The baby is a.....

 

    Matt and I decided to find out the gender of the baby a little early (17 weeks). I had a dream about having a baby girl the very day after I became pregnant. Then when I found out I was pregnant I was convinced the baby was a girl. However, my pregnancy was really easy. They say you get more sick when you are having a girl. I had some morning sickness but I just found myself hungry ALL OF THE TIME! I wasn't craving the "girl" cravings. Mostly I wanted pizza and pickles. Not together though, that's just gross.

   At our very first ultra sound a doctor told us it was a boy. I said, "you don't know that, you can't even tell". He asked me how the sickness was going and I told him I was fine. He said, "yep, it's a boy". My heart sank. I reeaaaallyyy wanted a girl! My older sister told me to convince myself that it was a boy so I don't cry during the ultrasound if the baby comes out to be a boy. That way if it is a girl I will be thrilled! Well I grew up a little in the last two months and decided a boy wouldn't be that bad.

    All signs pointed to the male gender anyway. I accepted the fate and convinced myself it was a boy. The only problem was Matt and I couldn't agree on a name. On our way to the ultra sound we were discussing boy names and I was feeling so frustrated that we couldn't find common ground on ONE name! Once we made it into the doctors office the technician asked us what we thought our baby was. We both said boy and right off the bat she told us she knew what the gender was. Matt said, "it's a boy?" The technician said, "actually....It's a girl." I will always remember Matts face when he heard "It's a girl". Don't get me wrong, matt is thrilled. He is just a little nervous about raising a girl in the world we live in today. I know he will do such a great job and be so extremely over protective of her. I am beyond excited for this sweet little baby girl to come into the world. No names yet...we decided to take a small break and maybe we can agree on a name this time :). So grateful :)

SURPRISE! Baby time!

It was the morning of our two year anniversary. I woke up and I felt a little...funny. I quickly remembered I was three days late. However, being late wasn't really a big deal for me. I decided to take the test anyway. I remember as I was taking I was mad at myself for wasting the $7 for the test. As soon as I looked at it, there  it was. A plus sign. My hands were so shaky that I dropped the cap in the toilet.
I wasn't sure what to do next. I wanted to tell Matt in a cute surprising way, but it was early in the morning and I wanted to tell him soon. I had a marker in the bathroom, so I wrote on the mirror, "Happy anniversary, your going to be the best daddy ever! love, Tia". I then turned off the light, and got back into bed. Matt woke up and asked why I was breathing so hard. I couldn't help it, I just found out I was pregnant! I could barely breathe! I said, "no I'm not, I just dropped my brush in the toilet. Will you go get it?". As he got up and started walking towards the bathroom he said, "is there pee in there?" I said, "yes...". He was still half asleep when he walked in the bathroom. He looked in the toilet, there was the cap. Then he looked at the mirror but the light was too bright for his eyes so he looked a little funny trying to read it. After all of that, he looked down in the sink and there was the positive pregnancy test. He was excited and it started our anniversary off on just the right foot. We are 16 weeks and just yesterday we got to hear the baby's little heart beat again. We decided to find out the gender next Monday. Matt and I think it's a boy, but the Chinese baby calendar says girl. Let's see who is right!

June...

     I have decided that I really stink at this whole blog thing. The last time I posted was in May so I will start from there. June was a very hard month for the family. My parents home burnt down in a fire along with another 60 homes. My little sister was home and my dad was able to drive around the police barricades to get her out.

      It was difficult for the family because we had a sentimental attachment to so many things in the house. My parents took thousands of pictures of us as we grew into adults. Luckily my little sister Jeni was able to get some scrapbooks out of the house. She was a champ. She even got out mine and my sisters wedding dresses. Sometimes I think of what I would have done if I would have been there; as do my brothers and sisters I'm sure. After thinking about it over the past months, I'll bet I would have froze as I saw the flames coming over the mountain.

      It was a miracle there were no human casualties. So many blessings happened that day. It really put things into perspective for us. The only thing you can really keep forever is family. So many people reached out to help. It was inspiring and we have so much gratitude in our hearts for everyone that helped in their own way. My parents quickly decided to rebuild on the same lot. The house is currently being built and it looks great. It wont be the exact same floor plan but it will be beautiful nonetheless. They expect to finish the house in June. Here are a couple pictures of the before and after.

This is before my dad left the house

This picture is after the fire in the same spot he took the first picture

And this picture is as of late. It is going to be beautiful!

      It has really been TOO LONG since I have updated this thing. A lot has gone one since last September! Matt and I have moved to Rexburg, Idaho and we love it here. We found a job managing an apartment complex for BYU-I girls housing. I LOVE these girls! We have already made life long friendships with some of them. Last semester some girls left a gold fish underneath their bathroom sink. I found it and I didn't have the heart to flush it him. So we adopted him. Meet Arty...

     We are so happy we listened to the promptings and moved here. Our ward is fantastic! This is our first married ward we have been in and it is perfect for us. Matt was called as the second counselor in the bishopbric and he does a great job. I was just called to be the 1st counselor in the primary and I am so excited. Things are going great for us and we are excited for life. Rexburg is a great place to be! We have already had some fun in the sun and we are ready to enjoy the summer together :)

Fishing, Bike riding, and posing next to my highschool sweetheart...my 68' Mustang :)

Matt's family came up to visit us. We had a TON of fun!

My little sister Jeni got in a car wreck a couple weeks ago and had to wear a neck brace. We all wanted to show her our support :)

I love this little man! My sister had her baby and his name is Carter. He is the most precious thing on the whole EARTH!!

Matt was playing basketball with some friends and was elbowed in the chin. His chin sliced open and he had to get stitches. Needless to say that wasn't a very good day.

1 Year Anniversary

It's crazy how fast this year has gone by! If the first year is the hardest, I think the rest of forever is smooth sailing from here on out! We were able to spend most of the day together so we went to Hamiltons to eat, then for dessert we had a bite of our wedding cake. It was frozen and after a year it didn't taste that magnificent but my mother kept stressing that we had to eat at least a bite. Matt is now working in Grace, Idaho farming potatoes and I'm working for the University in Logan. This January we are headed up to Rexburg for school. Matt was going to BYU-I when we met, then I sold him into going to Utah State. He didn't like it much here and Byu-I has my major (Communications) so I decided to give in. I'm really optimistic about it...so far :)

Last semester I took an acting class. LOVED IT. I happened to have a prop in my backpack(A GIANT telephone) so I decided to have some fun with it. By the way the telephone cord reaches all the way into my backpack.

The New Testament Film Production

About a year ago I applied to be an extra in the "New Testament" film being filmed in Goshen, Utah. I didn't hear back from them right away so I forgot about it. They contacted me six months later asking for my availability so here I am with all of the other extras on the set. I love this opportunity so much! It has truly been one of the best experiences of my life. I always thought it would be amazing to watch the life of Jesus, and now I can be in it!