Wonderful video

An old post I never published

(a good reminder of the blessing Sarah is to M and me!!)

"I love feeling my baby move"

Wow, what a miraculous thing to be able to feel a baby move inside of you. It is what makes me happy throughout the day. I'll be sitting somewhere, maybe I'm tired or not feeling 100% and then I'll feel her kick. And I can't help but smile!

She just kicked 3 quick times in a row, like she's knocking on my belly, "Knock, knock, knock!"
I love it!

And to have Michael be able to feel it too! It's so fun sharing the amazement of our little baby in the womb who will be with us in 4 short months.

Thanks be to our Heavenly Father for this blessing- one of the greatest, I believe, we will ever receive.

Some of my kids

_______________

A3


Me,
Delett- Sweet, hates getting in
trouble, when confident it's easy to tell she's quick and intelligent.
Dephany- Watches out for and
cares for her friends, always kind, sometimes distracted.
Gabriela- Fun, happy, positive, participates,
very smart and quick, creative, confident but so kind
to everyone and loves so much. I want to be like her when I grow up!
Bianca- so bubbly, very funny,
hard-working (she goes straight to "her" restaurant after school and
works until 11 pm every day including Sat. and Sun., too much work for a 7th grader in my opinion, no wonder why she's tired and can't concentrate sometimes!)
Andrea- Just moved (3 months ago)
from Peru, extremely talkative, overwhelmed by English but learning a lot, sassy and funny.
Jun- one of my favorites,
makes me laugh every day, he's like a boyband member from South Korea- always dancing/talking/singing/complaining...hilarious.

____________________

B2

Mrs. Nicea Gedicks- Prepared, cares about each student, strict when needed, fun and spontaneous, positive and recognizes progress in students, expects a lot from her students.
Takumi- Very sweet, likes to sleep. Juan-Very smart, doesn't like to be told what to do. Sebastian A.-Likes to talk and has very mellow personality. Anthony- Smiles all the time and excited to participate when he understands. Sebastian G.- Smart, but mostly he stays on task and works hard. William- Can be a great contributor but usually would rather socialize.
Adrian- Inquisitive and has a sweet shy smile.
Josue- Quick and eager to participate, sometimes mischievous.
Sandra- Smart but doesn't like attention.
Mrs. Keller- helpful and always trying to be patient and help the bring out the best in the students!


Here's a fun project I did.. covering books with descriptions of what good readers do.


________________

B3

(below) Some of the kids workin' away...


Grace- from Hong Kong- once shared
her most special experiences was going to the temple.
Brayan- His family's from Argentina, I think.
He's hilarious and always laughing/smiling.
Lyde- From Africa, recently sealed to her
family here. Sooo smart but has a question about everything :).
Norma- Mexican family, one of 14 kids,
very smart and diligent, respectful
Kely-Parents from Mexico, very sweet, giggles
non-stop, good at asking for help, likes attention

one of the $15 dresses I bought at Savers...

I love it and it will work when I'm huge!

enjoy

What a blessing when we can and choose to enjoy this life.

But when we can't...

"...that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not,

if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God."

Ether 15:34, The Book of Mormon

While we're in this "flesh" on this earth we'll all suffer something; physical/mental/emotional weakness and trials. But if we can remember our goal to be "saved in the kingdom of God" then maybe this life won't bear us down so much sometimes.

But, how wonderful when we can and choose to enjoy this life!

I'm so excited to be a mother because I'll get to...

feel my baby's skin
see his eyes
snip their little finger nails
help him stop crying
hand him to Michael and watch him glow
hear him laugh
see him learn
take him on walks
show him, my greatest creation, to others
watch him with my loved ones
see my sister love my child after I've loved hers for 9 1/2 years
see our family grow
look at the temple and know we'll be together forever because of it
make mistakes and have to apologize and watch him forgive
see him apologize and want to forgive him right away
watch him break things and feel bad and let him know they're just "things"
but he's my son
watch him succeed at something and try to hide his excitement and pride
watch him fail and then try again or try something new
teach him about a loving Father in Heaven we all have
teach him about the Savior and why He is and always will be the center of our
lives
watch him watch his dad
watch him laugh at his dad's jokes
watch him smile at me when I'm sad
watch him learn for himself that the Gospel is true and Jesus is his personal Savior
see him struggle to know who he is
see him help others know who they are
see him run
see him play by himself
see him play with others
see him with my parents and finally understand how much they always loved me
see him with my nieces and nephews and know he'll always love and look up to them
change his diaper
clean up his high chair
speak baby language with him
fill up his sippy cup
pack a diaper bag
feel his first kiss on my cheek.

I can't wait to be a mother.

(to make it easier I referred to the baby as a "he" but we'll find out the gender in a month!)

Enjoy all these pictures that I thought related to this post!

A proud Mama : Rachael and Mary, Chelan 2010

Nana Can't Get Enough : Nana and Charlie, Idylwood Park Summer 2010

Take Mama's Hand : Melissa and Lily (and Nana), same location

A Papa Full of Love : Papa and Cash, Summer 2010

Proud Daddy : Mike and Cash, Summer 2010

Snuggle Time : Crystal and Charlie, Summer 2010

She Owns Us : Michael and neighbor Maeli, Fall 2010

A Baby's Skin : Mike and Cash, Winter 2010


That' s my Uncle Billy : Billy and Lily, 4th of July 2010

What's better than family? Nothing. (sorry you weren't here for this pic, Rach!)

Nature's Art!

Happiness like my mission

(This Post Was Written Dec. 29, 2010)

Yesterday I felt happier than I have in years. I was sitting outside eating some mac n' cheese looking at the mountains and listening to Carrie Underwood and all of the sudden I felt like I felt on my mission- content, peaceful, satisfied and also hungry to love and serve others. I knew I'd come to that feeling some day in my marriage, I just didn't know it would come so soon. I figured I'd reach that level of happiness when we were old and serving a mission together. But, it happened now. I'm in my 9th week of pregnancy, Michael has just 3 more semesters left at BYU and we live in an apartment a few blocks south of campus. I'm so grateful for that feeling... it's a gift from God. I think it was God's way of telling me that this journey of having a child will be a selfless, difficult, rewarding, heart-wrenching and heart-expanding journey... just like my mission was. I can't wait!

Me with a family that was baptized on my mission

M and I after our celebration dinner at Los Hermanos the
night we found out we were expecting

Going to bed the AM... the really AM

(This post was written January 1st, 2011)

2:42, Just finished my chicken noodle soup and pickles. Took my pre-natal vitamin. Know I will want to remember this night. Started work 4:15pm, 110 people fed a 5 course meal + wine orders and very happy. Insanity in the kitchen, I did my best and tried to help where I could. Us newbies got it pretty bad, but the oldies had to pick up our slack... they got it worse. Celebrated the New Year with co-workers while texting "Happy New Year!" and "I love you!" to Michael. My text from him read, "I love you too beautiful" (enough to melt the heart at midnight and dead on your feet!) Made a decent amount of money. Grateful for patient and understanding co-workers.

So, why was it such a hard night? I ate 1 roll and was able to make 1 bathroom visit (the only time I sat down) in 6 hours. It would have been easier I think had there not been an olive-sized human sucking up all the nutrients he/she could inside my belly... but oh how happy I am to have him/her there!

When I got home M was asleep and then delerious (Me: Hey hun, you asleep? M: Yeah, what are you doing? Me: I just got home. M: From where?) While we snuggled I did my "just got home and I'll tell you everything about my day in 2 minutes spiel" I told him how much I had to pray. There were times I thought I'd lose it while I brought out the ribs or when I couldn't "hold it" any longer but we were so busy I didn't dare ask to run outside, across the street, to our cozy bathroom. There were times I was so parched and dizzy but another order needed to be taken out.

When I think about it, tonight was one of those nights that God must let me have to say to me, "Look, you can do hard things...even when you're pregnant."

I'm not sure what will change if anything once I spill the glorious beans about my pregnancy with my boss and co-workers. But, I will always remember (because I'm writing this post!) that I did hard things on New Years Eve 2010/2011.

Beautiful Provo

Michael and I took a trip to the park. He played with his helicopter and
I took pictures and read a little.

Pink Mountain

This must be where I got my inspiration to draw pink mountains displayed in an earlier post.

Project Goals

Do you ever have so many projects you want to do that you end up not doing any of them out of fear of not being able to finish them? That's what's going on with me. I think I might be starting to feel a little better now, so hopefully I can get started (finished) on some of these projects. I think what will be key is prioritizing what needs to be done first and then scheduling little bits of time almost daily so I can slowly but surely accomplish each project.

Here are the projects:

1. Mom's Birthday Present - ideas but undecided
2. Dad's Birthday Present - decided and unfinished
3. Window Collage - have 100's of pictures from Spain and Portugal,
now I'm trying to figure out how to put them together
4. Finish Painting Walls - Michael still has not bugged me about
the wall with two big splotches of possible paint options on it
5. Make decorations for V-day - I have a big white frame I want to fill
with pink words and hearts
6. Plan B-day Party - I should probably get on this, my B-day is weeks away!
7. Paint Coffee Table - I'm thinking a cool blue or coral red would be cool...
8. Wipe fake snow off windows - Last Christmas decoration to
come down, or, off
9. Print Hancock Fam Pic - Having troubles making the picture into an 8x10
10. Write Grandparents about expecting baby - I want them to feel a part of our first baby and not find out I'm pregnant from facebook... please!
11. Make health plan for rest of pregnancy/post-baby - I can already tell this will be important
12. Finish Graduation Essay - Started this almost 1 year ago, could finish in a matter of hours

My drawings

I love using my prisma colored pencils and pastel color sticks I got from Grandma Burton and Mama Keller. I love how bright the colors are!




I love to draw things in an unnatural color. Pink mountains, purple grass, blue trees.
It makes me feel like a real creator!

Lovely Quote

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.

-Albert Einstein


I put this picture of me in Portugal because of all the contemplative and imaginative time I had while I studied abroad.

King of Anything

Our family is reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and our last chapter was about Empathic (empathic: of, pertaining to, or characterized by empathy) Listening, or good listening. It was an "aha" chapter for me. I learned 2 things.

1. I do not always practice good listening skills
2. Now I know why I sometimes get frustrated with people when I'm trying to open up to them

1. (cont.) I started paying attention to how I listened (or didn't listen) to others and realized I often respond autobiographically, or, I respond by using my own experience that I think relates to theirs. This is common and not always bad, but, I realized that if I were to listen empathically more often I would probably know and understand the people I love a lot more.

2. (cont.) There are times I open up to people (usually when I'm in need of help) and before I know it, they're relating their own stories to me, telling me how they dealt with it and suggesting I do the same. I can usually appreciate this, but I still do not feel completely heard or understood when this happens. This next part is KEY: The book suggests that there are layers to what we reveal about our concerns and that it takes more time and effort in empathic listening to pull back the layers and get to the core. So, when I feel I haven't revealed exactly what's wrong and I'm already getting advice, then I get frustrated.

The song, King of Anything, by Sara Bareilles has been a favorite since I heard it a few weeks ago. As I was listening today, I realized that Sara expresses some of the frustrations I have when others act like they're "King" of something or "understand and know it all"and don't bother to understand you more.

This post does reveal negative feelings I have but this doesn't mean they consume me. I'm just pleased to find another way of expressing my feelings through this song.