Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Lets Review again...

We have still yet to get internet in our new place and probably never will. We just cant afford it and never know how long we will be in one place which makes getting a contract impossible. We just do everything on our phones or drive to campus. We are seriously considering talking to our neighbors and offering to pay them half their internet bill to use it. All in good time.
Where to begin...Mom and Calvin made it to Idaho safely (we wont talk about having to buy new tires in Mephis). WE woke up the next morning to almost a foot of snow on the ground. I wasnt sure if I should say Happy Halloween or Merry Christmas. Calvin had to leave for work that morning and so it was up to Mom and I to unload the Uhaul...what a chore! Or at least it would have been if our awesome neighbor didnt offer his services. What would have taken Mom and I all day was done in about an hour! What a huge blessing, let me tell you! It didnt help that Mom would throw a little fit when I would lift something that she considered heavy when in reality it was super light for me haha She will always be a mother I guess :) It was fun going through things together and deciding what to keep and give away. We ended up taking 4-5 Jeep loads of stuff to the D.I. here in Rexburg. I was super proud of Mom because it is not easy for her to get rid of things. She liked the idea of donating to a church organization because she felt it was going to a good place.
I have to admit I was super used to living alone and have become quite the quiet person so there have been days where I felt like I was boring Mom to death but in reality she is just as quiet as I am haha We are both used to living "alone" in a sense. Calvin continued to work all day everyday it seemed. When he wasnt working for his internship he was doing some side work to make more money...many times it just ended up being service but thats ok. Bring on the Blessings! And boy have we been blessed these last few months. There have been stressful days..many of them..but we can always stop and realize how truly blessed we are.
Speaking of blessings, I have to admit that as uncomfortable as theis pregnancy has been, the baby has been doing great. Every doctor visit brings the same responses...good strong heartbeat, measuring right on. Who could ask for more. I feel ginormous these days and can hardly tie my own shoes anymore, but who's complaining? 
My good friend Alex put together a baby shower for me a couple of weeks ago and it was just right for me. I had a few close friends and family there which was perfect for our small living room. I recieved some great gifts and even more keep coming in the mail from loved ones far away. I cant express my gratitude for all of these things and how practicle they all are. Everytime I started to stress about having to buy something else we needed, it would come in the mail from someone! Im not even joking! I know that to many it seems silly or foolish to have a baby when we have school and debt but I know that we are doing the Lords work and that the blessings have been poured out to us even more now than ever before. I am not afraid..maybe just that I will be a good mom. Im not worried about Calvin at all..he is so excited about having a baby, I couldnt ask for more. Our carseat came last night and he was so excited haha he got to open it and kept saying how cute it was and how real its all becoming (he could care less for me publicizing his frequent use of the word cute lately).
Other than an awesome Holiday Season with family, Calvin and I are back in school and getting more and more impatient for our little Jane to arrive. I only have two classes left before my internships so this semester is going to be a great time to have a baby. Calvin has a full load of classes and work and is preparing for his construction competition in Reno. This happens to be on the babys due date so our doctor will start checking me tomorrow at my 37 week appt. to plan for induction. He is the best doctor. He cares so much about mine and the babys health and is making sure he is doing everything in his power to get her here safe and avoid c-section. If it happens that we cannot be induced and the baby doesnt come before Calvins competition he said he wouldnt go. He is already preparing his team as if he is not going just in case. I sure do love that man, even though this a great opportunity for the future and I feel a bit guilty thinking that he may not be able to go but the birth of a child is way more important in the eternal scheme of things :) Anywho...thats about all. I know I have rambled alot and am still doing it haha Hope all is well with everyone! Happy New Year :)

Friday, October 19, 2012

For the love of Fall

So I have been really bad about getting on here but life has just been so busy! Im not even sure where to begin!
We moved into our new place and it only took us a couple of weeks to want out. I was so sick all of the time and couldn't even sleep at night because I couldn't breath...well...come to find out that the house had black mold and lets just say basement apartments are that great for ventilation either. This meant that I had to find another place to live...again...for the millionth time it felt like. Lets just say I am a pro at moving these days. We had to tough it out at the old place for a couple of weeks until we could move into our new place but let me tell you it was worth the wait. I just love our new home and the fact that it is two stories and has three bedrooms is a bonus as well. It will be perfect for our needs and maybe more than we need but I have decided that after the craziness of the past few months, we deserve it!
Next...on September 19th at my 20 week ultrasound Calvin and I found out that we are having a baby GIRL! So exciting! It was a bit jinxed though..everyone had girl things to give us and so we just had to have a girl haha We have had names picked out for a long time too. She will be Jane Ann Bryant. Jane is Calvins moms middle name and Ann is my middle name...and of course the last name is a given haha. It is so fun to see her and how much she looks like a Bryant even in the womb! I just am so excited to meet this little one. So many people tell me to enjoy the time before she comes and that everything is going to change and that nothing will ever be the same and blah blah blah...and I get that. I have know that forever. If you didnt know that then you may be a bit lost in life. Its not to say that I do not enjoy the time alone with Calvin right now. We love spending time together. But we also know the importance of family and are so excited and so grateful for the chance to be parents! If this little one was ready to come now we would gladly take it. Maybe after having the miscarraige and all the emotions that came with that has made us this way. But we only have positive and exciting things to think about when it comes to our baby girl. So yes things will never be the same and yes we are enjoying our time alone, but we could not be more ready to have the new addition to our family.
Speaking of new additions....Calvin just left yesterday to drive all to the way to Pensacola, Florida to pick up my mom and move her out here. I wanted to go on the trip but would only slow him down on the way there and be super crammed in the truck on the way back...sooo here I am all alone for a week and found it really hard to say goodbye. Must be the pregnancy hormones right? Or the fact that he is the love of my life and it is never easy to say goodbye even when he is just going to work...and I will not apologize for being sappy because its how I really feel haha Im just glad that we are able to keep in touch over the phone and that I can know he is alright and that nothing has gone too terribly wrong. Wednesday night cannot come soon enough!
That is about all of the updates in our lives right now. Just loving the fall weather and all of the festivities that come along with it! Hope all is well with our friends and family and I will do my best to keep things more updated :)

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Things Change Really Quick Sometimes!

So we're back in Rexburg....how did this happen? Calvin started his internship with Dunkin and Bush a couple of weeks ago and lets just say he was not all too happy when he got home every night. They are a great company but not at all what he thought or was looking for. I hated seeing him come home so exhausted and bored and just plain miserable because he just had to get up and do it again. Calvin is not a quitter and if he had to stick it out for the whole five months he would have. His mood wears on me too though and I said that if he were to find something else and we thought it was the right thing for us, that I would go anywhere with him and we would make it work out. Well on Friday August 3rd he sent an email and resume to Streamlined Homes here in Rexburg and on Monday got a job offer....CRAZY! We had to make a decision by six that night and if we said yes he would have to be on the job by Friday. So we took all day to think about it, wrote out the pros and cons of going and staying, shared our thoughts and worries and then...Prayed...a lot. We all know from the first line of this posting what our answer was. Calvin called up Streamlined Homes and accepted the job and the next day we packed up and were on the road. It was really hard to leave family and friends so quickly because we had literally just gotten there, but we know what we were to do and every mile closer to Rexburg felt better and better. It took us three days and two hotels to get here because me and traveling while pregnant and still so sick is not much fun! Our good friends Warren and Julie are out of town for the summer and so they were so kind as to offer us there place when we got here until we found housing. Such a great blessing. I was really sick the day we got here but the next day, which just happened to be yesterday, I went into my doctor and got more medicine for my nausea. I had been taking Phenergan but was out and that stuff knocked me out so the nurse recommended Zofran and thank goodness she did. I was in heaven! I have not had that much energy or acctually wanted to eat in who knows how long! During this wonder time of the day I actually found a great place for us to live too that is totally affordable and the perfect size for our needs for the next year or so. The power of prayer is amazing, I tell you! We prayed for so many things yesterday and many if not all of those things were answered within the next day. Our hearts were so full and I told Calvin I think Heavenly Father knew how much more I Couldn't take haha. So to celebrate a great day we went to Pizza Pie Cafe and our friend Scott works there and surprised us with a cookie monster! Such a nice guy! He was so surprised to see Calvin too and excited so that was his way of celebrating with us. So here we are, things are falling into place every day and now we just have to wait for the renovations to be done on our new place so we can move in. It feels so great to be back to what has been my home for so many years now and to have such great friends who are excited to have us back! Happy Saturday Everyone :)

Monday, August 6, 2012

Catch up time!

Oh how the time flies (when you're crazy busy with school and moving). I must say that Calvin and I were most pleased to be done with the semester and to get on with other things. I was not looking forward to packing everything up and moving it to a storage unit. I was still extremely sick from the pregnancy and had little to no energy. But!...We did it! With the help of our dear friends Warren and Julie, we were able to move everything in a day and a half. How great is that! The next day I had my doctors appt. I love getting ultrasounds and even moreso when Calvin is there. I was 11w5d at my appointment but the baby was measuring very big and was super active. It was a sight to see. They were trying so hard to get a good picture of the spine to test for down syndrom and I just told them (after an hour!) that we simply did not care and didn't even know we had said we wanted that test done. So they gave us our pictures and sent us on our merry way! Other than being miserable sick, the baby is doing great and we couldn't be happier about it. I wish I could have those visits more often to keep my exhausted spirits higher haha. We left soon after to start our loooong journey to Washington. Traveling while pregnant is not so fun. Having to stop at almost every exit to use the bathroom and wouldn't you know I ended up with a massive migrane. We were supposed to stay the night in Kennewick with some friends but I simply could not make it. We wont mention how late is was and that Calvin almost ran out of diesle and had to syfin some out of a guys truck in the middle of no where! We stopped in La Grande Oregon for the night and that was the best decision ever. We got up super early and were one of the first people in the breakfast room. We ate to our hearts content and checked out and got on the road again. We had to stop in Cle Elum of course to get our favorite meat at Glondos! Best jerky in the entire world! Trust me! We eventually rolled into home around 4ish and after a day or two of switching things around the house, were somewhat settled in. It has been slow go around here for me. My day consists of sleeping, eating when I absolutely have to (its still such a chore), and reading. I must say it has been nice to read a book of my choice and not a text book! The weather here has been perfect and it is just simply beautiful in Northwest Washington. Calvin started his internship last week and is gone at the crack of dawn every morning and not home until dinner. I will be honest and say that as much as I enjoy my time to myself....I miss him terribly all day long. By the time he gets home we only have so much time together before he has to go back to sleep for the next work day. Such is life I guess. We will see how long it take for me to loose my mind. Until that time I will do my best to keep things posted. As for the pregnancy, I will be 14 weeks on wednesday and am still super sick. I just ran out of my Phenergan which means this body is fair game for sickness again haha Lets just hope im reaching the end of all of that! We wont talk about the withdrawl headachs from those pills. Well...happy Monday everyone :) Here are some pictures from our 12 week visit! Enjoy!

 Baby Says Hi!

Close up (thumb sucking already!) 

Look at those little arms and legs!



Thursday, June 28, 2012

Here comes baby!

So is it ironic that two days after I had my little venting session about my miscarriage and everything...I find out im pregnant?! Well lets just say I was a bit excited and many other emotions. Calvin was still gone at his internship training and I decided I was going to keep it a secret until he came home on Saturday...which was waaaaay hard to do! I had three postive tests on thursday night and so I had a day and a half to keep my secret which felt like an eternity! So I decorated the bathroom mirror all cutesy with trees and flowers and wrote "welcome home baby" on the mirror and taped the pregnancy tests underneath. It was pretty cute if you ask me. Pictures of mirror art are a bit hard to take though :( Anyway! I picked Calvin up from the airport and we went out to Texas Roadhouse and then drove all the way home...the whole time not telling him or giving him any hint that I was keeping something from him. Very proud of myself still! So we get home and he goes to use the bathroom and then I hear him say "oh how cute...wait.......honey....can you come here please?" He asked me to read the tests for him and I just looked at him and said "why on earth would I put those up there if they were negative?" Basically he got the idea and was super excited! He has been a trooper so far too because this pregnancy has been HARD! I have been sooooo sick and if anyone knows me...I dont handle being sick well. Im so independent and such a go getter that when I cant do anything without wanting to pass out or throw up it just drives me nuts! Calvin has had to do all of the cooking and cleaning...pretty much everything and I am soooo grateful for him. I was doing my best to stay hydrated and eating crackers all day but it got so bad that I couldnt even keep water down anymore so the Doc put me on phenergan and what a life saver! Im not 100% but at least im not throwing everything up anymore. Other than that and peeing all of the time and feeling totally wasted....this pregnancy is going great! haha I had a bit of a scare because I was having a lot of cramping on my left side so they did an ultrasound to rule out an eptopic pregnancy. Come to find out this baby is right in the center and I just had some fluid on my left most likely from a cyst rupture. All is well now! I had my seven week appointment with ultrasound last wednesday and Calvin was able to be there. We got to see the heart beat and thanks to my sister have named it baby blueberry for now because thats how big it is! Im eight weeks now and so close to being done with semester! I need a break and some time to actually enjoy this pregnancy...no matter how miserable it makes me feel physically! Baby Bryant is due on February 6, 2013 :) We are sooooo happy and excited! The pics below are at six and seven weeks. That baby grows so fast! Its such a tiny miracle :)

6 weeks


7 weeks

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Today's venting session

In January I had a miscarriage. I was 8 weeks along and Calvin and I were soooo happy! We on January 7th I knew something was wrong because I had some dark discharge and was cramping really bad. I went to the doctors and the ultrasound was interesting. I was eight weeks but only appeared to be five weeks which is a big deal because it seemed as if the baby had stopped developing. The very ungenuine doctor continued to tell me that there was no way to tell if I was going to miscarry or not, and then gave the statistics about miscarraige. I really didn't appreciate it all that much and he was no help at all. The cramping continued and the next day I was in so much pain! We had to pick up my sister from the shuttle and she came back home with us. I said I had to use the bathroom and as soon as I sat down it all came out (sorry for being discriptive). I was in complete shock because I knew what was happening but nothing can prepare you for that. I have not sobbed that hard in my entire life and Calvin was amazing at just being there for me. He and my sister got me into the bath because the pain was so bad and we called a friend of ours that is an OBGYN. He said that I was having a miscarriage but it sounded like my body was doing well at taking care of it myself and that I could take ibuprophen for the pain. They bath helped tremedously but I was not prepared for how long of a process a miscarriage really is. I am lucky that my body did everything itself and that I didnt need a D&C. They staff at the doctors were so amazed at my attitude towards everything and one lady told me to "keep that awesome personality". I guess i'm pretty good at putting on a face for everyone. After a month and a half of doctor visits my HCG hormone was down to 0 and I was done there. I must say that this was the most painful experience of my life to date, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They only thing that kept me from going down the deep end was the understanding I have of the temple. Calvin and I were sealed for time and all eternity along with all of our children. Someday I will get the chance to hold and love that child. Until that day, I have to be strong and just move forward, which is easier said than done. I think I have gone through ever emotion known to man! I seem to notice every baby and every pregnant woman around. I tried be happy for them but it just wasntthere anymore. Everything makes me cry, happy or sad things. I cant watch anything about babies without crying. My one breakthough happened recently, however. A great couple friend of Calvin and I have been trying for close to five years to have a baby and had given up hope that they could have kids. Well, come to find out she is pregnant! I was genuinely happy for them and since then it seems to be easier to be happy for others who have that great blessing of a child. I know that everything happens for a reason and I just need to put my trust in the Lord, but I guess I am struggling with faith because until I am holding my own healthy baby in my arms I will worry and this is the one thing that is truly testing my patience! Here are the positives to waiting: Calvin and I get to enjoy just each other all of the time, we get to sleep in, I can finish school quicker, I can prepare my body better, and my mind....and i'm sure there are others but I just dont know about them :) I just want nothing more to be the best wife and mother. I cant wait for the day when I can stay home with my children and raise them in love. I want to be the one to teach my kids the important things in life, and I want them to come to me for anything. I want them to know that I will love them more than anything. I have realized something during all of this as well. The most important relationship in my home with be that between Calvin and I. I have to first be a good wife before I can be a good mother because what kind of example would I be setting for my children if I wasnt first a good wife? The same goes for Calvin being a good husband first. There is no better way to teach your children of the divine institution of marriage and the eternal importance of the family.
Well that is enough from me! Back to taking it one day at a time :)

Monday, May 21, 2012

My lonely week...

For those of you who dont know, Calvin got an internship with Dunkin and Bush in Bellingham Washington. They were really pushing for him because they love our school and were thrilled to have him apply. They are a really great company that has been around for over 60 years and have made it so far based on doing what is right. What more can you ask for? He has had all kinds of thoughts about this, both good and bad. I have felt good about it the whole time which has helped him. I took him to the airport on Sunday to go to his internship training in Kirkland. Its only been one day of training but he is already loving it!...and he is getting paid but thats just a side note! He cant wait to live there this fall and I can't either. As hard and boring as it is being alone until saturday, it has made me appreciate my time with him even more and I have even looked forward to school because its giving me something to do haha. Who ever thought that day would come?! I am really proud of Calvin and all of his hard work. He tries so hard to provide for us and I need to be more grateful for all that he does and not complain that I don't see him as much as I would like. I know it won't always be that way so I just need to be patient and be happy now. It could be worse...we could still be searching for an internship and worring about that! So here is to being happy and grateful now for all that we are blessed with.