior that loves me, and I know this becasue I was taught in my youth by the bestest parents and son could have.

This weekend has been great!!



ps. sorry about the spelling.

Congratulations Jenny & Sam!

Hello everyone. We just wanted to send out a quick announcement and congratulations to Jenny & Sam Bright. They welcomed their baby boy into the world on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007. They named him William Matthew Bright, and he is such a doll. If you want to see pictures and learn more about the newest edition to the West side of our family, check out their blog by clicking on our link "The Bright Fam". Enjoy!

The newest thing to hit Fantasy Football

Alright family get ready for this season. Here is a little something to get you excited!

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Coeur D' Alene Pics

The Power of Love

Well, James & I just returned from our short but wonderful trip to the beautiful Coeur D' Alene, Idaho. The views we had of the lake and surrounding scenery were breathtaking. It was so nice to get away to the most peaceful place on earth. I could go on and on about the beauty of nature we played in for 4 days, but that was not the most memorable aspect of this recent trip. The part that was amazing and faith-building was the beautiful love I witnessed, shared between a husband and wife. For 4 days, I watched in awe, my mother-in-law be adored and admired every waking minute by her husband. I watched my father-in-law put all of his individual needs and wants aside, just to be by her side and help her with the smallest things like cutting up her salad or the bigger things like taking an hour walk up the road. As most of you may know, my wonderful mother-in-law has been diagnosed this year with brain cancer, for the third time. This time around has been the hardest because she has lost almost all mobility in her left side which has recently put her in a wheelchair. Because of her current condition, many things that the rest of us easily take for granted have been large challenges for her. But you will never hear her complain, and you will never see her unsupported. Whether it be by her adoring younger sister who still looks up to her "big" sister (like all of us little sisters do), by her supportive father who wishes daily that he could trade her places, or by her mother who will drive 2 hours from her own home just to be with her daughter on chemo day. And her incredibly supportive and loving husband who will fly back and forth from St. Louis as many times a week as needed, just to be there when his wife has a bad day. I was also able to watch a mother's 26 year old son wait on her hand and foot, just feeling fortunate enough to be able to do so. After watching all of this for 4 days, it's no wonder I wasn't completely preoccupied with the beautiful scenery. The scenes playing out inside the house, so full of love, was the most beautiful thing I have ever scene.

We love you Becky! You and Steve are an inspiration to James and I, and everyone else that knows you. We feel so lucky to have come up for this recent visit and spend the time with you that we did. Take care of yourself! The Lord loves you both!

WE'RE PREGNANT!

Hello everyone! I'm sure most of you know by now, but for those of you who don't, this is our big announcement! James & I are expecting our first baby! Yeah! We found out on Sunday morning and that was quite a good surprise! I took the test first thing in the morning while James was still half asleep, but he heard my gasp for air when I saw the word 'pregnant' on my digital pregnancy test pop up! Of course I then ran into the bedroom & cried while I handed him the test. What a great day! And just to make sure, we bought another test, different brand and all. I took that one on Monday morning and it was positive too. I guess it's for real! We'll be sure to keep everyone updated on any news we hear about the baby. We don't have our first appointment until August 2nd, so we'll see how that goes. :)

Transformers

This was the best MOVIE EVER!!!!!!!

Keri, Kylie, Candice, and I went and saw the movie last night. Besides having a great time with the nieces, the movie was phenomenal. This was hands down the best movie have seen in my life. It was true to the original transformers in every way and was casted perfectly. It took me back to being a kid again playing with my Optimus Prime and beating up on my little brother. If you have seen it share what you thought here....................

Event

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Groooooovy!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to invite you all in on our exciting Saturday evening. James & I hung out at the 2007 Groove Fest here in Cedar City, Utah.

Groove Fest is a sort of Woodstock-like outdoor concert, complete with hippies, homemade jewelry stands and live relaxing music. This was a first time for me and I actually really enjoyed it. We walked around to all the fun little pop-up tent exhibits and food stands. Then we enjoyed a gyro, navajo taco and the live music while we snuggled on the grass. It was actually pretty romantic. Just more good times to be had here in the Festival City. Enjoy the pics!

We also made a short video while we were there. If you care to view the video, feel free to click on the link below. Enjoy!
http://s45.photobucket.com/albums/f51/aussuu/?action=view&current=DSCN0721.flv

Utah Summer Games

Hello everyone! I just wanted to share a few pictures of our experiences at the Utah Summer Games! James had a great turn out for the paintball tournament & he did a wonderful job getting everything put together. It ran so smooth, I was so proud of him! He was the head referee on the field, so he was out there from 6am until 7:30pm! It was a long day, but well worth it! The team they sponsor even won the whole tournament, so that was fun to watch too. And all of you would be so proud of me to hear that I put my life on the line for some of these pictures. I actually went on the field, and got shot quite a few times. I still have the bruises to prove it! :) It was actually really fun to be in the middle of the action. The other picture below is of my good friend, Karrie, playing in the Adult 3 on 3 soccer tournament last weekend. That was fun to watch too! Next year, we need to get some of our family members and friends down here to participate. The whole town transforms into an olympic-like city with athletes, fans and mini vans decked out in white marker grafitti preaching their team to be #1. It's awesome!

This is a clip from KCSG the local news station covering the Utah Summer Games:

http://www.kcsg.com/Default.aspx?PageID=75

5 Stars!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to give another movie review, this time on Oceans 13. It was fabulous! James & I laughed the whole way through and were very entertained by the clever and cunning Danny Ocean & team. I will admit that I loved the first one, but wasn't too big of a fan of the second one because of the twisty, turny plot. But this one hits a homerun with a simple plot and the grand return to Las Vegas! It's a must see. Enjoy!

Keri's Going Back to School!!!

Hooray! I just wanted to share the news with everyone that I checked my financial aid status with Salt Lake Community College yesterday and I was offered 2 grants! Yeah! They are enough to cover about half my tuition for Fall & Spring Semesters. Now we just have to come up with the other half, and that sure is easier to do than coming up with the full amount. I am taking 4 online classes, and I am thrilled! I can't wait to get back to late night studying and last minute brain cramming for tests. (Yes, I know I sound crazy!) For those of you that don't know, I am going into Family and Human Studies, with the intent to open my own daycare or preschool after I graduate. I am very excited! Just wanted to tell you all of my good news! Love ya!

House Hunting!

Hello everyone! Well, I just wanted to tell everyone of our good news! Since James & I have decided to stay in Cedar City at least another year, we have decided to quit the renting game. We met with a lender today and were pre-approved for a mortgage! Hooray! So, we have an appointment with our realtor tomorrow morning and will begin "shopping"! We'll probably end up getting a cute lil' condo or something, and we are thrilled! Just thought I'd share the news!

Utah Summer Games

Well its the most stressfull week of the summer for me. Utah Summer Games though it is small, it is a great. My friend Jasen and I interduced paintball to the Utah Summer Games 3 years ago. The Utah Summer games for those that don't know is an Olympic style compition. Many states in the nation do something similar but the Utah Summer Games are the biggest state games. Paintball has been in the top five of the fastest growing sports in the world for the last 10 years.

The event this year is this Saturday June 9th. The event will begin at 7 in the morning and continue all the way through the end of the day. All are welcome, it is a very good way to be introduced to the tournament side of this redneck/military game.

Aaahhhh

This blog is short. I just wanted to share with all of you that I am relaxing in sunny Las Vegas right this minute. I just got back to the hotel room after spending 2 hours by the pool! It was so relaxing! I had my ipod headphones in my ears and my journal in my hand, taking breaks every now and then to jump in the pool and cool off just a bit. It was exactly what the doctor ordered. :)

Pictures From Orlando!!

Well the first one didn't work so I will try again!!

Here are some pictures of our trip we hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!

Pictures from Orlando!!

Just thought everyone might want to enjoys these with us!!

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Well we are off to Disney World!!! Keri and I will post pics and info of the events that we encounter through the week. Post here if you want to see anything in particular!!

Done with yet another Semester

Well today is sunday and it si just now hitting me that I don't have class tomarrow because I am done. What a semester it has been. The first full semester of being married. I quit my job and got a new one that is lower in pay but better schedule. I have even managed to get all "B's" in my classes which for me is an achievement. It has been a wounderfull learning challange to be married work full time and go to school. I feel like I am being torn in three differt ways. But what doesn't kill yeah makes you stronger. I have one more year and I will be finished with school. Then on to real ife and a family. I can't wait to see how many ways life wants to tare me then.

Spidey-3

The reviews are in and I give Spiderman 3- 4 stars! Granted, the movie would have been much better in a non-Cedar City theater with a broken speaker right above my head that sounded like loud crumbling paper on all the quiet parts. Besides that minor hiccup that the rest of you will not have to worry about, I thought the movie was great! They did a good job keeping the guys entertained with the intense action & the girls will like the mushy love stuff. And the awesome graphics will be eye candy for every viewer, young or old, male or female. There were a few cheesy parts, but that's come to be expected from a comic book-turned movie.

Has anyone else seen it? What were your thoughts?

Family

You know, having this new blog has given me the opportunity to do something that I have always thought about doing, but for some reason, shied away from. I am now going to take this time to publicly thank my wonderful family, new & original, for every single thing they do for my hubby & I. Now, I know this will not come as a shock to anyone that knows a thing about me, but I have always been a family girl. I have always been the one that would prefer a night in with my parents, along with pizza and a good movie, over going out with friends to a loud club or public place. It was 11 months ago, exactly to the day, that I gave up the comfort of the family life that I had grown accustomed to, to move 250 miles south, to pretty much the middle of nowhere, just to be with the love of my life. (Small sacrifice for love) When I told my parents of my decision to move to Cedar City, they were very supportive. They knew the way my eyes lit up when I was around James. If my family hadn't given me the final supportive push to move, I never would have met the wonderful people that I have met by marrying my husband & his family... or the people I have met in this beautiful city that I have learned is much more than "the windy city in middle of nowhere". Now, I have always considered myself to be a lucky girl, but it was not until last Saturday night as I watched my husband & father-in-law take turns jumping out of their seats to catch shrimp in their mouth being thrown by a Tepanyaki chef who could barely speak English, that I realized just how lucky I was. It was at that moment that I had the profound thought, "Life is good". And it truly is! Even after saying our good-byes & returning to our daily lives in Cedar City, I realized that I have never publicly thanked my family or James' family for their love, support & insight they give us. Life is too short to keep those sorts of things to ourselves. So, here it is... THANK YOU! I personally, love you all & can't wait to bring you along for the rest of this journey that we call life.

Welcome, welcome!

Hello everyone! Seeing as how we feel so out of touch with our family & friends, we thought it would be fun to have our very own webpage. Feel free to browse around & check out our new pictures and blogs whenever you have time. I'll try to keep it pretty updated & tell of our newlywed adventures. Enjoy!

Love-
Keri & James