Quarter of a Century: Part One

I can't believe that I'm 25!!!!!  It seems like it was only a little while ago that I was making fun of Aaron for turning 25 when we had been dating for 8 months...and now I'm the old one.  Well, I guess he will always be the old one.

Aaron asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday and I told him, "I want to go on a hike to celebrate being healthy for my birthday."  That is seriously what I wanted.  I wanted to spend the day being happy to be healthy.

2 years ago, for my 23rd birthday,  I went to the ER.  Click the link to read more about those fun times.  And last year was great because I had friends and family over with me but...I was barfy and really exhausted from being pregnant.  And after all of my "fun health" this summer, I wanted to just do something that sick Katrina couldn't enjoy.

Aaron looked at the weather report on Saturday and informed me that it was going to rain on my birthday and wanted to know if we could do the hike a day early.  I'm all about nature on the Sabbath.

So we packed up our little man and puppy dogs and got going.

Check out the trail marker....very helpful.

There is one hike that we do every year called Indian Trail.  It starts where 22nd street ends and the mountains begin and it comes out at a trail head in the canyon.  We have always started from the trail head inside the canyon gone two miles and turned around but people have told us that that is the hardest way to tackle it because it goes rapidly uphill on that end.  We decided to check out the other end.  We didn't plan on finishing it because round trip would have been 8.6 miles and if we only went to the other end...we would have a car.

With the trail markers missing, we had to just guess which trails took us where we wanted to go.  There are HUNDREDS of forks and side paths along the Bonneville Shoreline but in the area where we were, three main paths into the canyon.  Aaron said as long as we kept choosing the north leading paths going up in elevation, we would connect to the right path.  I fought him on this.

This side of the trail proved to be less shaded but since it is late October, the weather was perfect for hiking.

This is where we switched off holding Zach.  A 17 pound weight is A LOT of extra weight on the front...believe me...I lived with it for months.

I was crouching down so that Bambi could be in the picture with her little boy but she was busy keeping a look out for kidnappers.

Little boy smirk.  (Also...that is a crack in the rock...not my hair.)

Heading up and North just like Aaron said....

We made it to the trees!!  Once we got further into the canyon, the trees got higher and higher till we were finally "shaded".  Most of the leaves were gone so it wasn't super shady.

Aren't those dimples delicious?  ALL MINE!!!!

Once we went a ways in the trees, we decided to head back to the car.  Our little man was getting tired out and it was starting to get colder.

Kisses for little boy!

Pippen enjoying the fall colors.

On the way back down I said to Aaron, "Aaron.  Are you listening?  I'm only going to say this once so I want you to hear me.    ..........I think you were right.  I think all those little paths do meet up with each other to take you up those 3 main paths.  I'm glad I listened to you."

Isn't it nice to know you are right and that other people know it?  That was my gift to Aaron!  Hahaha, I'd follow him anywhere.

Epic manly man!

I had so much fun celebrating my health with my wonderful little family.  Especially spending time with the man who has been with me through so much.  I'm so blessed to always have him by my side!

Stay tuned for Part 2.

Home Improvement: Weird Crap in the Yard (Updated)

Every time we start digging in the yard, we find more weird stuff. At first, it was like....50 bottle caps but now it is getting more diverse since we are digging deeper while we rip up all the grass. Play along with us while we try and figure out what the heck this stuff is.

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More Protective Bambi

I can't tell people enough about how much I love that Bambi protects her little boy. It has really endured Bambi to me. I loved Bambi before and I was happy that she was in our little family but this has really solidified her place in our home.

This might look like a picture of them ignoring each other but Bambi is staring at the door...she doesn't have time to steal baby toys when she is watching for murderers.

Pippen thought that Zach's toes needed licking.  I mean...of course they do!

Nana Reinert sent a puppy beanie in the mail for Halloween...so, of course...we had to dress up like the puppies!

Our little pack of puppies.

This next moment in time really made me love Bambi.  I know that I would do anything for Zach and now I know that Bambi would also do anything to protect her boy.

Bambi is a dog...and she hates vacuums, as is the custom with dogs.  I put Zach in his Johnny Jump-up to watch me vacuum and the second that I turned it on, Bambi jumped up and ran between the vacuum and Zach.  She HAD to protect him from what would surely be the death of us all.

I couldn't get a picture with the vacuum on but when the vacuum turned off, she would lay down and when it was on, she was standing up and bracing herself for the worst.

I'm pleased as punch with my little puppy pack.

"New" Furniture

Aaron and I finally got rid of two wonderful eclectic chairs that we had in our living room.  We have a really small living room and we didn't have enough space for two chairs that took up a lot of space.  One chair (that was super comfy) could seat one large person or one mini person (like Aaron or I) and a small child/dog but it took up twice the amount of space necessary for arm rest space.

We sold both of them off and the space sat empty for a couple months while we waiting for furniture to find us.  Literally.  We did almost ZERO looking for replacements.  And magically one day, I found a chair on a yard sale site that was perfect and just as eclectic as my heart could hope for.

Behold! My Chaise Lounge!  My fainting couch!

Paint me like one of your French girls!  But seriously, it is the perfect seat for our living room.  It has about a third of the arm rest that the other chair did.  Two or three could sit on it in a pinch.  It is absolutely perfect for us.  I might love it too much to let the dogs or Zach near it though.

Prayer's Heard and Answered

The LDS General Conference just ended and will reconvene in 6 months time.  I love being about to listen to a living prophet's voice.  I have a testimony, a strong belief based in faith, that God cares for all of us and that He sent a prophet to help us on our journey back to Him.

One thing that is wonderful about General Conference are the prayers that are always answered.

We are always challenged before conference happens, to think of a question that we have for God.  It could be personal to our lives, "Where should I go to school?  What should I study?".  It could be doctrinal. "Why don't women have the Priesthood?  How can I show greater faith?"  Any question that you have for the Lord will do.

We are told to study it out in our mind and then pray for an answer to come to us.  Then we are asked to show our faith by listening to all of General Conference for our answers.

2 years ago, Aaron and I had been trying to have a child for almost 2 years.  We had tried one round of treatments that had yielded nothing.  It was a really hard time for us, and for me personally.

My dad was in town and got tickets to view one of the sessions (there are 5) of General Conference at the Conference center in Salt Lake City.  It was the first opportunity that I've ever had to do that.

Aaron, me and my Dad

My prayer at that time was a single question, "Will I ever get to be a mom?"

I didn't know how this prayer would be answered or by what means but I went with an open heart and mind.  We heard a couple speaker and, while the talks were great, they weren't the answer to my prayer.

Then the Mormon Tabernacle Choir started to sing.  The song that they were performing was, "I Believe in Christ."  I listened as they sang, enjoying the shared declaration of belief.

Then they got to a verse that, while I knew the song and had sung it many times, took on a new meaning for me personally.

"I believe in Christ, he stands supreme!

From him I'll gain my fondest dream;

And while I strive through grief and pain,

His voice is heard, "Ye shall obtain."

My heart filled with the Spirit and I knew that I had gotten my answer.  I would obtain my fondest dream.

This is the Salt Lake City temple, right  next to the Conference Center.

A year later was another October General Conference.  It had been a year filled with more treatments and even greater heartbreak than the year before.  I still had my belief that I would someday become a mother but after the two loses that we faced in the passed year, Aaron and I had decided to take a break from that pursuit.  

I felt that my heart wasn't ready to love until I was finished grieving.  I didn't want to try again until my heart felt healed.

I had a different prayer in my heart that day.  For months, I had been asking Heavenly Father what He would have me do next.  I took that semester off of school so that I could just work and figure out what I wanted to finish studying.  My prayer had seemingly gone unanswered and I wanted to know what my Father in Heaven would have me do if He didn't want me to be a mother yet.

Saturday morning, Aaron and I sat on the couch in our basement watching the first session of conference.  The first thing that happened was the historical announcement from the Church that they were lower the age of missionaries.  Men could start serving as young as 18 (if that had finished high school) and the age of women's service jumped from 21 down to 19!  This wasn't the answer to my prayer but it was so exciting.  It was incredible to hear such amazing news, especially for women.

My mind was all over the place, going a mile a minute, as I processed what this would mean throughout the Church and throughout the world.

A couple speakers stood up and gave their talks and I didn't hear a word.  Until Elder Shayne M. Bowen.

He spoke about loss and grief, and hope for the world to come.  His words were comforting and healing.

"The Lord takes many away, even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man, and the sorrows and evils of this present world; they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth; therefore, if rightly considered, instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil, and we shall soon have them again."

Then he said this, "I would like to speak to those who have lost a child and have asked the question, "Why me?" or maybe even questioned your own faith in a loving Father in Heaven.  It is my prayer that by the power of the Holy Ghost, I may bring some measure of hope, of peace, and of understanding.  ...[Heavenly Father] knows all things and allows us to experience trials so that we can come to know and love Him and understand that without Him we have nothing."

Elder Bowen was speaking to me directly.  I had questioned many times, "Why me?"  and questioned my faith in a Heavenly Father who was suppose to love me and have a plan for me.

"The truth is, you will never completely get over it until you are together once again with your departed loved ones."  

"I have learned that the bitter, almost unbearable pain can become sweet as you turn to your Father in Heaven and plead for His comfort that comes through His plan..."

His talk was one of the only ones that I really heard that day. (You can read the full thing here.)  His words were exactly what I needed to hear.  I needed to hear that it was okay to grieve the loss of the life I carried in me for a brief period.  I need to hear that as I turned to Heavenly Father I would find peace and that I should trust in His plan.

Aaron and I had a long talk that night about what our next step would be.  We talked about more treatments and adoption.  We talked about finances for each.

The first step was that I needed to start a certain medication that, if pregnant, could cause a miscarriage so that night, I went and took a pregnancy test.

To my eternal shock and amazement, it was positive.

A year later, I'm back down stairs on that same couch and this is my beautiful view.

Oh...and when we are being less reverent...this is the view.

I can only be grateful for a Father in Heaven who loves me.  Who hears and answers my prayers.  Who has spent Prophets, Seers, and Revelators for our time to teach us and guide us.  I'm grateful for trials that strengthen faith.  It is hard to be thankful for the trials when they are happening but if we are faithful and endure, than our sorrows will turn into joy.

Or in my case, it turned into this joy to behold.

A Boy and A Ball

I think that the Grandpas and the Uncles, in particular, will enjoy this picture.

Aaron knows that my biggest aspirations for our son have nothing to do with sports.  But I can appreciate that he might enjoy and even excel at sports at some point in his life.  So I'm happy that he has an attachment to balls at the moment.