A year ago today, I married my best friend in the Bountiful temple. I can't believe how fast the year has gone by, how much we have done, and how much we have to look forward to in the next year. We have been so blessed, that's for sure!!! I love this man SO MUCH!





Since we had been on so many trips this year and because our anniversary fell on a Sunday, we decided to celebrate Saturday. We spent the day looking at appliances and talking to the cabinet guy for our new house. No, we haven't even broken ground yet (that should happen this next week or the next at the latest!!) but decided to get a head start seeing how many decisions we have to make. And, with a baby that will be due about the time we will be moving into our new house, we thought it best to get some ideas and find out what's in our budget early.

The best part of our day came later that night. We went to Provo to go to of course...the Olive Garden. We had a delicious meal then met my dad at the BYU vs. Utah basketball game. What an exciting game and of course, the Cougs won! Plus, I really thought I felt our baby move inside of me for the first time tonight. We were at the game and the feeling was different from what I have usually felt. I am convinced our little guy knew we were on BYU's campus and he was excited knowing he would be playing football or basketball here one day! Hey, a mother can dream, can't she?

It was a great day and I can't explain how much I love my husband. He has taken care of and put up with me for a year (not an easy task for anyone, I assure you!) now and I hope we have many, many more years of blissful marriage to come!!! I love you babe!

I have a pet-peeve...a BIG one! It has bugged me for many years and I am just going to vent!

My husband and I show up at church yesterday to enjoy sacrament and the speakers. The first counselor gets up to announce the meeting and proceeds to say, "There have been a few changes to the program. The couple that was supposed to speak has been hit with some illness in their home. So we have 2 youth speakers we will hear from and then the bishopric will share some thoughts. Then we would like to hear testimonies and thoughts on Family Home Evening from the following people, Jadee Hallman..." blah blah blah! Are you KIDDING me? I hate when the bishopric throws inpromtu testimonies in a meeting to fill up the time and pull people from the congregation. Those surprises are the worst and when I find out they are going to do that (the single's ward bishopric's are pros at this), I squirm in my seat and will myself to be invisible. I wasn't so lucky yesterday.

For those of you who know me, know I hate public speaking. I hate microphones and I hate people staring at me. Gary and I spoke earlier last year and as much as I hated it, I got to think about what I wanted to say and when my mind went blank in front of all those people (who yes, I'm sure don't listen and don't remember a word you say), I had my talk written out in front of me and I could read it. Of course I have a testimony and especially one of FHE but don't expect me to be able to say what's really in my heart when you have ripped me out of my comfortness. And by the way, some people don't stand up and bear their testimonies on purpose. They are personal and to me, I want to stand up when the Spirit is urging me to, not cuz my name is called. Plus, what if someone doesn't have a testimony and their name gets called? Awkward...!

Sorry but thanks for letting me vent. Some will read this and say, "Get over it. It's not that big of a deal" but to me it is. My dad is in his ward's bishopric and I hope this lets him know how some of us feel. Or maybe not....he really likes the microphone and can't see why others don't too. Ha ha.

It's a...

So I had my 16 week appointment today. The doctor had gotten a new 4-D ultrasound machine...too bad he admitted to not being trained on it yet. But he said, there was no mistaking that there was a boy inside of me! Gary is thrilled, me...I'm working on it. I just always thought I would have a girl first. I almost even bought a girl's outfit the other day with my mom but then decided against it thinking I would be disappointed if I happened to have a boy first. But, of course we are very excited to finally know the sex and I know the boy thing will grow on me. Here's to raising a future BYU football player!!!!

2009 in a nutshell

So, after reading a friends blog and seeing her great post, I decided I would also give a rundown of our 2009, month by month.

January: Gary and I were married in the temple for all time and eternity. He is the love of my life and I could not have asked for a better man. Our "pre" wedding days were busy, hectic, stressful and hard but after much faith, we were given a miracle.

February: Gary and I went on a Caribbean cruise for our honeymoon. We had our open house in Minden, Nevada and started settling into life as newlyweds. My brother, his sweet wife and baby moved to Georgia for more army training and we have missed them dearly.

March: We were able to go to Disneyworld with some of my family. Gary had never been before and must I say, he LOVED it! But how could you not? Hopefully we can take a family vacation with his family in 2011 to Disneyworld. None of them have gone before and we can't wait to see how our little niece and nephews will react to "The Happiest Place on Earth!"

April: Gary turned 34. That's about the only exciting thing that happened this month. We are both just busy with work and Gary was traveling some for his job.

May: We were able to go to Lake Powell with some good friends. We had a great time skiing, boarding, boating, jet skiing, eating good food, playing games and being surrounded by great friends. My awesome and sweet nephew was born. The first time I held this 10 pound newborn, he just rolled up and slept on my shoulder. I had no idea how he rolled himself up so tight but from them on, I nicknamed him "Bug" because he reminded me of a potato bug. He is now fondly my little Chaser bug.

June: I turned 29. That seems so old to me! Another month where not much happened. My sister was on maternity leave and we spent some great time together. I love being around newborns and Chase was my favorite to be around. Not that I haven't been for the last MANY years but, I was getting more and more baby hungry. We were able to go water skiing once or twice. I love the summer!

July: Gary's sister Leslie, her husband Gary (yes, Gary) and kids came out to Utah to spend some time with us. We LOVED having them and it was a blast having Matthew, Tate and Caylyn sleep over. We wish we lived closer to them. Gary is taking his CIA (certified internal auditing) test and passed the second part of it. Just one more test and he will be finished. We can't wait because it is constant studying and stress for him.

August: Gary had his company Lagoon day one Saturday. So we geared up for our "one-time-a-year" trip to Lagoon. Work has been slow so I have been getting called off a lot. Gary had a reprieve from traveling for a bit so it's been nice having him home. We bought a BBQ and have enjoyed doing a lot of summertime BBQing.

September: One of the most exciting months of my life! I found out I was pregnant. It happened a lot faster than we thought it would but couldn't be happier. I have been feeling okay so far but I had yet to know what would hit me. Because of the economy, Gary and I decided it would be a good time to start looking around for a house. After much looking and debating, we thought it might be better to build a house and began looking for lots.

October: We found a lot in Kaysville that is in a cul-de-sac that we loved. We signed a contract and began looking for a house we wanted to build. I was able to go on a girl's trip to New York City with Gary's mom, sisters, aunts and cousin. We had a blast and made so many great memories. We decided it was something we needed to continue year after year!

November: Gary left on a auditing trip to Singapore for a week then on to Australia. I was able to meet him in Australia to play for 8 days and I couldn't have gone to a prettier place. I loved exploring the rain forests and laying on the beach. The weather was perfect. Unfortunately, I was experiencing "afternoon-evening" sickness and felt nauseous for much of the trip. Gary was very patient with me and would always get food that would appease my stomach. We still had a blast and have been so blessed to have taken so many wonderful trips together this year. We were in Australia for Thanksgiving which was hard being away from family, but could complain much about where we were.

December: Gary and I got the final plans to the house we want to build. We are in the process of finding a builder but think we have found the guy we want to use. Just need to get a loan from the bank and we can get started. Gary had a few work trips this month. I had to work Christmas Eve and Day (half days) but we were able to spend most of the holidays with my family. We missed Gary's family but hope to get to Nevada next year for Christmas. I am starting to feel better and we can't wait to find out if we are having a boy or girl in January!

Hope 2009 was a great year for you too. Can't wait for 2010!