Things I Love About Jaren

Today is my sweet husband's 27th birthday. I am eternally grateful that he was born. He is my everything. My world. Marriage has been such a gift in my life. There are so many things I love about him. Sometimes he may drive me crazy or annoy the heck out of me and other times we argue but the good outweighs the bad by about 100 million ;)  

Jaren, I know you will read this (because I will tell you to ;) so here are 27 things that I love about you! HAPPY 27TH BIRTHDAY LOVE!!

1- You let me put my ice cold feet on your legs as I fall asleep
2- You bear your testimony in little insights you share each day
3- You like every person you meet
4- You never have anything unkind to say about anyone
5- The fact that "We are so blessed" is a common response from you
6- That you are quiet when you get ready in the morning so that you don't wake me up but then end up waking me up anyway with an "I love you babe" when you leave.
7- That I'll be going a million miles an hour in the kitchen making a meal and you will slowly pull me close and whisper "Thank you for all that you do."
8- Sometimes you surprise me with a Reeses or Hershey bar when you come home from the store
9- You always ask my opinion and value it
10- You kiss me after every single nightly prayer
11- You are quick to realize a gift from God and are quick to thank Him
12- You love it when I lay my head on your shoulder in church and ask me to do it
13- That you tell me to pause exactly where I am ("Don't move!") so that you can take a picture of me
14- You are so animated with your expressions
15- That you teach Hannah about God through little comments you say
16- That when I am pulling out of the driveway and you see me, you press your fist to your heart and then point to me
17- That you get sucked into any movie/show that is on the TV (even if it is Blues Clues haha)
18- That we sometimes stay up late into the night laughing and teasing each other
19- You get dressed up for dates to impress me (even if it is a date at home!)
20- That you appreciate science and love it so much
21- Hannah is your little love
22- You value motherhood and womanhood
23- That you have had a crush on me since I was 16 and never gave up until you got me
24- That being a dad is your most favorite thing in the world
25- That you have worked so hard in school
26- That you woke up yesterday morning and said "I'm so glad that I married you. I want to get to know you even more than I do. I wanna be a fly on the wall during your day when we are apart. I love you." (Yes, I am a stalker and I jotted that down after you left the room).
27- Today, on your birthday, you changed Hannah's blow-out poopy diaper and said "I have missed changing her diapers! I like taking care of her!"

Date night

Playing in the leaves 

A sexy beast ;)

He loves her 

Family time 

Applesauce Kale Muffins

I LOVE to cook healthy things! It is one of my hobbies and it allows me to be creative. Tonight we had some kale in the fridge that was going to go bad if I didn't use it soon, so I decided to create a kale muffin recipe. I was a bit nervous about how they would turn out but we loved them! Plus they are really healthy. Kale is literally one of the healthiest vegetables in the world and is known as the "queen of greens". I learned that "one cup of chopped kale contains 33 calories and 9% of the daily value of calcium, 206% of vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and a whopping 684% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus." It also protects against cancer and lowers cholesterol. Okay, enough of the technical stuff. What is fun about this muffin recipe is that it allows you to get all of these health benefits in an easy and yummy way. They were easy to make as well! 

Here is the recipe...

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon 

3/4 cup Splenda (or any other sweetener you want) 

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup applesauce (I used "no sugar added")

1 tbs oil 

3 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla 

1 cup oats 

1 cup kale (steamed and chopped) 

Add anything else you would like... shredded carrots, raisons etc!! 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add everything else and stir until evenly moist. Pour into greased muffin tins filling each one 3/4 full. Bake for about 15 mins or until knife inserted into the muffin comes out clean.

Enjoy!! 

Quote from  http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/the-truth-about-kale  

Live To The Fullest

A couple nights ago, Jaren and I made hot chocolate and laid outside our bedroom window on the grass to watch the stars. We kept the window open so that we could hear our sleeping Hannah inside (we have been getting creative on our alone time since becoming parents). As we laid there, we talked about really living life and not taking it for granted. We only have so many days in this life, taking one for granted is one day lost. It is so easy to just go through the motions of the daily grind. Wake up, go to work, come home, go to sleep, or whatever our days consist of. Are we treating each day like a gift? A precious gift that can only be used and loved for a moment until it is gone? I believe that we generally miss out on what life has to offer. Whether we spend 8 hours a day in a business office or whether we are chasing after our kids all day, there is beauty and wonder that we miss if we don't take a moment to let life sink in. Look for the good. Take a moment to smile when you otherwise wouldn't have. Look around and make note of a blessing or one of God's beautiful creations. Jaren and I decided that we would come up with a saying that we could use to remind each other of this idea. "Live to the fullest" is now our motto. I know that I can't do this special conversation that we had justice, but all in all, we are trying not to take life to granted. We are trying to love and live each day. Life is such a blessing!

Here are some of our recent simple pleasures...

Fun on Jaren's lunch break!

Sleeping with Daddy

Community event (can't remember what haha)

Drive-in movie

Pregnancy Pictures

Jaren calls me a "documentor". I have always loved to take pictures of the things that I do (even BEFORE Facebook came along haha) and I have always written in a journal. Because I use this blog as another way to document my feelings and experiences, I wanted to post my pregnancy pictures on here. I only shared one pregnancy picture while I was pregnant but I was taking them all along. So here they are! Sometimes I look at Hannah and can't believe that she was once inside of me. Pregnancy was amazing! It is fun to see Hannah's growth throughout these pictures.

 

 

I ran across these pictures while getting the others. This was our gender reveal party when we found out that Hannah was a girl!

 

Cake pops with a PINK center! Everyone bit into them at the same time :)

 

 

 

Motherhood

The last time I blogged was about six days before our sweet Hannah Elizabeth was born. She is now almost three months old. It has been the most crazy, growing, and special experience of my life. Hannah is such a joy. Sometimes I look at her and imagine what her life will bring her. I imagine her as being a strong woman who is a light to those around her. I feel so blessed and grateful that I get to be her mother. My heart has been opened. Motherhood is a gift.

I have learned that motherhood is no easy task. I knew it would be a learning experience but I would have not guessed I would have been stretched to the extent I was. Hannah having colic, me trying to heal from childbirth, lack of sleep, nursing issues, and my post-pregnancy hormones made those first weeks hard. Those weeks were some of my hardest but I can honestly say that they now hold a special place in my heart. It was the start of a new stage in my life. The start of something special. Although I continue to adjust, my new normal has settled in. I am so grateful for Jaren throughout this these last months. He has truly been my rock. His positive attitude, faith in me, and kind words help so much! My mom has been there every step of the way as well. Her example of motherhood has been my frame of reference as I have begun my own journey.

I've decided that things like Facebook, Instagram etc. make motherhood seem like it's perfect. The pictures/videos posted are obviously of the good times. Of course we don't post pictures of ourselves sleep deprived at 3 am or our babies with poop up their backs and spit-up down their fronts. What the posted pictures do say though, is that parenthood is something that brings joy and fills our hearts with more love than we thought possible. I am in awe of this whole experience and of this little girl who will one day call me Mom.

Days Away from Change

I am only a few days away from the biggest change in my life. It is a lot to take in sometimes. Right now my little girl is moving around inside of me. Soon, she will be moving around in my arms. Pregnancy has been a special time. It has taught me a lot about my body and about the miracle of life. Although I don't think we could ever be fully prepared to be parents, I feel like we are ready. As I think back on my life, I can see different experiences that have prepared me to be a mother. Each trial, each habit I have set, each sin I have repented of, each parenting example from my mom and dad, have all helped to prepare me for what is ahead. I do realize that I have no idea what it is like to be a mom, but I also realize that God is on my side. I know that I can gain peace and knowledge through Him throughout this crazy experience that will be beginning in a few days. We are about to begin a new chapter in our lives. My heart is full. Adventures up ahead!

Goals

At the beginning of this month, Jaren and I set some goals for the new year. These goals are in the different domains of our overall wellness. We set physical, emotional/mental, financial, and spiritual goals. We have noticed our lives and overall wellness improving as we have tried to make changes this month. Today I have been thinking about our spiritual goals and how they have helped us this month. I have noticed that it is very easy to fall out of the habit of doing spiritually important and uplifting things. For some, this may because doing such things takes extra time and effort. For others, it may be because when we slowly get out of a habit, we don't recognize what we are missing. For me, it is probably a mixture of both. That is one of the reasons why my new goals have been such a good experience for me. I feel closer to my Savior. He has taught me different things this month that I would not have learned otherwise. He, through the Spirit, has showed me some ways that I can improve as a person.

My goals are small but have made a large difference in my life. I'm so grateful for my Savior and what he has taught me.

Top 12 of '12

Just like I did last year, I want to document some of the highlights of the year 2012. It was a really good year. I feel like I have grown and learned a lot. So here are our "top 12 of '12"!

12. Back in April, Jaren and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. We we able to spend it at a cabin in Island Park. It was such a special few days! Because we didn't have homework (it was in between semesters), we spent that days playing with dart guns, eating, watching movies, playing card games, and just being together. Jaren is my prince.

11. We made some new friends these past months. I am currently in a presidency with some other women in my church and have served with some great women throughout the year 2012. This has given Jaren and I the opportunity to make some new friendships this year.

10. Because Jaren's younger brother was graduating from Marine boot camp, we went to San Diego CA with Jaren's family. It was a great trip! It is always special to spend quality time with family. Memories were made!

9. Jaren played intramural competitive football at BYUI for the last season. I LOVE watching my cute hubby play and he loves playing so much! It was a great season.

8. I auditioned for a religious vocal group called "From the Heart". I had the opportunity to be in this group in 2010 for two semesters and so I was really excited to make the cut again! From the Heart was a life changing experience for me. Friendships were made and my testimony of Jesus Christ was strengthened.

7. Jaren and I's best friends, Hans and Stephanie Petrich, moved across the country this year. We become friends with them back in 2009 and their friendship means so much to us. Hans and Steph recently lost their sweet baby twins after they were born at 21 weeks along. It was heartbreaking. I learned even more about what Jesus Christ meant when He said that we should "mourn with those that mourn." We are grateful for this friendship and have seen it continue even with Hans and Stephanie living across the country from us.

6. My family saved our money this year to go on our first cruise! We went this past November and it was so much fun! I want to write another post specifically about our cruise but it was a really special and fun time for us as a family.

5. Jaren applied for medical school this year. Talk about a long and stressful process! Although he scored in the 92nd percentile on the MCAT (medical college admissions test), because we applied late we aren't positive we will be accepted to start this coming fall. Luckily, we feel at peace about whatever happens. Exciting times!

4. I finished my Masters program this past December! I was a hard and stressful process but I learned and grew so much. There were was a lot of tears, relief, work, and money that went into that program. I feel at peace knowing that I could easily support my family financially if I ever needed to. I also am grateful that I have been able to set an example of education for my children. I'll officially "walk" in graduation this coming May.

Celebrating the last day of school with classmates and spouses :)

3. After finishing my Masters program, I had to pass the Idaho Social Work Licensing Exam. Luckily, I passed it :) It was such a relief! I can now start my new job as a therapist this next week!

After the test, Jaren and I came home to this. Thanks Mom!

2. Jaren graduated from BYU-Idaho this past December with a Bachelors degree in Exercise Physiology. He worked so dang hard throughout these past years in school and I am so proud of him. I look up to him so much!

1. Back in July we found out that we are pregnant! A few months later we learned that our baby was a sweet little girl. We can't wait to meet her in person. She moves around inside of me constantly. Jaren loves to put it mouth up to my belly to talk to his little princess. She will be here in about 2 1/2 months.

Isn't she pretty? :)

Although 2012 has been a year full of these fun and exciting things, there were also trials that learning experiences that are bound to happen during any year of life. I never want this blog to look like things are perfect, because life isn't like that. There are ups and downs. Without the lows, these "top 12 of '12" wouldn't have seemed nearly as great! Excited to see what 2013 holds! Bring it on :)