Life As We Know It

Another FotoFly Experience

2012-01-31T12:00:00.004-07:00

We went back up to FotoFly in Draper for Lily's 6-month pictures. They are amazing!! If any of you reading this blog live in Utah, I highly recommend them. It's seriously the best deal you can get. The photographer this time was just as incredible as the one for her 2-month pictures, and Lily thought she was the funniest person in the world! She never fussed during the 45-minute session even though we changed her outfit 3 times. The pictures we got were amazing...the truly captured Lily and her personality. I'm including some pictures here (b/c along with great pictures, you get the copyright too!), but it's hard to choose because they are just that awesome. Enjoy!

1/2 a year...already!!

2012-01-31T11:40:00.003-07:00

Lily turned 6 months old on Friday, January 13th (she's destined to have lots of those "bad luck" days for birthdays...sorry bug, but it's your fault...you came early). She is just growing like a weed! She weighs 16 lbs 4 oz and is 27 inches tall. She's in the 90th percentile for her height! We celebrated by going to dinner at the BYU creamery...we hope to make this a long-standing tradition for our little ones :) While Lily couldn't eat thefood there, we did give her her first vegetable - peas. She made some funny faces, but ate them really well. I'm sure they have more flavor than rice cereal! I'm so happy that she's eating solid foods and getting to the point where she can try new things, but I'm also sad that the days of nursing her will be over eventually. I think back to when she was first born and how hard it was for those first couple weeks...it hurt and I felt like that's all I was doing!! Now it's a special time for me to be with her. I'm glad she's growing up, but it's happening so fast (although I agree with my sister-in-law that it doesn't always feel like it's going fast!).

Some things Lily likes:

-bath time (she has started splashing the water!)

-peas!

-Daddy (this has always been true, but I love seeing her light up when he comes home from work!)

-playing in her pack-n-play (thanks Papa Noyes!)

-rolling over

-pushing up on her hands

-looking at herself in the mirror

-light switches (she thinks they're awesome!)

-riding in the car

-snuggling with Mommy

-playing with Mommy and Daddy

-looking at the tree on her wall (thanks Paola and Carlos!)

-sleeping (she's a great sleeper)

-her musical Lily doll (Leap Frog Lily...thanks Grandma Irvin!)

-Daddy's phone

-sitting up

Here's to many more great memories!

Happy 6 months Lily Bug!

A new addition

2012-01-31T11:36:00.003-07:00

There's been a new addition! No, not to our family. Our wonderful friends Carlos and Paola welcomed their adorable little boy into the world on January 2nd. He was heavier and longer than Lily...and has tons more hair than her! He is just the cutest thing!! We're very happy for them and wish them the best on their new adventure.

Lily and Martín...destined to be great friends!

Christmas

2012-01-31T10:59:00.007-07:00

This Christmas was the third Faiver and I have spend together, but the first with our little princess. We were so excited to go visit my family in North Carolina! It had been a while since I'd been with my family for Christmas, so I was very much looking forward to it. Let me preface our trip little: Lily is a very calm, mellow baby. She doesn't fuss very much and usually just goes with the flow. Even so, I was a little worried about howshe would handle flying. It wasn't just the fact of taking off, spending hours in one position, or landing, but we also had layover times, and let's face it, that's not fun for anyone. However, I shouldn't have worried. She didn't mind taking off or landing (I tried to time feedings so I could nurse her during those times to reduce the ear discomfort; but even when it didn't line up, she was not phased by it at all!), and she slept almost the whole time we were in the air. She was an angel! If traveling with all our future kids will be this easy, bring it on!

Posing for a picture...what a happy baby!

When we landed in NC, the flight attendant let us take a picture of Lily in the cockpit

For those of you who have never experienced a winter in the South, temperatures do not get too low. However, this Christmas was exceptionally warm! It stayed in the 60s the whole time we were there, except for the last day where it dropped into the 40s with lots of rain. I hardly even needed to wear a light jacket. It was heaven! Usually I would be devastated that there wasn't any snow (never had a white Christmas before), but after leaving the frigid temperatures of Utah, I was basking in the Spring-like weather.

It was good to have almost the whole familytogether (Nathaniel and his family couldn't make it) and I was especially excited to spend time with my nephew Alexander.Lily was super excited to meet him! When we went over the Phillip and Heather's house, as soon as Lily saw Alexander she got excited and made cute baby noises and touched his face. Alexander wasn't sure what to think about this new little girl who was touching him, but he just went with it. You should've seen the faces of confusion! It was the cutest thing to see them together! Hopefully these cousins will be able to get to know each other well in the future.

Playing with cousin Alexander

Christmas is definitely not the same with little ones around; it takes a lot longer to get through presents! Lily was interested in playing with the paper and the bows...she liked her presents ok, but what are they compared to things NOT designed for babies?! It was a great day!

opening some presents ... thanks cousin Trey for letting Lily use your Bumbo chair ... it was a great help!!

On the last day of our trip, we were able to visit Muriel's neck of the woods. She is finishing up her college degree this year at the University of North Carolina - Greensboro. We went up on Monday evening and stayed at the house where she lives with 2 other girls (they weren't there at the time). She showed us some of her favorite spots (a yummy restaurant and the international food market) as well as the beautiful lights in her neighborhood. I wish I had taken pictures of it because it was incredible! It was great to spend some special time with her!

Lily and Aunt Muriel!

Now we're back to normal every-day life, but it was a wonderful, memorable first Christmas with our daughter!

Merry Christmas! (I can't get over how cute Lily is in her red dress, white socks and black shoes!!)

5 months!

2011-12-15T08:37:00.011-07:00

I think I say this every time, but I can't believe how fast timeis going by...my Lily is 5 months old already!! A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. We started introducing Lily to solid foods...so she had her first rice cereal a couple weeks ago! She definitely didn't like it the first day, but she has gotten more used to it as time goes by. Now she eats almost the whole tablespoon of cereal!

she made really funny faces as Daddy tried to feed her...it was not her favorite the first time around!

She has also really gotten the hang of this rolling over thing. It used to take her a long time to roll over, but not she does it almost as soon as I put her down on the floor. She only rolls on her left side, no matter what I try to get her to roll over the other way too (like put her toys on that side of her). One day I got out of the shower and she had rolled over and fallen asleep without making any noise. She really likes it, and I just know that when she discovers mobility, I'll never be able to stop her!

look, Mommy! I did it! She just loves to roll over. This was the sight I came out of the shower to. What a sweet sleeping baby!

A couple of weekends ago, BYU was hosting this Christmas activity for families, complete with activities, crafts (for older kids), entertainment and Santa! I really wanted Lily to have her first picture with Santa...we had bought her a cute Christmas outfit and the pictures were free. The event went from 9-12 which we thought was perfect since Lily usually wakes up around 9:30. Well, of course that particular morning she decided to sleep in so we didn't get up to campus until 11:15. We thought it was still ok because the event was going until 12; however, when we got to the area where Santa was, there was a sign and a young lady standing at the entrance prohibiting anyone from entering because the line for Santa was closed. Closed?? Seriously?? It was only 11:15!! Faiver asked why and she said it was because Santa was supposed to be gone at 12. Why didn't you say that on the card?? We would've been there sooner if theyhad said, "you need to be in line by ____ time if you want a picture with Santa." But no! I walked away because I was so angry. My baby's first opportunity to get a picture with Santa and they turn us away? Argh!! Faiver, however, being the wonderful person that he was, stayed and argued with the girl until she finally let us in. I have no idea what he said to her, but we got in!! We then stood in the line for almost an hour before reaching Santa. Of course, Lily got sleepy, so she took a 20 minute nap before her picture, which we woke her up to get. And Santa looked completely wiped! So, the pictures didn't turn out perfectly, but they were ok for Lily's first time. Maybe next year will be better, although she'll probably cry next year. We also took some pictures around a nice Christmas display they had...Christmas card? I think so!!

First picture with Santa!! Potential Christmas Card pic Lily likes the presents!!

We went up to Temple Square last Saturday to see the Christmas lights with our friends Brian and Cassie. Apparently it was the wrong weekend to go! There were two concerts going on, so it was packed!! It was like General Conference crowds! Still, the lights were beautiful, and it was fun to spend some time with our friends. Lily liked looking at all the lights, too!

Ah, the lights! It was so pretty!! It was quite cold...but Faiver likes to feel it (crazy guy!)

All in all, Lily is a sweet, happy baby. She's so cuddly and so lovable. We're so lucky to have her. She definitely keeps our life happy :)

Big, beautiful smiles!!

First snow and feet

2011-11-23T16:10:00.003-07:00

Lily has discovered her feet! She loves to play with them and put them in her mouth. She is so stinkin' cute!

She also experienced her first snow. It didn't stay past the night, but we went out and let her feel the snow on her face. The next day we put some from a bush in her hand. She held it for a few seconds and then let go. The look on her face was priceless!

4 Months!

2011-11-17T08:35:00.005-07:00

Holy cow! Where does the time go? I can't believe that my little girl is four months old!! She is such a blessing in our lives. We went to the doctor on the 14th and she's looking good. She weighs 13 pounds 10 ounces and is 25 incheslong. She's in the 50th percentile for her head and weight and the 75th percentile for her height. My mom asked me how in the world we got a tall baby because neither of us are very tall...maybeshe'll grow into it or maybe she got the recessive gene. I guess only time will tell :) Lily is a brave little girl...she only cried a little when the nurses gave her 3 shots all at once. As soon as I picked her up, she was fine. What a trooper!! She did get a bit of a fever, but it was gone in a day. She is growing more hair which makes me very happy and her smiles can just melt away all the bad stuff or stress of the day. She's our little angel.

Trying to bring her fever down...poor baby

She has come to like tummy time a lot more and is holding up her head much higher now. She's rolled over a couple times, but it's not consistent yet. She smiles and laughs a lot and talks up a storm! She's super wiggly and likes to stand on our laps (with lots of helpof course). She continues her amazing sleeping habits and is so stinkin' sweet that it makes it soooooo hard for me to want to go to class! I know it's all worth it though. She likes to put everything in her mouth and has a favorite toy, Señor Cintas, which she plays with much longer than any of her other toys. And when I say "play" I mean put in her mouth. She loves getting in the car and usually falls asleep depending on how long the trip is. She makes funny faces and just lights up our lives.

Here are some more pictures from a few other fun times we've had lately:

We were BYU fans for Halloween! Lily loves her Daddy!!

Fun in the fall leaves

One year older...and wiser too?

2011-11-07T08:58:00.003-07:00

Saturday was my birthday!! I slept in, did a little cleaning and hung out with my cute daughter while my hubby was working. I had told him I wanted to have a nice dinner with him and Lily at home and just spend some time together. He surprised me with a party! It was so nice to eat yummy food and spend time with wonderful friends. Thanks for everything you do for me honey!! It was one of the best birthdays ever! (the Gunnells sang me a special rendition of "Happy Birthday"...thanks guys!! It was awesome)

Laughter really is the best medicine!

2011-11-04T09:45:00.003-06:00

I remember the first time my daughter smiled at me on purpose. I was sitting on the couch in the living room, and she was propped against my knees facing me. I just started making funny faces at her and she got the biggest smile on her face! It was one of the best moments in my life. Joy simply washed over me, and I was ecstatic! Now Lily smiles so much, but it never gets old!

About a month or so ago, she started laughing. It is the best sound in the world, but she's not very consistent! Daddy can make her laugh easier than I can, but even when we find something that makes her laugh, she'll do it two or three times and then she won't laugh again...she'll smile really big, but she won't laugh. Frustrating!!

This is the part I really wanted to write about: last night she laughed the most, longest and hardest ever, and I was the one to make it happen! She was in the same position as the first time she smiled on purpose (propped against my knees). I was sitting up straight and then got gradually closer to her face while saying "my little bugaboo." Oh my goodness it was amazing!!! I have no idea why it was so funny, but she just laughed and laughed. I probably did it for 5 minutes and she just loved it! Every time I think about it, it makes me so happy. So that's why I say laughter, especially baby laughter, is the best medicine.

Wiggle Worm

2011-10-27T09:23:00.006-06:00

Lily likes to move, she likes to wiggle, she's always in motion. The only time I can really see that she's still is when she's sleeping, and that's because she's wrapped up like a burrito. Well, yesterday morning that all changed in my mind. I know that she kicks her legs when she's waking up because her blanket is often kicked off when I go in to get her in the mornings. However, I'm pretty sure she's getting to the stage where I won't be able to just lay her anywhere and know she'll stay put. Exhibit A:

Now, this may just look like a normal picture to you, but look closely...notice that the blanket is at the top of her head. That's because when I put her in bed, she was facing the opposite way! She did a complete 180 degree turn in her sleep!!! I couldn't believe it when I went in to check on her...everyday she does something to surprise me! :)

Daddy's Girl

2011-10-24T22:29:00.003-06:00

At three months old, Lily's personality is starting to really show! She's a pretty mellow baby but can be super stubborn if she wants to be. She loves people and prefers them to toys. She'll watch them for much longer than she'll focus on objects. A few weeks ago, I was watching Kayson, my cousin Katie's son, while she and her hubby went to the U of U game. Lily just wanted to watch Kayson play with his toys (when she wasn't sleeping). She was very content to watch him :) She likes to sit up, and she kicks her legs like crazy! We can get her to laugh a little, but mostly she just graces us with huge, beautiful smiles. I'll never get tired of those beautiful smiles!! She has spent some time in her Johnny Jump Up and tolerates it, but I'm sure she'll like it more when she actually bounces it :) But most of all, Lily LOVES her daddy...she loves to hear him talk...she coos at him more than at me...he can make her laugh much easier than I can. Every time she realizes he's around, she stops whatever she's doing (even if she's in the middle of eating) to look at Daddy. It is so wonderful to see how much she loves him. Faiver is a great father, and I can see a beautiful relationship between them!

Smiles!

2011-10-01T19:56:00.003-06:00

Lily is such a happy baby!! We are so lucky to have such a wonderful little princess in our house. This is how she looks in the morning when I come in to get her....

Well, usually she's still all the way inside her SwaddleMe, but you get the picture. I love her smiles and can't wait to hear her laugh!! I hope it comes soon :)

Two Months

2011-09-15T08:55:00.002-06:00

Our darling Lily turned two months old on Tuesday. I went into her room to wake her up and she gave me the biggest smile! She is such a happy baby. We dropped Daddy off at work and went to the doctor's office. We got in pretty quickly. The nurse checked her weight, length and head...she weighs 11 pounds 5 ounces and is 23 inches long. Then the doctor came in to check her out, said she looked great (I know!) and we chatted a bit. Then the dreaded moment arrived...the nurse came back to give Lily her immunizations - 6 of them to be exact! 4 were shots and 2 were oral. She made a funny face with the oral ones...wonder what she thought (maybe, "hey, that's not Mommy's milk!!"). Then the nurses held her legs and I held her arms while they administered the shots - 2 in each leg. She was such a content little girl, just going with the flow, and then she got a surprised look on her face and started crying. Poor baby! I cuddled her and fed her and then she was ok. She's so brave!

She is such a joy in our lives. She "talks" to us a lot and gives us big smiles :) She has decided bath time is okay...no more crying in the bath! She sleeps through the night and stays awake for most of the day, except Sundays when she sleeps almost all day - she definitely understands "day of rest"!! She likes listening to music and sitting in her bouncy chair. She loves hearing Daddy's voice when he comes home from work. She has outgrown her newborn clothes but doesn't really fit into 0-3 month clothes yet (almost though). She makes funny faces and makes us laugh. We love you, Lily!!!

One Month

2011-08-22T17:45:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it's been a month (well, more than a month now) since we brought home our precious little baby! It was great to have my mom here for five weeks and for the rest of my family, except Phillip and his family, visiting us for a week. I miss them all but it's nice to have my apartment back to normal :) Lily is doing great. She's a pretty mellow baby and a great sleeper, which Mommy appreciates A LOT! I love being a mom...getting to know her is the best! She is so cute! We blessed her while my family was here:

My mom and I made her dress...it turned out really good! Thanks for teaching me, Mom!

Lilia Laureen Gonzalez

2011-07-19T21:35:00.005-06:00

It's been almost a week since the big day and I can't believe how time goes so slow and so fast at the same time! On Wednesday, July 13 at 4:41pm, Lilia Laureen came into the world. This came as a great surprise to us first because I thought I'd be late (my due date was July 18) and also because she's a girl! The ultrasound I had done at 20 weeks told us we were expecting a boy...interesting turn of events! Although it took a little getting used to emotionally, Faiver and I are both thrilled to have this beautiful, wonderful girl in our lives. She is such a joy to have around and I just want to stare at her all day. Faiver can hardly wait to get home from work so he can love on her and play with her. He's such a cute father!

I was in labor for 14 hours. I had decided long before that I would have a natural birth with no medication intervention. I had mentally prepared for this event and practiced my breathing through my Braxton-Hicks contractions. I had back labor, so I felt every contraction in my lower back and only tightening in my abdomen. This was so very painful!

I woke up around 2:00am with bad back pains. They were coming semi-regularly so I thought, "wow...I think I'm having back labor." I tried sleeping some more but it was impossible. At 4:00 I woke Faiver up and called my mom. She told me to call my doctor and then let her know what was going on. I wanted to time the contractions a little before calling the doctor, so Faiver timed them as I breathed through them. They were lasting 1-2 minutes about every 5 minutes. I called the doctor and she told me to go into the hospital to get checked. I didn't really think this was it though! I finished packing my suitcase and we headed for the hospital. I checked into the hospital at 6:00am. When I got there, I was checked and thenurses said I was at 5 centimeters and completely effaced. I thought, "hey, maybe this will gofaster than I thought." They set up the room for the delivery, hooked me up to the monitors and IV and said they'dcheck back soon. Faiver helped me breathe and stay calm as I had painful back contractions. He was so supportive and even cried with me a little! I was given pitocin to "improve"my contractions. That was not fun! At around 3:00, I was still at 5 1/2 centimeters. By use of an internal monitor, they could tell my contractions were strong enough, but for some reason I was stuck at 5 1/2 centimeters. The pain was more than I could take and I asked for an epidural. It seemed like an ETERNITY for the anesthesiologist to get to my room!! I was in the most pain I have ever been in in my life. As he was putting in the epidural, I suddenly got the urge to push. The nurse checked me and I was completely dilated! No wonder it hurt so bad...I dilated 5 centimeters in like 10 minutes!! I felt about 3 more bad contractions before the epidural kicked in. When it did, I was in heaven! It was nice because Icould feel enough pressure to know when I needed to push without having all that pain. I pushed for about an hour before our little miracle was delivered - relatively short time especially for a first pregnancy! Faiver was the first to notice she was a girl...we were all shocked!! However, she was healthy and strong which is what matters the most. She weighed 7lbs 13oz and was 20 inches long. She has some dark-brown hair and looks a lot like her father. She is beautiful! We are glad to be at home and to be parents. A new chapter of life has begun!

What a happy family!

a beautiful girl!

We pinked up her room a bit!

When routines get the better of us

2011-06-11T12:59:00.002-06:00

Because of our work schedules, I usually give Faiver a ride to work and then pick him up at the end of the day. This routine has been going on since the beginning of May and it works out pretty well for us. Well, last Saturday, Faiver had to work (he works every other Saturday) but I didn't need to go anywhere, so he took the car and I stayed at home. On Saturdays, the bank closes at 3:00; it takes about 10-15 minutes for them to go through their closing procedures, so I expected him to be home around 3:20. Around 3:25, he still wasn't home...weird, but not too bad because sometimes he just has a busy day and it takes a little longer. Well, around 3:30 I got a phone call from him. He asked me why I hadn't come to pick him up...he had started walking home. I said, "honey, you have the car today." He had totally forgotten and walked 4 blocks!! We had a good laugh as he walked back to get the car. It was great! I love my wonderful hubby! :)

First Motherhood Scare

2011-06-03T11:45:00.002-06:00

This kid isn't even out of me yet and he's already making me worry!! On Tuesday, he decided not to move as much as usual. I was nervous because I have heard that this is not a good sign. Faiver and I decided to give it one more day and see if he picked up his activity. Wednesday was only a little better, so I called my doctor's office. The nurse, after returning my phone call, told me to drink something sweet, lay on my left side and count movements. I should feel 10-15 in the next 30 minutes. She told me if not, then I should call her back. I did as she instructed and felt him move, but it wasn't as often as she said. I called back and left another message. While waiting, I laid down again and he moved more the 2nd half hour. She called back and said my doctor wanted me to go into Labor and Delivery at the hospital for some tests, just to make sure everything was ok. I was freaking out!! I went to get Faiver from work and we headed over to get me checked in. I was so scared!

We got there and the nurse took me into the room. I got changed and got into the bed to wait. As soon as I laid down, my sweet son decided it was time to move like crazy!! Argh!!! The nurse came in and I told her everything. She then informed me that I should be able to feel 6-10 movements in an hour! Big difference from what I was told earlier!! Oh, well. I was there and they hooked me up to the monitor that would check his heart rate and track his movements. Faiver and I waited for an hour before the nurse came back in. She said everything looked great and that the doctor said I could go home. Peace of mind is great, but I did not enjoy the moment of PANIC before receiving it! What a stinker :) but I love him anyway.

A finished room

2011-05-31T11:25:00.003-06:00

Aiden's room is finally finished!! A special thanks to Carlos, Paola and my wonderful husband for making it look AMAZING!! Faiver and I put the finishing touches on it yesterday. We know Aiden won't be able to appreciate it for years to come, but we love it!

the taping process took them a long time

working on the tree that Paola designed

the finished product!

they even painted the dresser (it was blue and white)

I stuck the leaves to the wall - that was my contribution!

32 Weeks...plus updates

2011-05-23T13:43:00.002-06:00

So, I don't often feel like I have that much to blog about. Work is good, my students drive me crazy sometimes, I'm still pregnant, life is pretty normal. I'm sure there are more details I can include, but that's my reasoning for why there is so much time between blog posts. I'm sure this is just an excuse, and the real reason is laziness :) So, I'm gonna write about a few things that have happened lately. Get excited!

On Saturday evening, my nephew Toby came to say with Faiver and me for the night. Nathaniel brought him over and visited for a bit before leaving. We had some friends over (see below as to why) and Toby had a great time entertaining himself and others for the rest of the evening. His favorite thing, for some odd reason, is when Faiver yells "bah" at him. He laughs and laughs and wants Faiver to do it over and over again. When it was time to get into bed, he wanted a bedtime story. He asked for the one about the Three Little Pigs, so I told it to him. Then he wanted the one about the ant. Well, I didn't know that story so he tried to tell it to me instead. This wasn't successful. We decided to leave it at that for the stories. I tucked him in and gave him a kiss and he fell right to sleep. He slept until 7:30 the next morning! When I went in to wake him up, he sat straight up in bed and said, "after breakfast we're going to church and then I'm going to see Grandma Di and Nana." He was in a great mood and I was relieved! Because there were three of us to get ready, Faiver helped by giving Toby a bath while I got ready. It was so cute! He asked me about every step of bath time. Great practice, huh? :) As we were getting ready to walk out the door to head to church, Toby started to say "I'm tired" which surprised me 'cause he had just slept for almost 12 hours! Then he proceeded to say, "My knee hurts. Which knee? My elbow hurts and I have to go to the bathroom." Hilarious! Out of the blue! (for those of you who have not seen "UP", I'm sorry and go watch it). He's a cute, smart, ornery kid and I love him to pieces!!

Carlos and Paola, some really good friends, were at our apartment a lot last week to help Faiver finish painting the baby's room. Carlos and Faiver did the painting, Paola did the designing, and I did the supervising :) It was loads of fun and seeing Faiver so excited has been a blast. They finally got it all finished on Saturday evening (pictures to come) and it looks phenomenal! I love it so much and I hope Aiden loves it one day too. We took lots of pictures so he can always see how much work Daddy and Carlos put into making his room look awesome. We're lucky we have landlords that let us paint!!

As for me, pregnancy is going well. I had another appointment today (every two weeks now) and my doctor says everything looks great! The baby's heartbeat sounded good, my weight gain is "better than great" (words from the doctor's mouth), and my uterus is measuring perfectly. I feel him moving so much now; it's an awesome feeling. Just started 32 weeks!! I can't believe how fast time has passed by. Faiver and I are so excited and a little overwhelmed as we get ready to welcome our baby boy into the world...as I'm sure every new parent is. Yay!

Holy Cow!! 6 months!!

2011-04-08T13:19:00.003-06:00

Despite the long pauses between blog posts, I do enjoy blogging. Time just gets away from me.

In hubby news, Faiver is visiting his mission companion, Russell, in Texas for a few days. He calls me daily to tell me about the great fun that they are having. It's such a great time for him! I can't wait to see all the pictures he's been taking :) It's weird to be alone in my apartment, but I'm surviving ;) Sleep is good!! Also, Faiver applied for the lead teller position at the branch where he's working (Wells Fargo)....and he got it!! It's basically the same job, but with more responsibility, power and, of course, money. He's really excited about it, and I'm very proud of him.

In baby news, everything is going great! He's growing well and moving more strongly every day. It's such a weird thing to see my stomach moving because that little bundle of joy is doing whatever he wants in there! I'm now at 25 weeks, the very beginning of my 6th month. I'm feeling great and everyday we get more excited about meeting our little guy. The other night, before Faiver left for Texas, we were sitting on the couch talking about the coming week. Although very excited for his trip, my loving husband expressed how much he would miss me and the baby. He hugged me low (so his head was on my belly), laid there for a while and said, "ah, my family." It was the sweetest thing! He's so excited to be a dad.

With the end of the semester coming and our wedding anniversary coming up, it looks to be a great month!

my most recent picture

A Coconut

2011-03-02T12:52:00.003-07:00

Apparently, my baby is the size of a coconut this week! I had a doctor's appointment on Monday and everything looks normal. She talked to me a bit about my ultrasound (more on that in a second) and what to expect during the time between appointments. My official due date is July 18 (I've been telling people the 16th, oops!). At the ultrasound appointment a week earlier, my husband and I were please to learn that we are having a BOY!! And as soon as we moved to our apartment, Faiver set up the crib. How cute! He's so excited, as am I!

So breath-taking to see this person growing inside me!

15 Weeks

2011-01-29T09:43:00.005-07:00

Pregnancy...it has definitely gotten better now that I'm in my second trimester. Thankfully, I have the blessing of having a relatively easy time thanks to my mom. She was nauseous but never threw up and after the first trimester, had no other sickness. So far, me too!! I am tired a lot, but it's better now. It's still too early to determine the sex and I can't feel the baby moving yet, but I look forward to experiencing that in the next few weeks. Now that the yucky feelings are over I'm really excited to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. Faiver is convinced that it's a boy, mostly because that's what he wants. It's not surprising, though. I think most new fathers want their first to be a boy. I always said that's what I wanted, too, but now that I'm facing it, I just want the baby to be healthy. Some women have told me they could tell what they were having by week 12...is it weird that I have no clue?? I don't think we find out for another 4 weeks, but I'll ask the doctor about that on Monday. It's an exciting and scary time as my body and mind go through lots of interesting changes (I'm losing my memory!!). As promised, I'll do my best to keep my blog updated...starting with some pictures:

Baby Gonzalez!

P.S. Buying maternity clothes is fun!!

A Heartbeat!

2011-01-05T12:56:00.002-07:00

On Monday, Faiver and I went to the OB-GYN for my second appointment. We waited for about an hour and a half before the doctor actually saw me because she was at the hospital delivering someone else's baby. When she did arrive, she told me everything looked normal (yay!) and then we heard the most beautiful sound in the world....our baby's heartbeat! It was so amazing, just this little, fast beating sound. You know, I've been feeling the effects of being pregnant, but it was just amazing to hear something from the little person growing inside me. I very much look forward to the day we can see him or her on an ultrasound!

Another semester ends

2010-12-11T16:56:00.004-07:00

Well, another semester has come and gone, and I can hardly believe it! I love my time at the ELC but I am definitely enjoying my time off to just rest and relax. I had a wonderful semester with my AB LinguisticAccuracy class. They were a great group of students! Here we are on the last day of class:

(4 students not pictured...because they were absent)

I will miss them, but I'm excited for the things they'll be doing with their lives. Thanks for a great semester!

Updates

2010-11-28T11:18:00.002-07:00

As I looked at my blog today, I realized that it had been a while since I had written anything. Sometimes that happens because of laziness, other times it's because I just don't feel I have anything interesting to say. Well, that all changed this week.

First, today is my wonderful husband's birthday. We celebrated it a bit with some friends yesterday because there's not much one can go do on a Sunday in Provo :) He enjoyed his presents and the time spent with friends. However, I think the best present ever was waking up this morning to a winter wonderland outside! That's right, it had snowed while we were sleeping (and continues to do so now even as I type!). He loves the snow so it was such a wonderful surprise. Happy birthday, baby!!

Second, Thanksgiving was great. We went up to the Noyes' house with Carlos, Paola and Harold. We love them all so much and are so glad to have them in our lives. We had a wonderful dinner after which I was so stuffed I could barely move. After dinner had been cleaned up and put away, we watched "Eat, Pray, Love". Unfortunately, I can't really say whether I liked it or not because I fell asleep after the first 30 minutes!! That darn turkey coma!! Oh, well. I'll just have to watch it another time. It was a wonderful day (despite the bitter cold Utah is having).

Last, but certainly not least, my husband and I received some wonderful news on Wednesday. We're expecting!! We suspected that's what it was earlier in the month, but it felt good to have it confirmed by the doctor. So far, everything is going well and I'm due around the 16 of July. I'm excited and nervous about being a mother...good thing I have an excellent example to look to for help!! I am grateful for this opportunity, though not so much for the nausea. :)

I guess that pretty much covers it! I'll try to keep this updated a little better...now that I have some exciting things going on...whoo!!

The joys of marriage

2010-10-12T13:15:00.002-06:00

Yesterday Faiver and I were at the FedEx store making some copies. When it was time to pay, Faiver swiped his card through the little machine. When it had gone all the way through, it made a little *beep* noise and at the very same moment, we both imitated the noise. How I love that guy!

I'm Awesome

2010-09-22T10:12:00.002-06:00

On Monday, the Gunnell family hosted a family home evening for the young married couples in our ward. We went through the normal schedule but before we had refreshments, the Gunnell kids wanted to play dodge ball. So we all went upstairs to the play room to battle it out. After a couple of rounds, Daivs (who is 3) ran up to my husband and said, "I got you Faiver!!" He was so excited that he had gotten Faiver out of the game. :) As we were walking down the stairs, he was talking to his dad about it and I said, "Davis, you're awesome". He replied, "Yep. I'm awesome!!" It was so cute!

This is Davis. (picture from http://gunnellfam.blogspot.com/)

I drink LEMONADES!!!

2010-07-27T19:57:00.006-06:00

So, I love summer...the weather, the sun, the many activities one can do, and the wonderful taste of the best summer drink ever - LEMONADE...it really is the best! This summer has been great for a few reasons. First, Faiver and I have done some things we have not done in the past (like going to Seven Peaks). I love doing things with him and we have so much fun together. Secondly, there were fireworks! I think they are spectacular and magical and I just love them! Last, but certainly not least, three of my family members came to visit us out here in the dry, hot, lovely state of Utah!! They were able to do lots of things (some of which Faiver and I had to skip because of work..blah!) and it was wonderful to see them. Mom was able to spend some time with her mom as well. Cheryl visited BYU and is considering attending next year. Phillip bonded with Faiver and had fun picking on me with him. What are brothers for, right?! All in all, we had a blast together! Now, sit back, get some lemonade and enjoy some pictures from our adventures...

The very beautiful Cheryl! Taking a break from the slides to have some lunch :)

All of us. This is the slide that Phillip rode...twice!!

Faiver and me after the parade. The missionaries in Provo marched in the parade!

My grandma (who would kill me if she knew this was here)! Yay for BYU!!

Us at the Salt Lake Bee's game. Mom, Cheryl and Phillip waiting for the fireworks.

People sitting on the field waiting....fireworks!!! Yay!

Did you enjoy your lemonade?

More Stuff

2010-07-03T11:23:00.020-06:00

Here are some things we've done since the last time I wrote...

It snowed in May... ...but then it got really green!

We went to the park with Toby CHEESE!!!

Our friend, Hyrum, got married and Faiver helped decorate the car

Cheryl (Mom and Phillip) came to visit! Love this little sister!!

We went to the zoo and Toby LOVED the lion on the carousel...I rode the elephant :)

So far, it's been a GREAT summer!

Best Weekend Ever!!

2010-05-12T22:50:00.001-06:00

I knew Faiver was planning something for our one-year anniversary, but I didn't know it would be the best weekend of my life! We had such a good time just being with each other, getting out of Provo and celebrating our life together.

After Faiver was done with work on Friday (April 30th), we grabbed our stuff from the house and headed up to Salt Lake City. He took me to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to the very top floor where he walked into the Roof Restaurant and said he had a reservation for 8:00. The hostess seated us next to the window overlooking Temple Square. It was such a great view and we got to see the sunset. Dinner was wonderful, highlighted by the fact that I got to sit across from the most handsome man in the world!

After dinner, we headed to the hotel. I still did not know where we were going at this point. Faiver put the directions into his GPS and we soon arrived at our destination. It was raining and dark, so I didn't see the sign that said what hotel it was. Only was it when we got inside that I realized this was the Anniversary Inn!! I had only heard about it and seen pictures, and so I was naturally THRILLED when I realized where my wonderful husband had brought me. The special thing about this inn is that they have themed rooms...we were in the Capitol Retreat room. It was awesome! The bathroom was "hidden" behind the bookcase and it was wonderfully decorated to the theme. There was a bottle of cider in the room and rose petals on the floor. It was incredible!

Of course we had some of our wedding cake that night. We didn't eat much of it because we were so full from dinner and it was so sweet. It was amazing how good it still tasted, though :)

We spent the rest of the evening...well...that's just for us :) The next morning we had a yummy breakfast brought right to our door. We had specified a time the night before and they brought it up to us. What service!

We hung around some more in the room, just enjoying the time, and then went to lunch at La Fogata, a Colombian restaurant near Salt Lake. We have been there a few times and it sounded like a great place to have out "anniversary lunch". The owner knows us and since Faiver told her we would come for lunch there, she had a piece of carrot cake for us. It was very sweet! After lunch, we went to the park to play. It was fun!

As we were driving away from the park, we saw signs for an open house. We thought it would be fun to just go by and look. We ended up going to 4 open houses! It was so cool to see what some people had done with their space; we also saw some very interesting things...like a rock climbing wall in the apartment above the garage in a very colorful house (and by colorful I mean bright yellow, green, red and purple with the most interesting layout I've ever seen!).

Then we wanted to go look at these huge cathedral-looking buildings on South Temple street. After which we went to Temple Square to just walk around and take some pictures.

Because it got really windy and cold (just look at the flag in the last picture), we decided to get back to the hotel. We got into our warm bed and fell asleep watching a movie we got from the front desk. It was the BEST weekend ever! I had so much fun spending time with my hubby doing silly, crazy, fun, romantic things all weekend. It was hard to get back to normal life, but this will stay in my memory forever. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness, honey, and for giving me the best surprise of the year. I love you so, so much!!

One Year!!

2010-04-30T16:26:00.003-06:00

Today is our one year anniversary!! I cannot believe that it has been one year already. I am sure I'll write more about it soon (because my husband has something planned for the weekend) but this is all for now. I love you, honey!!

so happy!!

Hobby

2010-04-24T15:29:00.003-06:00

Faiver recently decided he wanted to start collecting something. He went back and forth with several ideas but none of them really sounded good to him. After a few weeks of not mentioning it again, he decided he wanted to collect coins-more specifically quarters and gold dollars. So, I bought him some books to keep the coins in and he started searching for them. He has almost completed his quarter collection and has almost all of the president dollars that are out right now. He loves it!

Excited about cleaning his coins

working hard :)

so happy with his new hobby :)

11 Months!!!

2010-03-31T19:52:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, Faiver and I celebrated our 11th month as a married couple. I cannot believe we are so close to a year of marriage; it has gone by so fast! Since this anniversary fell on a Tuesday, we just spent a simple evening together: after a day of work and class, I came home to make dinner and have everything ready for when Faiver got done with work. I made dinner and arranged the table to be "fancy". I picked him up from work and we drove home to a wonderful yet simple dinner. Faiver opened his present I got for him and we ate together. I had to do some visiting teaching, but then we passed the rest of the night with each other. It was really nice. I love this man so much!!

Our fancy dinner table

Opening his present

Books for his coins

Wells Fargo

2010-03-24T20:01:00.002-06:00

My wonderful husband has been looking for a good job for quite some time. He took a job a Brick Oven, a local restaurant, but it was not giving him very many hours and he was getting bored with it. We bank at Wells Fargo and one of the bankers there told him he should apply for a position there. He filled out an online application and promptly heard back from them. After a long group interview in Salt Lake and another interview in one of the branches, he was offered the job! He is now working as a bank teller in the Provo Towne Center branch. He is their Spanish specialist and is loving it. It makes me happy to see him so happy with his job. It's a great opportunity for him.

Happy Day of Love

2010-02-15T23:14:00.004-07:00

This year I wanted to do something special for my husband for Valentine's Day. He always does sweet things for special occasions...and sometimes on regular days too...so I wanted to do something unexpected. We decided to celebrate this special day on Saturday since Valentine's day fell on a Sunday this year. It was great to be with my husband and celebrate our love.

presents from me! balloons and a BIG box

Temple bag...much needed

A love monkey! The heart says "Wild about you"

I heart-attacked the door :)

Of course, he still did some stuff for me. We went out to a movie and then dinner with some friends. He also got me these beautiful gifts:

Lilies...my favorites!!

Best shirt ever!!

Happy Valentine's Day, honey. I adore you and love you so much!

Is a Green Card really green?

2010-02-02T21:17:00.005-07:00

The answer to that question is No!! How do I know this? Because my wonderful husband FINALLY received his Green Card in the mail today. We are so happy!! We had our appointment on January 21 and now he has the actual card saying he is a permanent resident of the US!! *Insert huge sigh of relief*

Ready to open that letter!!

(The back of the card-the only part that is green)

The Good Things in Life

2010-01-31T21:57:00.003-07:00

Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated being married for 9 months!! I can't believe that it has been nine months...I feel like it has gone by so fast, but when I look back on all that has happened, it seems incredible. I am so glad to always have this wonderful man by my side. We had a pretty normal day, but we had some fun at night by going ice skating. It had been a while since we'd gone ice skating. I fell back into it really easily, but it took Faiver a little longer :) I absolutely LOVE ice skating!! I'm not super good at it, but I could stay there doing it for hours. When he was tired of it and wanted to go home, I asked if I could just do 5 more laps around the rink!! :) It was so much fun and super romantic. Yes, we held hands as we skated.

This is from 2008 when we went for his birthday

Something funny happened today in Primary at church. We both teach in Primary, but Faiver teaches the 9-year-olds and I teach the 5-year-olds. In my class today, we were talking about following Jesus instead of following Satan. We were saying how we don't want to follow Satan. Reid raised his hand and said, "Yeah but we don't want to follow Obama either because he wants to take everyone's money." It was so funny!! Working with little kids is always interesting :)

Language Teaching

2010-01-25T22:52:00.003-07:00

Every Sunday, Faiver and I have dinner with my brother and sister-in-law. We have fun catching up and practicing our Spanish together. Yesterday, Faiver tried to teach Toby some new words. (For those who don't know, Toby is our nephew and he'll turn 2 this week.) He says some words pretty well if we just have him repeat them. Anyway, Faiver sat him on the table in front of him and said words in Spanish while Toby repeated them. He did pretty well with most of them, although he's not so good with the "c" sound. Faiver tried to get him to say "comida" and Toby kept saying "pizza"!! Well, at least they're related ideas :) He's a cute kid and watching my husband with him warms my heart!

What a cutie!!

Resident!!!!

2010-01-23T15:25:00.003-07:00

Thursday January 21, 2010 is a day that will always be remembered by my husband and me. We went to Murray in the morning for the most important interview of our lives: his interview to become a permanent resident of the United States. I was so nervous but we had everything we needed, so I tried to be confident. We arrived in Murray an hour early so we decided to eat breakfast since we couldn't go to the Immigration office yet. -Funny side note: We were on our way to McDonald's and Faiver turned left at a light but just made a U-turn. Right after that, a cop pulled behind him. Luckily, we weren't stopped although it was a funny start to our morning!- After that, we went to the office and checked in with security. We waited only about 10 minutes before getting called back. The immigration officer led us back to his office and had us stand so he could "swear us in". That was the first time I've ever done that!! Then he asked us for tons of documentation to show that we were really married and in a legitimate relationship. After 15 tense minutes, he informed us that he could now be a permanent resident. We were so happy!! He'll receive his green card in about 10 days. He is official!!

We told our parents and then went about the day as usual. We went to celebrate at Chef's Table in Orem. I have heard that it is so good so I wanted to try it. It was really fancy! There was a guy playing the piano, the front-lady took my coat and gave me a number, the table had a candle and a rose on it...it was really nice. The food was good too. For dessert, Faiver had German Chocolate cake, for the first time, and I had Creme Brulee. It was yummy!!
I'm so glad that everything went well and that I could enjoy this wonderful time with my husband.

2010-01-19T09:07:00.002-07:00

So, I haven't been good at blogging lately, but my new goal is to write at least once a week, maybe more if something really interesting happens. I'm sure I'll have tons to write about :)

The holidays went off well. Faiver and I spent them mostly by ourselves, enjoying our first holidays as a married couple. Christmas Eve, we spent a little time with my cousin Katie and her husband, her parents and my grandma. It was fun! We played "Christmas" games, which was interesting. During charades Faiver acted out "Frosty the Snowman". It was awesome :) Christmas day we did our own thing and then went to Kris' parents' house for dinner. It was very sweet of them to invite us. We got to see Nathaniel and Kris and my little Toby. He's getting so big!! New Years was spent enjoying each other's company. What a great time to be married.

In other news, we spent this extended weekend in Cedar City with Faiver's mission companion, Drew, and his wife, Kylie. It was really fun and soooo good to get out of Provo for a little while. We played Mario Party on their Wii, watched movies, talked about life and roasted hot dogs and marshmellows over a fire pit. It was a blast!! In getting to Cedar, we drove our 1991 Subaru Legacy the 215 miles from Provo to their house. That thing is amazing! It drove so smoothly and didn't give us any trouble. We didn't even use the whole tank of gas!! After resting for a few days, it made the trip back home just as smoothly. We are definitely blessed. (And my husband is a great driver. Thanks honey!!)

Yard Work = Happiness (or Swine Flu??)

2009-11-12T15:33:00.002-07:00

Before going into this, you should first know that Faiver and I have moved....again. We are living in the basement of the house of a lady Faiver does some landscaping for (great sentence, huh?). She is letting us live there without rent in return for his continued help. On Saturday, I wanted to help too, so we went to work. I raked all the leaves in the yard and helped pick lavender. It was so fun and even though I wasn't in a bad mood, it just made me that much happier.

We then went to help take up carpet at her daughter's house and there was a lot of dust. Faiver is allergic to dust and didn't feel very well after that. Sunday was really bad and he wasn't better on Monday, so we went to the doctor. Turns out, he had H1N1, or swine flu. The doctor gave us instructions and sent him home. We figure he had it before and the dust just accelerated the process. After much care from his loving wife, he's doing much better. Life is interesting!

Papers and Love

2009-10-01T18:35:00.006-06:00

What a relief! On Tuesday, Faiver and I sent off his immigration papers. We are so happy that they are finally in the process! Hopefully the process will only take a few months and then he'll be a resident of the US! I'm so glad! :)

Filling out the forms

The envelope is addressed, stamped, and ready to go!

In other good news, we celebrated our five-month anniversary on Wednesday! I am so lucky to be married to this wonderful man who makes me happier than I thought I could ever be. I love you so much, honey! Happy anniversary and many more to come :)

Oh, how I love this guy!

How the time flies!!

2009-08-22T17:52:00.005-06:00

I just realized that besides my rather short blog post about our interesting media, the last time I've updated our blog was in May!! My goodness, how time flies. Faiver and I have been married for three and a half months and we're living in a different apartment. We have a lot more room in this one and we're really enjoying it. I just got done with my weekly cleaning. I even put up some more decorations to make it feel more homey. I love being a wife!

So this summer has been tons of fun. We've done lots of things together and with other people. Here are some pics, documenting the fun we've been having:

We decided to make a sign for our door...I'm just putting on some final touches

At the ward FHE...Faiver did the cooking (Carlos helped some too)

At the Manti Pageant

My mission president came home!! Holy Cow!!

This is the cake I made for Colombia's Independence Day

Faiver was the cook again. He's just amazing!

We went to the Spanish Fork Rodeo. It was amazing and tons of fun!

Horseback riding with the bishop. It was my first time and they said I did pretty good :)

So as you can see, we're having a lot of fun but we still work a lot. Faiver has been helping out a friend with some landscaping and he's really good at it. Ah, my husband; a man of many talents. Life is good!

Ah, the media

2009-08-20T16:25:00.001-06:00

So, yesterday I was taking a short break at work and decided to check the news. I opened the MSN.com page and saw an interesting headline. It was talking about how Michelle Obama, first lady of the United States of America, was wearing shorts!!! Aaaah, the scandal! Who cares?? She's a normal person just like everyone else who deserves to wear relaxing clothes when she visits the Grand Canyon with her family (which is where she was). People have too much time on their hands (or nothing else to talk about) when they can comment on the First Lady wearing shorts. Get a life! The media, I think, is going downhill.

A Special Visit

2009-05-24T11:09:00.005-06:00

During the whole graduation-wedding stretch, Faiver had a special opportunity to have a couple people from his ward in Colombia come to visit. His former bishop's wife (Jimena) and daughter (Margie) came to share in the festivities. They first came to Utah to experience...well a lot of stuff and to see where it is that Faiver lives. He had a great time showing them around and being a tour guide for them. They did tons of stuff from just hanging around BYU to going to Moab. They all had a great time. I could not accompany them in all of their fun because I was with my family and then in North Carolina waiting for April 30th to come. They had a blast and that's really what matters. Jimena was able to be in the temple with us and that was so special especially for Faiver...he had someone there from Colombia to whom he is very close. Jimena and Margie both stayed at my house for a few days after the wedding and reception. That was fun for all! It was so great to have them here and now we miss them.

This was in Park City...they LOVED the snow!

One of my favorites. This is Jimena looking through the photographer's camera

They even came to my graduation!

The historic Provo Library

Jimena and Margie with Faiver at the temple

With my sisters, mom and I at our hotel in D.C.

Go Cougars!

They didn't miss a thing

What a good one of Jimena

Faiver was the tour guide...the thirsty tour guide

Jimena and Margie...both so beautiful

Updates

2009-05-23T09:51:00.005-06:00

It's been a while since I last wrote and LOTS has happened since then. First of all, I graduated!! I now have a BA in Linguistics. I will start my graduate program in the fall where I will be seeking a TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) teaching certificate. I'm super excited!!

I'm done!!

I'm so glad he was there to support me

With my parents. They are awesome!

Ringing the Victory Bell. Yeah!!

I presented my Stole of Gratitude to my parents

The other update I have is that I got married!! Faiver and I tied the knot on April 30, 2009 in the Washington, D.C. Temple. The weather was great, the grounds were beautiful, the ceremony was special and we were able to share all of that with wonderful friends and family. We are so grateful for the people who could be there.

This was a fun one to take

awww!

All my family

Coming out of the temple

My mom and I walking into the temple

My parents and Faiver's American parents

such a happy couple

I love my dress

It was so pretty! And we are so cute :)

Life is good!!!

So much to do, So little time

2009-04-22T13:31:00.002-06:00

I can't believe how fast time has flown and now I have all these things I have to do! (and come up with the money for some of them too)

Graduation is tomorrow and Friday along with a family luncheon and moving my stuff into our (that's right!) new apartment. My parents are in town so that will help a lot.

Finalizing some last minute things with apartments and wedding details.

I leave for North Carolina on Saturday (which means I have to leave my honey for 5 days); help my mom with the last details of the reception and then....wedding bells!

Whew! I hope I make it!!

29 days, 20 hrs, 42 mins, 09 secs

2009-03-31T14:13:00.004-06:00

This is how long we have until we are married!! (at least at the time I started writting this....obviously time is still going.) Faiver and I are both very excited and ready for this big change in our lives...well, we're mostly ready...I don't think anyone is every fully ready for what marriage will bring, but we are excited about moving ahead. Mostly everything is done, too, so that reduces the stress significantly. Just so everyone out there knows, I am getting the best man in the entire world. He is my life and my happiness. It's gonna be great!! :)

just look at that face!!

Sister Noyes, Faiver's sponsor, threw me a bridal shower last Saturday. It was so much fun!! it was interesting to see all the aspects of my life come together in one room: there were friends from work, from school, from church, from apartments and from the mission there. It was such a special day and it made me realize even more how much I love Faiver. (sorry if this is too mushy for some of you, but I don't care...it's how I feel) :) I also got fitted for my dress that day and I get to pick it up on April 15th. One more thing taken care of! Life is good

FINALLY!!

2009-03-25T13:28:00.003-06:00

So it has been a while, but we finally have all of our invitations mailed off (so if you sent me your address, get ready for it!). It makes me super excited because it means I'm getting closer to that big day! Also this week in wedding news, I'm getting fitted for my dress and having my bridal shower. Whoo!! I'm so excited!! In the meantime, we're just finishing up the little details so that everything goes smoothly. It can't come fast enough :)

Go to Europe

2009-03-15T19:53:00.002-06:00

I just remembered why I love the English language so so much. I was hanging out with some friends that are not native English speakers and for some reason, the topic of throwing up came up. We have so many ways to say that (like toss your cookies or go to europe). He thought it was a valuble thing to learn...it made me smile and laugh on the inside.

Our Story

2009-03-11T16:18:00.004-06:00

I think a good way to get this blog going is to tell our story.

It all began during the winter semester of 2008. I work at the English Language Center and Faiver is taking classes there. One day (or something like that) he decided that he'd like to get to know me better and take me out on a date. However, he didn't start with that. We were having the closing social at the end of the semester and that day he asked me for my phone number. Over the next few weeks, he would text me about little things. At the beginning of May, I went back to Ohio (my mission) to visit and he even texted me while I was there (we're so modern, huh?). When I got back, he wanted to do something together. He found out that I like to go running, so he suggested that we do that. I thought it was cool; we were just friends after all. It soon became apparent that he wanted something more. Well, I was dating someone else at the time and it wasn't going well; I broke up with that someone else soon after returning from Ohio but just didn't want to be in another relationship. That certainly didn't stop Faiver. He was persistent, but I was stubborn. One day he came into the ELC and didn't say a word to me! I wasn't interested in dating him but I still wanted to be friends. I decided that I would initiate some type of activity so I could salvage our friendship. I suggested running. He agreed and we went. As we were walking back to my apartment, we were talking about my Tae Kwon Do classes. He asked if I had them everyday, I said I had them on Tuesdays and Fridays but I usually wouldn't go on Friday because it was the weekend. Then, slick as he is, he asked what I usually did on Fridays. Oh, goodness! I knew where this was going! Anyway, he asked me out for the following Friday and I agreed. I had to give him at least one chance, right?

The day of the date came and he came to pick me up from my apartment. We went back to his place where he had prepared a three-course meal! It was delicious and we talked about a lot of things. I thought it went well, so when he asked me out again I accepted. This time we went with some other friends to eat, watch a soccer game, go bowling and hang out. It was fun as well. That night, after walking me to my door, he kissed me. Shortly thereafter we became "official" and we've been together ever since!

On the first of November, he asked me to marry him. It was such a happy day!! He is the sweetest guy I know and I'm so lucky to be able to spend eternity with him.

After the proposal

My ring!

New stuff!!

2009-03-11T15:24:00.001-06:00

Hello everyone. I just decided that this would be a fun thing to do to keep people updated in the life of my soon-to-be-husband and me. We'll see how it goes. :) As of now, I am at work (with a little down time on my hands) and I was checking out some friends' blogs. So, I decided to join the blogging world!! I mean, Facebook is good and all, but not everyone uses it or wants to use it. Plus, it's just a bit overrated. This is the beginning of a good thing....hopefully. It will be a representation of life as we know it.