Luke's Story

Our sweet little Lukie Bear was born Sunday, November 13th at 6:24AM. He was a whopping 9 lbs and 20 1/2 inches. It has been nothing short of a roller coaster since he came into the world, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

That week.
Let me first preface by mentioning that I had my 39 week appointment that Monday (Nov. 7th). My doctor had previously mentioned that he would probably wait a few days/one week after my due date to induce me if needed. When I went to my 39 week appointment I had only dilated .5 centimeter, and was quickly swelling up like a balloon. I mentioned I'd been having some pains for about five days, but nothing too bad. I told him I didn't know if they were contractions or not. He went to measure my belly and promptly said, "Oh yeah, they're contractions. You're having a big one right now." haha He let me know that the baby's head hadn't dropped at all yet, and so the contractions weren't helping me dilate as they should. He said he was beginning to be a little less optimistic that I'd be able to have a regular delivery. He decided he wanted to see me that Thursday and if things hadn't progressed that he would talk about inducing me that upcoming weekend. So we went back on Thursday and, you guessed it, 0 progress. Baby hadn't dropped, and I hadn't dilated any further despite the strong contractions. Not only that, but at this point my uterus was measuring at 41, my blood pressure was rising, and I was even more swollen than before. He asked, "Do you two have any plans for this weekend? How about you have a baby."

My last baby bump pic, 3 days before he was born.

The day before.
My doctor decided to do a Cytotec induction which is where you are admitted to the hospital at night and they put a capsule right up against the cervix that helps it dilate and efface overnight. I spent the day getting every last-minute thing ready before going in. I even spent hours raking leaves in the yard because I was so anxious. We ate tomato soup and grilled cheese, and Austin gave me a really sweet blessing. So we went into the hospital at 8PM on Saturday the 12th to be induced. As soon as I got there I put on my hospital gown and the doctor came to check if I had dilated any more. Nope, but that was no surprise. He did say that the baby's head had dropped to a -2 station at that point, however. So the doctor put the capsule in immediately, the nurses started my IV, and they put the fetal heart rate and contraction monitors on my belly. I was all settled in to let my body go into labor and do its thing. We asked the nurse tons of questions and watched an Impractical Jokers marathon that was on TV. I kept laughing so hard that the nurses came in to check that they weren't contractions. haha Around 11PM they gave me an Ambien so that I would get a good night's sleep in order to have energy for labor and delivery the next day.

Swollen, hooked up, and ready to go.

The day of.
The nurses came in around 1AM to take my vitals and mention that they'd seen I'd been kicking out contractions like crazy. I had noticed that they'd sped up and gotten stronger, but I was pretty sleepy from the medicine they gave me. The nurse said she rarely ever sees the Cytotec kick out contractions that strong so quickly, but they had warned me that it was a possibility. I then went back to sleep. At about close to 3AM my doctor came back in to check me and add more Cytotec if necessary. I was now dilated to 1 cm and was 85% effaced. The doctor was very optimistic that things were going well, and since I was having such strong contractions so close together, he decided to break my water. Lemme tell ya, that was no picnic. They basically take a really long crochet hook and open the flood gates, pardon the detail. It was a crazy feeling. The doctor then said that labor would probably start to progress pretty quickly after that, so I could get an epidural at any time. I got up to go to the bathroom and very soon after felt like all those women you see in labor on TV and in movies where they have to grab onto something and breathe strangely. At this point I was in labor for real. I knew I could have waited a little longer to get my epidural, but I had a feeling I should just get it then since things were moving so quickly. At around 4AM they called for the anesthesiologist and he came in to do the epidural. I had to sit with my legs dangling off the side of the bed, with Austin holding onto them, while grabbing a pillow. The epidural itself wasn't too terrible, they gave a small shot to numb the area and then from there I just felt pressure moving gradually down my spine hitting nerves as it went. The worst part was that I was having terrible contractions at the same time, so there was a lot going on. It felt like it lasted forever even though it was only 10-15 minutes. Finally it was over and I laid back down to sleep a little longer. I was feeling pretty great at this point! I know some people are highly against medicated birth, but if you're not, I HIGHLY recommend it. 👍Now at this point, I was pretty out of it. I was half numb and had a strong sleeping aid in my system. So sometime between 5:30 and 6AM my nurse came in to check my progress. At this point I was 3 cm! That was so good to hear, I was so happy that everything was going as I'd hoped. Next thing I know, I hear the nurse say that she can't find the baby's head. I was like, "What do you mean you can't FIND HIS HEAD?" She had four other nurses all come in and check...at this point I didn't care because I was numb and, let's face it, labor really takes away most of your inhibitions for what you do and don't care about. All the nurses said the same thing: they couldn't feel his head at all. You know when you can tell someone has bad news but they're trying to go as long as possible without telling you to protect you? That's basically how it felt. They decided to bring in a portable ultrasound to check what was going on. Sure enough, little baby had flipped and was now breech. Sometime in that 60-90 minute stretch he decided he would really like to not have to come out. I remember I kept asking the nurse if they could just flip him back....ha! She very kindly told me that she was going to call my doctor to let him know, but that at this point I would likely have to have a c-section. I was crushed. I know I shouldn't have been, but I was so disappointed that I started crying. Everything in my pregnancy had gone so smoothly the whole time and I felt like I deserved to have a smooth delivery as well. Let's be real, it's not ideal to have to have your baby surgically removed while you lay unconscious in a cold operating room, and then not even get to meet your baby. I don't wish that on anyone. Sure enough, she came back saying they were going to prep me for a c-section. I signed some paperwork, they drew some blood samples, they put in a catheter, kicked up my epidural so I was completely numb from the waist down, and probably other things I don't remember. I just remember all of a sudden there were about six people surrounding me all doing something different. My doctor arrived and I politely asked him if they could just flip the baby back...I was in serious denial that I wasn't going to get the labor I had always imagined. He said at this point time was of the essence as there was no more amniotic fluid in there for the baby, and now he was in a bad position. That made me think of what I already should have been: the safety of baby was priority #1 and I needed to be okay with this for him. I was very shortly almost unconscious. I remember them giving Austin the surgical clothes/mask so he could be in there. I remember them wheeling me to a very bright room, moving me to an operating table, putting up a curtain, and I remember they had to pin my arms down because I was shaking so badly. I wish I could say that I remember the delivery, but I slept through the whole thing despite trying to stay awake. I felt guilty that I wasn't mentally present, but between the numbness and the sleeping pill, I was completely out of it.

From then on I remember hearing only a few things every once in a while. The first thing I remember is hearing the doctor saying, "Get him to the NICU NOW" followed by Austin asking, "Is he okay?" and I didn't hear the answer. I was then out again, and the next thing I heard was "9 pounds exactly!" followed by Austin asking again if he was okay. I vaguely remember them pulling the curtain down and wondering where my baby was and why I didn't get to see him. They moved me to another bed and wheeled me to a recovery room. A nurse came in bringing me juice and applesauce. I tried to eat/drink but threw everything up for the next hour. Austin came in to show me pictures of our baby. I was in denial that he was ours, I felt like I was dreaming. Austin then proceeded to tell me that he had the cord wrapped around his neck, and that since they pulled him out feet/butt first that it pulled. He said he was bright blue, couldn't breathe, and I later found out that his first Apgar score was a whopping 1. The nurse told me days later that, "The only thing he had going for him was a pulse" and that they had to "resuscitate" him immediately...not words you want to hear about your newborn. So there we were in the recovery room, I was slowly coming to and Austin was in there with me. Next thing I know, the on call doctor came in to talk to us. He began listing off all of the issues the baby had. Low blood sugar: he asked me if I was diabetic, almost didn't believe me when I told him no. Respiratory issues/fluid in the lungs and stomach: apparently in addition to being blue, he had pooped from fetal trauma and had swallowed some, plus had fluid in his lungs that normally gets pushed out during a vaginal delivery. Possible hole in his heart/enlarged heart: say what? Apparently when they were doing X-rays on his lungs they found an abnormality on/near his heart. The doctor said it as possibly just an enlarged gland, extra fluid, etc. He very nonchalantly began to tell us how, when he's a few weeks old, open heart surgery could fix it and then everything would be fine. Meanwhile, here I am, barely conscious, still throwing up, still shaking, still haven't even met my own baby, being told he might need open heart surgery. Sorry, but I did not sign up for this. Also meanwhile, there's poor Austin, who not only had to see his wife be unconscious and cut open but also, as I've heard him later tell it, have to see them "put my uterus BACK in with something that looked like a shovel", and see his breathless blue baby be rushed into resuscitation. Needless to say, we both had a bit of a meltdown when that doctor left. Austin went back to be with the baby in the NICU and I had to stay for a little while to get up enough strength to be transferred to a wheelchair. I think it was about 7 hours before the nurses were able to help me stand for long enough to transfer me to a wheelchair. I remember them wheeling me to the NICU, and every bump in the floor was agony. We finally got there and, there he was. My little baby. I put my hand on his and he loosely wrapped his fingers around mine. He looked HUGE and I just remember wondering how he had possibly fit in my belly. He was hooked up to oxygen, an IV, a feeding tube, was receiving antibiotics for a possible lung infection, and glucose for low blood sugar. I had just met him and my heart was already breaking for him. I got a major crash course in learning how much parents feel for their children.

Our sweet, swollen, previously blue baby boy.

The rest of that day was filled with a lot of exhaustion, pain medicine, and worry. At this point we had no idea how long Luke would have to stay in the NICU. I was able to go back to the NICU that evening and hold him for the first time. That was the moment I bonded with him, and I knew he'd always been mine. I knew him and loved him more than anything.

The NICU days.
The next day I was still in bed for the most part, being heavily medicated. I'm so glad Austin and my mom were there to go be with Luke so often since I couldn't. My nurses and Luke's nurses were so great. They helped us so much and reaffirmed my belief that nurses are basically just angels. So much can be said about this crazy week but I'll summarize. In the next few days it felt like we'd take two steps forward and one step back. His echo-cardiograph came back showing he had no heart issues (my biggest relief), then eventually his blood sugar leveled out. They found out the next day that he was jaundice and had to have the bilirubin light. We got the results back that there was no infection in his lungs, then he had issues not keeping down his food. He projectile vomited almost everything. Then he went off oxygen and his IV, and then a "suck" specialist said he might have issues eating for a while as he couldn't suck properly and was getting way too much air and not keeping food down. But overall, he was progressing.

Sweet cheeks after he got all his tubes removed.

I was able to do skin-to-skin contact and try to breastfeed for the first time. Those were frustrating days but he kept improving. Finally we were able to have him stay in our room with us overnight and take him home the next day (Thursday the 17th).

His first night with mom and dad.

Since then.
If you've made it this far into the post, congrats it's a ling one! We brought our little Luke home and started all kinds if new adventures and games. Our most common games are:

• Is he smiling or just pooping?
• Is that breast milk, sweat, or pee?
• Is that poop or chocolate?
• Is he breathing?
• Why won't he stop crying?
• How come he pees himself no matter what?
• Is he supposed to make that noise?
• Is he supposed to only eat for 5 minutes?
• Is he supposed to throw it up?
• Does he hate being swaddled or do I suck at swaddling?
• Does he really need to be held every time he poops? 
• Why won't he sleep without being held?

And the list goes on and on....

BUT, he's become a champ at nursing which was one of my biggest concerns from the start he had. It's taken lots of time and patience, but he's great. He's been super healthy and had no issues. Whenever we take him to our doctor he always just watches him and says he's one of the most entertaining babies he's had and mentions how awesome he looks. We've been so blessed beyond measure. And when he keeps me up all night every night sometimes I just have to pray for perspective and remind myself that this little babe will only be little for so long, and that makes all the exhaustion and frustration manageable. Austin has been my rock, we are so blessed to have him. And I'm blessed to have a mom I can text questions to all day every day. I've also been blessed to have an awesome recovery. The first few days I remember wondering how I would ever walk again, go to the bathroom again, or just feel normal at all. I've had awesome pain medicine and awesome support. Maybe I'll write another post eventually on the many joys of recovering from a c-section while being expected to take care of a newborn. haha But, life is good, no matter what, and we love our little baby cakes more than anything in the world, even if he has aged us years in three weeks. 😉

My new favorite picture ever:

Oh, Baby

Well, it's been a while. I don't think I've written a post on here for about a year! But what a year it's been. Here's a brief overview:

After spending the summer in Oklahoma, we moved back to Rexburg so Austin could go back to school. He spent that Fall/Winter going to school full-time and I spent it teaching at a studio in Idaho Falls and dancing on a dance company. After my company's concert and my studio's recital we had plans to move to Salt Lake City for the summer for an internship. However, things didn't work out quite the way we had planned (go figure). We moved into an apartment and had to deal with roaches, then we found another place to live that was in someone's basement apartment but most of our furniture (including our bed!) wouldn't fit through the doorway. You know those nights of your life that you look back on and just remember how everything felt so dark and hopeless? Think of having already rented 3 moving trucks in about 3 days, having to leave a family funeral to try and get out of a cockroach-infested apartment, moving all day for days in a row, and then standing outside your new apartment at 10 pm with all your furniture on the ground because it won't fit through the doorway...oh, and you're pregnant. haha Anyway, let's just say we were out quite a bit of money, quite a bit of sanity, and even more hope. And we were living apart during this experience because I hadn't finished teaching in Idaho Falls yet. It was sort of one of those experiences that you look back on and think, "Why on earth did that happen?" and we still don't know, but things worked out that a couple in Austin's home ward (in Idaho Falls) was/is serving a mission in St. George and we worked it out to stay in their home and pay them rent and look after their house while they're gone. Austin was also able to count working for his dad's insurance agency as his internship, and I have been able to work for a lady in the ward who needed extra help this summer. So, you may never know why some experiences are allowed to happen to you, especially when you're "living right" and doing what you're supposed to do, and when the Lord doesn't say, "Stop! Don't move there!" All we know is that things have worked out better than we could have really hoped. But things have been very good for us. We've both been able to work this summer, Austin got his insurance license, and we've had a lot of fun taking care of a house (and yard!).

Currently, Austin is working as an insurance agent for his dad, going to school and taking 14 credits, and being the best husband ever to me. I am teaching a few days a week (just assisting as I am large with child), and working a few days a week for a lady in our ward. We decided to stay in the house where we've been living so that we can save some money and time as we're both working in Idaho Falls and Austin only has class on campus in Rexburg 2 days a week. More than anything, though, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little guy. Pregnancy has been an interesting adventure to say the least. It's funny how everything you hear about it is true, but how what's even more true is that it's still such an individual experience. I thought I'd share a few thoughts/experiences on it:

The First Trimester:
My first trimester wasn't as terrible as lots of women's, but it was awful. Imagine that you feel so nauseated all the time that to this day you can't use the lotion, eat the food, or drink the drinks you had while you felt that way. But also imagine that you don't throw up very often so people kinda look at you for weeks like, "What's wrong with you?" And then they find out you're pregnant and they sympathize, but then they find out that you haven't been barfing your lungs out and it kinda goes away. That's sort of what my first trimester was like. It was a fairly even mix of sympathy, advice, and the "What are you complaining about if you're not barfing?" attitude. But let me just say, for any of you pregnant women out there who feel so sick you can hardly eat for weeks but aren't throwing up, I feel you.

The Second Trimester:
"You'll have so much energy!".......nope.
"Your skin will glow!"...................haha.
"You'll start showing soon!"...........not really.
I think people telling you or reading about "what to expect" all the time can be both good and bad. I think everyone told me I would have lots of energy, and so I waited for it to show up the whole trimester, and it hardly ever did. I definitely felt better than I had in the first, but I was still exhausted all the time. It was easier for me to push through the exhaustion, though, and maybe that's what people meant. Also, there was no glow. I was promised glowing, and the only "glow" I ever had was sweat from being pregnant in the dead of summer. This trimester was also mostly just looking like I ate 12 cheeseburgers, but no baby bump to be seen. I don't think I popped until about 22 weeks. But it's true what people say about how you wake up and it's there all of a sudden.

The Third Trimester:
Disclosure: I'm not finished with this one yet. Obviously, or I'd have a baby. But I am 4 weeks into it. At this point, I'm big enough that everyone now notices without hesitation that I'm pregnant, but not quite so big yet that I feel like a whale. Well, I may feel like a whale sometimes, but I can still put on my own shoes and I'm calling that a win. At this point everyone (and I don't just mean friends and family, I mean like society as a whole) feels what seems to be a vested interest in my offspring. My mom had pointed out that it's probably human nature to be fascinated and interested in pregnant women because of some survival instinct embedded in the human soul. I'm not sure if that's what it is or not but people are very interested in you when you're pregnant. I had the opportunity to go to Education Week at BYU with my mom, Grandmommy, and Aunt. It was so awesome, and people were very nice to me, but I would be so surprised at what total strangers would say to me or ask me. People I had just met would ask me what we were naming the baby, if I was feeling sick, how long it took me to show, when he's due, etc. I appreciated people's friendliness, but at the same time people would say things to me like, "You're about to pop!" or "Wow, must be close! Are you due soon?" or "Oh, is it twins?" or "I have a daughter due before you and she's not even that big yet!" I don't know if people think they can or should say stuff like that to pregnant women because they see it in movies or TV shows, or if they think that social boundaries go out the window because my baby is offspring of the human species and they have a right to say things like that, but, wow. Just wow. Oh, and my all-time FAVORITE (can you sense the sarcasm?): "Oh, get all the sleep you can now because once baby comes you won't get any more!".................................................................................................
I think I get that one more than anything else. And it takes all of my very depleted pregnant-woman filter/self-control to not hit people with my purse when they say that to me. First of all, when mothers say that to me, do you not remember what it's like to be 8 months pregnant and try to sleep? And to guys who say that to me: strap a 10 lb bag of flour to your belly (flour that kicks you in the ribs, in the bladder, and who I swear is tickling you on purpose), lie down on your side (not your stomach which is where, if you're like me, is the only way you've slept your whole life), wake up every hour to manually change sleeping positions because your body won't do it naturally, wake up to pee every other hour, be so hot even with a fan blowing directly on you that you wake up sweating, throw in some heartburn and indigestion, throw in waking up in the middle of the night because you had a dream you were eating cookies (and then realizing that you had no cookies so you start to cry), and then say that to me. I get what they mean when they say that, I really do. I know that it will be so much worse and different and exhausting, and I know that I can't comprehend it until it's happening. But why, oh why, would you say that? Especially because, I don't know if you're new to life, but you can't save sleep in a jar and use it later. Doesn't work that way!

Okay, enough of my sass for now. I feel like I need to mention how incredibly blessed we are. I thank my Father in Heaven every single day for the blessing I have of being pregnant and bringing a sweet little spirit into the world. I recognize that so many people will never have the opportunity to do what I so often take for granted. Whenever I feel the urge to complain, I am quickly reminded of how much I have to be grateful for. And I really am. I'm grateful for all of it. I may have cried when I saw the stretch marks forming on my belly, but I also recognize how blessed I am that my baby is growing. It may have been really hard for me to feel so sick and exhausted in my first trimester, but I knew that it was because my body was nourishing another body, and that I am blessed that that sickness hasn't lasted. I may feel guilty that I can't work as much or do as many things around the house as I'm used to, but I'm grateful that I've had such a healthy pregnancy and that I really have been able to do a lot. I may feel badly that I'm such an emotional mess, or that I'm more short-tempered or rude than usual, but I am blessed to know that this isn't forever. Unlike so many people in this world who suffer so many things that are so much worse, mine has a tentative expiration date. And while I know that I will never go back to what I was before, I will feel strong again. When Austin and I were talking about starting our family, we had no idea what it would take or how long we would have to wait. Looking back, I still can't believe how blessed we've been that having this baby wasn't/isn't a struggle for us, and that everything has gone so smoothly. We are so excited, scared, nervous, anxious, and blessed. And Austin has been the most amazing help through it all even with all that he has going on in his life. Some of the most tender moments that I'll keep with me forever are the quiet nights we have together when our little guy is wiggling around, and Austin will rub my belly and talk to him, and he'll start moving even more because he recognizes his voice. It already makes my heart melt.

So, in conclusion, that's what's going on with us! There will be more updates within the near future as things happen. As of right night we're just waiting for our little guy, and Austin will graduate in December, and then who knows where life will take us! But it will be great. Even in the hard times it is great.

-The Fran Fam and Baby Guy
P.S. No, we don't have a name picked out and when we do, we probably won't tell. ;)

OKC-ing is Believing

Well, hello there! We are in OKC! We got here the second week of April. We had lots of fun road trip adventures driving from Idaho Falls to Oklahoma City. We have already had so many adventures since being here and have learned so much about ourselves and our marriage. I've decided it would be more effective to just list our adventures in a bullet list. :)

• Our first apartment will always be special to us...

So sad to leave the only apartment we've lived in together.

• Road trips aren't always so bad...

We went from Idaho to Oklahoma and we DID actually have fun! We made the drive in two days and stopped in Denver overnight. We discovered that we really like Colorado (neither of us had ever been there before). It is GORGEOUS!

Beautiful, right??

• You know you're in the south when...

JESUS IS REAL

• We have been so spoiled since arriving (and so grateful for it)...

The view of our apartment complex from our very own balcony.
We have two pools, a hot tub, a game/theater room, weight room,
valet trash, gates, a free car wash and vacuum, and that view...

• Our car did NOT get spoiled on the trip...

This is AFTER cleaning it half-way through (including dead bird)

• We've been so spoiled by meeting people from Austin's mission. We've had a different "dinner appointment" each Sunday.

Giant sandwiches!

Austin's giant sandwich at the Bailey's

• There are, in fact, a lot of bugs around here (good thing he's selling pest control, right?)

Squished bug on our wall

• I still love crafting as much as EVER (especially now that I have more time for it)

I'm making a cross-stitch project of Starry Night by Van Gogh.
This is about 1/12th of the whole thing.

I've been making decorations/projects for Stephen & Victoria's wedding.

• Austin secretly loves to vacuum...

...especially if he gets to act like a ghost buster

• I discovered Braum's ice cream and all my summer fitness plans RAN out of the window

Best. Stuff. Ever.

• Maybe you've heard me mention the weather here before...

The weather radar EVERY DAY in May

Watching the torrential rains from our balcony.
It was still fun for me at this point because it was before the tornadoes.

• We have spent so much time with great people that make us better

Once a missionary, always a missionary. These guys are the best!

I understand that this is a dog, but look at him.

We've made some very...special friends

This was such a crazy cool experience. This is Mariah and we have been best friends
 since we were only a few weeks old. Her and her husband actually live in OKC and we
had the privilege of being there when they blessed their new baby boy. Yeah, she has
TWO kids...what am I doing with my life again? haha

• We've been able to see many of the great things OKC has to offer, but this is something special...

The OKC Bombing Memorial

• Probably the most important thing we've experienced since coming here is recognizing the Lord's hand in our lives every day.

Sales can be pretty difficult. I'm sure that's not a surprise to anyone. Anytime your income is solely commission-based it can weigh heavily on your mind. Austin has been doing such a wonderful job. We have had many ups and downs, but the ups always outweigh the downs. He had been struggling with making sales because we got about 20" of rain in May (it basically poured all day every day). He had been doing great before then and suddenly, as is what often happens in life, things go downhill so quickly. There was a week where we had tornado watches every day (frightening for me), Austin struggled to make any sales that whole week (frightening for him), and when we had both finally had about all we could take our car was towed and we had to pay a hefty price to get it back. Even thinking back on that day right now it doesn't seem so bad. It's been a good reminder for us that things TRULY are never as bad as they seem at the time. It took lots of prayers, motivational conversations, and FAITH to keep us out here. We struggled to know what we should do, if we were even doing the right thing, and why the things we were experiencing were happening to us. After this awful week I knelt down in prayer and poured my heart out to Heavenly Father. I didn't understand what we were doing wrong. We had prayed so hard before we came to OKC to know if it was the right thing for us to do and we received so many confirmations and feelings that we needed to be out here. But it's funny how you can know you're supposed to be doing something and then when NOTHING seems to be working out we revert back to thoughts of doubt (self-doubting, doubting in the Lord's plan/will for us, etc) We went from knowing we were supposed to be here to almost packing up and leaving. So in this prayer I told Heavenly Father that I knew he wanted us out here, and that we couldn't stay if things didn't turn around. That very day Austin made 5 sales...he ended up making about 15 that week. There was also a day where he was struggling and I got down on my knees and poured my heart out to the Lord again and WHILE I was still praying he texted me to let me know that he got a sale. So, among all of the many lessons we have learned in our short time here so far, this is the main one:

I think it's extremely easy for us to assume that if things aren't going well at the moment or are really difficult that we're doing something wrong. We think we're being punished for the lives we're trying to live righteously. I had many conversations about this with my very wise mother. She pointed out to me that the Lord gives commandments (so we know we must do them) but when is it ever easy? Are there times when it makes absolutely no sense to us why we're doing it or how it could possibly turn out to be for our good? Of course. That's the way the cookie crumbles. Think of the life of the Savior himself. He knew exactly what his mission on this earth was, but just because he knew that he was supposed to do it didn't make it automatically easy for him to accomplish. He, in his darkest hour, poured his heart out to his Father in Heaven and asked, "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me.." Nothing great that we ever have in this life comes without difficulty, and hardly ever are we asked to do something and NOT have our faith be tested in the process. Since our most difficult time things have gotten much better, but they are still far from perfect or meet expectations we've had. But we have had other blessings from being here. We've been able to meet with members and recent converts from Austin's mission and be strengthened by them, we have been placed in situations where we have been able to help those around us in ways that we never thought possible. We have met people that we would not have otherwise met and learned so much from them. We have seen God at work in our lives and learned that in the times we most feel like He has left us that these are just the times we have been blessed with to grow, and that He has never left us. Even when Christ was suffering for the sins of all mankind and in his worst times, Heavenly Father watched for him, fought for him, but most importantly, he allowed him to do what he needed to do in order for him to accomplish the greatest thing ever done. Sometimes God is blessing us by NOT taking away our trials. I am so grateful for the absolute tender mercies we have seen unfold all around us day by day.

In the words of our current Bishop: "EVERY DAY is a GOOD DAY"

And it really, truly is.

Utah, NBA Autographs, Subarus, and Summer Plans

Hello all!  The month of February has been very good to us. We had the opportunity to go to Utah for Valentine's Day weekend to be with my cousin as she went through the temple for the first time, and to see my Aunt & Uncle get sealed to each other. My parents and Grandmommy drove up from California so we go to see them, too! It had been a while. This past Valentine's Day was the two-year anniversary of when we first met...I know, I know, it's cute. Anyway, we went to Roxberry in Highland, UT to get some smoothies because I am trying...TRYING to not eat too much ice cream. =P We went and saw Taken 3 with my parents afterwards. Let me just say, I don't know why people don't start warning one another that taking things from Liam Neeson does not end well for anyone involved...

......just don't do it.
We drove back on Sunday and then had Monday off for President's Day. That night we stayed over at Austin's family's house in Idaho Falls. We went to go eat at Costa Vida with his sisters...when we realized it was the anniversary of our first date. We drove in his mom's Subaru, ate at Costa Vida, ordered the same thing, and he was even wearing the same jacket! We did not plan that I promise.

Our accidental 1st date reenactment.

We had some car adventures later on that week. By adventures I mean wanting to punch our car in the face, and not so much having of the fun. While I was trying to leave for lunch on Thursday from work I could NOT steer my car at all. Luckily Austin was in Idaho Falls already at his internship so he came and rescued me. We were able to get it to a mechanic where they told us our steering pump(...?) was fried because there was a leak. So they kindly put more steering fluid in it and I was able to get back to work and home. The next day was a different story. I started to drive to work in the morning and I had a bad feeling about it because it was really difficult to steer again. So we took it into the mechanic and they said they wouldn't be able to look at it until at least 11....so no work for me (yay!) After a while we heard from the mechanic and he said it would cost $600+ to repair. Now, for those of you not familiar with my car, it is a piece of crap. Excuse my French. We decided it wouldn't be worth it to repair since we planned on getting rid of it within the next month anyway. Lucky for us, Austin's parents had a brilliant plan. We managed to get our difficult car to Pocatello where they met us at a Subaru dealership. They were looking to get a different car for his mom so we were able to trade for one of their older ones (although it's the newest car I've driven!) So we were lucky enough to get a 2011 Subaru Legacy and it actually runs! It's a miracle. The even better part is that we now have the car that we drove on our first date, yeah that's also cute.

Our little whitey (nickname pending...as you can tell)

Our first big adventure with the new car was when we took it on a day trip to SLC to see the Jazz v. Spurs game. I don't care to talk about how the game ended (except to let that annoying Jazz fan that was sitting right next to us know this: AT LEAST OUR TEAM IS IN THE PLAYOFFS. HAVE FUN WATCHING THEM FROM YOUR COUCH!). Anyway, we got there early so I could (hopefully) meet some of the players. I got to meet Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, Tiago Splitter, Marco Belinelli, and Boris Diaw....and get their autographs. Surprisingly, I got way more star struck than I had thought that I would. Patty Mills came to sign his autograph for me and he looked up at me and said, "Hey, how are you doing?" in his Australian accent. Now it's very possible that I just imagined this, but I was the only person he talked to so...we're practically best friends now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Mills

We watched the game, bought an extremely over-priced hot dog, and had a great time on our short trip. We were driving back really late that night when we saw this:

http://www.amsmeteors.org/2015/02/satellite-re-entry-over-western-usa/

...and we pulled off to try and get a better look. We couldn't, obviously, but WOW. It was awesome to see. We were back to work/school/internship the next day. Austin has his last week at his KIDK internship this week. That will be one internship checked off of the list and one step closer to graduation! We have also made a pretty big decision, at least the biggest we've made since we've been married, I guess. We are moving to Oklahoma! Just for the summer. We had a really difficult time deciding where we should go for the summer, but in the end, we felt the best about Oklahoma. Austin is going to sell pest control with a company that he knows the owner of from his mission. We'll be in the same areas he was in which will be super exciting! More than anything, it will be really nice to try something new, which is our main purpose in going. We will leave shortly after Austin's semester ends in April. We are super excited for the future and for more adventures! Happy February! =)

Our soon-to-be home for the next few months!

Long Time No See.....err...Read

Hey there! Well, now that I've procrastinated as long as possible updating on here, happy 2015! Austin and I enjoyed a lovely Christmas break (which was light on the break as we both had to work the whole time) in Idaho. We pretty much went back and forth between our apartment in Rexburg and his family's house in Idaho Falls. We got the first main snowfall of the season on Christmas Eve...magical, right? We were very blessed to get some awesome things for Christmas (not that it's about what you get). Austin got a Wii U with some games, and I got a Kitchen aid! It's shiny and red and I refer to it as my sports car for the kitchen. We got our very own Christmas tree donated to us by the lovely Grandma Fransen (she happened to have an extra Martha Stewart, 7 1/2 foot tall, pre-lit, ROTATING, Christmas tree lying around....but who doesn't, right?) We had a great Christmas and a New Year's Eve occupied by playing games with Austin's awesome BFF's from high school (they played Super Mario for the Wii ALL the way through before it hit midnight...and I fell asleep on the floor and woke up at 11:59 PM. In between those two events, we celebrated our 1st Anniversary! It was on the 28th which was a Sunday, so we went out to Texas Roadhouse the night before and paid a surprisingly high amount of money for a surprisingly small amount of food...but, such is the case with most restaurants of that caliber. Austin started a new semester at BYU-I on January 5th. He switched his semester tracks so he can hopefully take school off this next semester so he can take a small break and we can have some adventures (but let's be real, we'll probably just end up working all summer like last year). He is currently going to school full-time, doing an internship, and working. SUPER. MAN. He is doing an awesome internship (it's his smaller one out of the two he needs before he graduates). He's interning at KIDK in Idaho Falls. KIDK is technically channel 3, broadcasts the channel 8 news, and also broadcasts for ABC and Fox...I think. It's a little fuzzy to me: http://www.localnews8.com/ He's only been interning there for three days and has already gotten to meet all of the anchors and crew, and has even been able to help film and edit the promos that end up on TV. I'm still convinced he will have to fill in for an anchor one day in the event of a "tragic accident".  So far he is having a blast there. I am still working at his dad's insurance company while Austin is still in school. It's been good for me because I love to organize and make things more efficient than they were before, so I've had lots of time to do that. Another thing I've been doing is organizing EVERYTHING in our apartment....when I say that, I mean everything. Our paperclips have a special container....just as an example. Austin says I have a problem....but, when is organizing ever a problem?! Although I have become an organization supply hoarder...which seems a little ironic. Also, crock pot freezer meals are my new best friend. I had been racking my brain trying to come up with a better dinner plan for the two of us. We're both gone all day and don't get home until around 6 PM, and by that time, ain't nobody wanna make a home-cooked meal. Luckily, I found this: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/slow-cooker-freezer-meals-make-8-meals.html the holy grail of crock pot freezer meals. They have been so easy to put together and have made a world of difference for us in the evenings. I highly recommend! Any-who, that's pretty much all that's going on with us as of late. Happy January!

The Wedding Day Breakdown

Austin & I got married on December, 28th 2013. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day as it was in the mid 70's (at the end of December!) Oh, and speaking of that, we got married in the gorgeous San Diego Temple. (ALL of these wonderful images were captured by the forever awesome www.paigeandblakegreen.com)

Unreal, right?

We were so blessed to have amazing family and friends travel from very far to come be with us on our special day. Here are some pictures of the family.

Our temple posse.

The Fransens!



Studly studs.



The Huycks (minus one) + a Fransen!



They love him already.

We had some pretty awesome friends as our bridesmaids and groomsmen...

My ladies.

 

Silly boys.

...and we think they all had a little too much fun in California that weekend.

Immediately after we left our reception.

Austin and I kind of like each other...which is why everyone was there in the first place. Here are some of those pictures!

Freshly married.

So much love.

We also got to be models for a day... so that was pretty fun.

Cutie pants.

All in all, it was pretty much the funnest, best, and most memorable day E-V-E-R. More so than I could have pictured or planned.

Then you have some pictures that really need no explanation. 

Guys, my mom MADE this...I know, right??

My mom's face...priceless.

And as little R says...

...don't stay up too late.

Well, there you have it. There are many more pictures but I thought these ones best showed our day. 9 months married now and even more in love!