My very first time holding my little girl

Just look at those cheeks!

Highchair faces that I love!

Where I thank my lucky stars I have this girl for a sister! Monday was our BMT (bone marrow transplant) birthday! I thought this year marked 10 years but time has gone even faster! It's 11 this year! 11 years ago Megan and I were in the hospital waiting for a life changing moment to happen. A moment where a little sister would save her big sisters life. I think about this day quite often. How it brought Megan and I closer together as siblings. This year I was able to read some journal entries from Megan during this time which was kinda special because I've never really heard the story from her perspective. Megan was 10 years old at the time. A tiny 10 year old mind you. I can't imagine the courage it took for Megan at that time. I look up to her quite a bit even though she is my younger sister. She really knows what she wants in life and goes after it. She is very confident in her own skin and is gorgeous! Megan is very talented and excels in everything that she does. Thank you Megan for  always being there for me. I'm so grateful to have you for a sister.

In a way, not much has happened with our little family. But then again, a lot of things have happened. First Jake was able to get an internship with the church working with Family Search which was really exciting for us! I am so grateful for the career choice that Jake has chosen. It is a huge relief to know that no matter where we go, Jake will never have a hard time getting a job. That is huge for me as I look forward to being a stay at home mom!

Speaking of being a mom, every time I try to push the rewind or pause button it never seems to work. Little miss e has mastered the art of crawling and now likes to pull up on anything and stand up! She makes sure someone is looking and gives us a big gummy grin like "look at me ma!" I swear that little girl is going to be walking before I can teach her how to crawl up the stairs. She loves any stuff/real animal you put in front of her. Jake and I are planning on taking her to the zoo soon since the weather is fabulous right now! She has slowly started to venture off her little blanket and explore the grass more. She wasn't sure about it for a long time. Now she loves to "pet" the grass and pick up the little acorns that have fallen from the trees and try to eat them.

I love this little girly!

Head on over to Riverwoods in Provo this weekend for their chalk art festival! Jake and I have been to the one up in Salt Lake and it is so fun. Plus my little sister is one of the 100 artists that are participating! Lots of food, good weather, fun chalk art....come check it out! Click here for more information

I was featured on bedheadmom where moms and their bed head are celebrated! Wendy, the maker of this site is a beautiful person inside and out and it was so fun to just sit and talk with her. We talked a lot  about beauty and how we both think it is so important for our children, especially girls, to learn that true beauty comes from the inside. Head on over to here to check it out!

Ten years ago!

Today is the 10th year Megan and I have been celebrating our BMT (bone marrow transplant) birthday! I can't believe it's been ten years. I love that it always falls right after Thanksgiving. Jake and I have been just exploding with thankfulness this year. Ten years ago I never would have imagined I would be where I am now. Married to an amazing man, and with a beautiful baby girl on the way. The baby girl especially. I remember the doctors telling me it would be very hard for me to have children because of the chemotherapy. I also remember the blessing my grandpa Crosland gave me telling me I would be able to have children (can't remember exactly how he said it). Because of Megan I am able to fulfill one of the greatest missions in my life. To become a mother. I have so much to be thankful for and Megan is one of them. Happy BMT birthday Megan!

Also, I've been reading again in the journal my parents kept while I was in the hospital and found my dads testimony my dad shared with his ward that I would like to share with you.

Nov 23, 2001
"24-28-14-35-6-6-4-8 These are the genetic codes that make up my daughter Heather. It seems odd having one of your children reduced down to a series of numbers and knowing that for Heather to have a good chance of survival one of her siblings would need to have that exact series also. Last Sunday you all joined with us in prayer and fasting that we might be provided a perfect match for Heather. I'm grateful to be able to stand here today and share with you a testimony of prayer and fasting. On Tuesday we received word that Megan was a perfect match for Heather. You would never know it by looking at them or by their personalities but in a direct answer to prayer she was. Even though Natalie was praying and hoping that somehow it might be her. She even broke down in tears and laid on the floor crying with disappointment that she was not the one. But our Heavenly Father knew that her small body would have a hard time providing the 600cc of marrow that would be required for the transplant. Thank you so much for your prayers and faith. I have to tell you that I was struggling during this time. But your combined faith more than made up for my own deficiencies. It is not often you get to hold in your hands such a tangible answer to your prayers, but here is the HLA Class 1 Antigens for each of our children and next to Megan it reads.... 24-28-14-35-6-6-4-8. I know God hears and answers our prayers. And if any of you are sometimes weak like me, and it would help to hold a physical answer to prayer in your hands, I'll leave some copies of this report with the Bishop."

Heavenly Father really does listen and answer our prayers when we are in need. This is an example I look to often and I hope it will help you any time you feel the possible is impossible. Because with the lord and faith, everything is possible. Even an exact match for a bone marrow transplant.

Jake had applied to a financial internship and found out today that out of the hundreds that applied, seriously hundreds, he and two other lucky guys have been picked!! If Jake likes it and thinks he can do it, they will keep and make him full time and pay for all of his licensing to become a financial advisor/planner. We have truly been blessed with this good news and Jake can't wait to get started towards his career.

I read a statement on a friends blog a while ago that totally applies to me right now. She talked about how most newly weds can be compared to gypsies, and every once in a while you gather what little you have and and attempt to make it work in a new home. For us that is right now. You know, I thought I got rid of a lot of items when I got married and moved into this apartment, but now that we are moving out I find myself thinking, "How did we fit all of THIS into this little apartment!" It's crazy the things you acquire over a couple of months. Thankfully our new place is fairly big and has TONS of storage space.

After that we went to a baseball game. Now normally I wouldn't call going to a baseball game epic. I think it's rather boring to watch. But we were given free tickets that also came with free food. You can never pass up that opportunity. The best part about the game was talking with my parents and hearing their "newly wed" stories. Hilarious. I love my parents.

Provo is coming alive again. Pedestrians are popping up all over the place. More cars populate the road. There is a longer line in Costa and Zupas. Where I could go running on my own sidewalk by myself, I now have to share. Unfortunately this means that school is looming around the corner.

However....this also means that football season is on its way.

BYU sports pass. Heck yes.

Yesterday night, this happened.

So I have had this WHOLE week off of work. I had all sorts of plans that I wanted to do.
This is what I have been doing this week.

- Finally changing my drivers license. (signature still looks like a 4th grader)
- Finally getting a new social with my "not so very new any more" name.
- Finally going swimming which included getting a nasty sun burn.
- Getting the car re registered and getting it inspected.
- And finally getting thank you cards out! I know, I know...how long have I been married now?

Did I do any of the fun things I planned?
Not really. But I sure got a lot of things done that probably should've been done a while ago.

August has been an expensive month.

Sooo....we haven't decided if it's worth it to buy internet at our apartment. Hence why it has been a while since I have typed here. I am honestly dying with out it. We are both trying to be good and start budgeting so we shall see if the internet makes the list! I have so much to up date on but I fear it probably wont make it to this post because I have pictures I need to put up along with it. Yeah for pictures!!

"I stand in the kitchen and I'm all, "I haven't had enough protein today!" And then I eat 19 spoonfuls of peanut butter. Totally justified."

Saw this on a fellow bloggers page and laughed.

Out loud.

It's pretty much my life right now.

Food is the last thing on my mind right now. I can't even remember the last time I had a vegetable. No bueno. I don't need to loose anymore weight. I get to pick up my wedding dress this Friday which I am sooo excited for! It looks amazing and I just ordered my veil so it should be coming soon. Engagement pictures are this next Monday and Tuesday which I am so looking forward to. Outfits are being chosen as we speak! Jake and I have been doing our registry which I thought would be kinda fun but it's not. Semi. Speaking of registry, I have a funny story. So Jake and I started to do ours online. My mom and I had some time later that week and thought we would just pop down to Bed Bath and Beyond and kinda finish it up in person. So we started scanning things and we run into another couple there scanning as well. The guy looks at me and says "where is your fiance?!" Haha he was not happy that he had to be dragged here when all in all his opinion didn't matter (that's how he felt). We ran into them again as we were leaving and she was looking at some outdoor chairs, while he was passed out on one sleeping.

I had a good laugh.