Thursday, January 31, 2013

Jeff and Mindy

Jace and I are blessed to come from loving families. 

I have 3 brothers--who i'm pretty sure are just the coolest and funnest guys in the world.

Jace has 2 brothers and 1 sister--and he thinks they are pretty "boss" in every sense of the word (i mean he IS the baby of the family after all)

Well, it seems that our immediate Hunt family is destined to have to work a bit harder to add to our family. Each of us (with the exception of Josh and Jamie) 
seem to be having trouble having babies on our own.

Jace's older brother Jeff and his wife Mindy are unable to have children, so they adopted our sweet, spunky niece Grace almost 6 years ago. 



WELL, they are now feeling the push in their hearts to adopt again! They have a website up and running as of TODAY! Please take a minute and look it over, and share with your friends via pinterest, Instagram, blogging, Facebook  twitter, email, 
and any other social media there is out there! 

With enough people spreading the word I'm sure that they'll find the next addition
 to their family in no time.



jeffandmindyadopt.com


Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Today

Today has pretty much been a great day so far.

My brother and his wife and little girl came into the store to get their ring fixed...

and we talked...

and then i got to go to lunch with them.

So not only did i get to break up my day with seeing my family at work,
but i got food.

My belly and heart are happy.

I consider that a good day.

:)

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Baby on the Brain

Always. 

I always seem to have 'baby' on my mind. 

Everyone I know seems to be getting pregnant.
 (found out another cousin and friend are expecting!)

Or trying to get pregnant. 
(a few friends and of course me--and my SIL is having a surgery done today to help)

Or trying to adopt.
(My BIL and SIL sent out New Year/Adoption cards yesterday...
jeffandmindyadopt.com)

Or, you know, HAVING babies and bringing them home.

:)

Yesterday was so fun. We found out that both of our twin nephews were HOME from the NICU!!! We had met them, of course, but hadn't yet been able to hold them. So we kinda rushed over to ooo and ahhh over the newest additions to our family. 


Baby A is Alaric LaVell!


Baby B is Ryker Rulon!




(These pictures are Jamie's from the hospital. Aren't they so cute?!)

They are so tiny!! and as I sat there looking at these little miracles, I started crying.
(Seeing my husband snuggling Ryker and kissing his tiny head didn't help either)





We also got to see our niece Grace (shes almost 6! what?!) and then we
went to dinner with my family where our other niece Jane was babbling to no one about everything! The only downside to yesterday was that Corbin and Alyssandra weren't there. They get to hang out with their grandma and grandpa and uncles in St. George.

We are so grateful for the sweet spirits of our nieces and nephews and love them so so much! We are hoping that 2013 is the year of the Baby.
We are trying.
My brother Jeff and his wife are looking to add to their family.
Jeff and Mindy are trying to adopt.
Jen and Ken are hoping to have a baby.
and we just added 2, thanks to Josh and Jamie.

Babies are so wonderful. Children in general, are so wonderful. I know they can be and are: difficult, frustrating, messy, exhausting, and expensive...but they are also loving, sweet, funny,  light of our lives, and children of our Heavenly Father.

I read a blog post today by one of my favorite women, Shawni at 71toes.com
(I first met her at Time Out for Women a couple of years ago, and then found out that she lives in my cousins ward. So, naturally, she and i are best friends now.)  :)

But the post was about motherhood. And how in the world today motherhood, having families, and child rearing are viewed as archaic ideas. They hold women back from reaching their potential of a stellar career, making lots of money, and having nice, expensive things.

And seeing as ALL i want, is to be a mom--this made me mad...but mostly so very sad.
What a wonderful GIFT children are from our Heavenly Father.
I cant wait until its my turn to become a mother...so that my "career" will have the most meaning in the world, make me President and CEO,
and make me richer than money ever could. 

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Worth it.

So far its been alot of Doctor appointments.

Alot of tests.

and Alot of medications (that have made me sick).


But i have to keep reminding myself that it will all be MORE than worth it.




Saturday, January 19, 2013

Twins are here!!

My SIL Jamie went into labor naturally (4 days before her scheduled c-section) 
and just had her twin boys!!!

 I cant believe they are really here!!! For so long, poor Corbin was out numbered as the only boy cousin on the hunt side with an older girl cousin Grace, and his little sister Alyssandra. 

Now that Alaric and Ryker are here that is no longer the case!
 The Hunt men are taking over!!!
(I'm allowed to say their names now that Jamie and Josh were able to tell her dad that they named Ryker after him--yay!)

I am so gosh darn happy for her and josh. I cant believe what a freaking rock star Jamie has been. Not only did they conceive twins naturally, she carried them FULL TERM while chasing after her 4 and 3 year olds, as well as going UP and DOWN stairs everyday in their house. Just thinking about it, I cant believe it. She truly is awesome.

We babysat Corbin and Alyssandra last night while we waited to go to the hospital.




We then were able to go to the hospital last night to see Jamie, Josh, and the boys.
Josh had posted a picture to Instagram that made Alaric look like a giant, but that's not the case. They both are tiny (but amazing sized for twins! just over and just under 6 pounds), and just so stinking cute!! Josh and Jamie certainly make adorable kids, that's for sure.

(I was going to take a picture or 2 of the boys, but when we went into the NICU i read a sign that said to turn off your phones. Little did I know that I could've taken pictures! Darn it.)

Then we went to take Corbin and Alyssandra back home to wait for their Grandma and Grandpa who were on their way from St. George! Too bad it ended up so late--they fell asleep before they got there, but i'm sure they had a very nice surprise to wake up to!



Now here's hoping that they boys will be ready to come home with Jamie in a few days!!!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Socks

The most marvelous thing happened a few days ago.

I found a washer/dryer set on Craigslist...

Jace gave the okay...

and we went and picked them up that very night.

We hooked them up.



and I did laundry all weekend.

and was GIDDY about it!!!

Who knew that i would be so happy to do LAUNDRY.

anyways...

as i was putting my socks away, i remembered a story from our first few weeks of marriage.

In our first house (we were renters of course), the landlady had a washer and dryer.

I had done laundry one day and Jace was helping me fold it and put it away.

He held up a pair of my everyday socks and made the comment (so seriously i might add):

"Why in the world do we have baby socks?"

I laughed because I thought he was joking and making fun of me for being so small.

Nope. He was dead serious.

He thought my socks were baby socks.

And it wasn't until I put on my sock that he actually believed me that it fit.


I thought of that story and just laughed. And I realized that I wanted to write that down somewhere so I don't forget. Its the little things in life, right??

Friday, January 11, 2013

hopes for 2013

No resolutions.

A few goals.

And lots of hopes.

Here is a few.

Goals:

Start and Finish the Book of Mormon on my own--with a study journal.

Go to the temple more.

Make healthier meals.

Exercise more.

Grow my hair business.

Do service.


Hopes:

Get pregnant.

Get a new car.

Get a raise.

Lose weight.

Be totally happy for others.

Here's to 2013!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Instadump

for real.

also...in no particular order because i'm too tired for that.

















We were so blessed this Christmas. Neither one of us got sick (we both got sick right after New Year unfortunately), we spent alot of time with family, and fun gifts were exchanged!

Our apartment complex had a light competition and so I decided to beef up our lights. Our place looked amazing...but we didn't even place! It was rigged. Seriously.

McDonald's by my parents house got remodeled all "fancy" and had a creepy Ronald on top...

Emily and I threw my BFF Katie a bridal shower! April is FINALLY on its way!

Jace and I were down and out with the flu for about a week. We lived under blankets except for when we had to go to work.

We unexpectedly babysat Corbin and Alyssandra when Jamie had to go to the hospital. It resulted in a pedicure for Miss Aly and a haircut for Corbs. Thats what happens when your aunt is a cosmetologist i guess!

and Jamie posted the very top picture on her instagram last night. That woman has made it to 35+ weeks with twins!!! We'll get to meet the little men by the 22nd! (if not before!)

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

AND....fail.

I had a goal. To go as long into the new year as possible without getting too sad 
about not being a mom yet.

I have made it ONE WEEK into this new year without feeling sorry for myself about not being pregnant or having a baby.

ONE WEEK. thats all i was good for.

last night i failed. 

I had 2 of Jace's cousins announce they are pregnant with their second babies. And i found out a few weeks ago that another of his cousins is pregnant...top that off with 3 of my friends announcing their pregnancies, my cousin and her second pregnancy, and of course my SIL due any day with her twins. It was too much. And it resulted in me not being able to sleep, and when i finally did i was having horrible dreams about never being a mom.

I hate this! I think what I hate more than ANYTHING, more than not being able to get pregnant on my own, is that I roller coaster. I'm so happy for these women and that should be that! But instead I'm happy for them for awhile and then I get overwhelmed and I'm sad. 
And upset.

Ugh. Time to get myself wrapped up nice and tight so I can just be happy for everyone. 
It gets hard though, you know?

Monday, January 7, 2013

Blessings

So the last 4 days have been pretty stinky.

There are a couple of virus'/flu/whatever going around and EVERYONE seems to be getting sick.

7 days ago Jace got sick. His was super quick--thank heavens. He hates being sick.
(hes kinda whiny about it :) )

I thought i MIGHT just pull through without getting sick...no such luck. 
Thursday I started with a cough and congestion.
Friday was a little worse...my throat started killing me.
Saturday I was dead. I was so achy I literally couldnt get out of bed.

Jace called me when he was on his way home from work and asked if I wanted a Priesthood blessing. All I could think of was, "Why didnt I think of that?!"

He called my brother Jeff and had him come over. I received a blessing.

I could feel the love that my Heavenly Father has for me.

I slept well that night and work up Sunday--my throat still hurting and still congested, but not achy anymore. 

We prayed last night, that we'd both feel well enough to go to work.

And here I am today, at work, with a runny nose and a crazy voice, but feeling okay.

How often we take for granted the blessings our Heavenly Father gives us. 

I'm going to work really hard to not do that anymore. Being able to swallow without being in pain is BLISS. What a wonderful blessing.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Fresh

Everyone on the blog-o-sphere seems to do a "one word" for their year.

What they want it to encompass.

Well, I don't have my "one word" for my everyday life, i do have one for my hair business.

FRESH.

I want to look at doing hair this year as a "fresh start". 

Coming into the new year we all have hopes, goals, dreams, resolutions etc.

Many will be trying to become the best version of them---getting healthy mentally, spiritually, and physically.

Let me help you with part of the physical side!

We often get so consumed with everyday life that we (as women) don't take care of ourselves like we should.
 And it seems like HAIR is WAY WAY WAY down on the list of things that need to get taken care of, am I right?!

So for the month of January, I'm doing a special. Its a FRESH start into the New Year. 

How does a $10 haircut sound to you? Including a style. 



Friday, January 4, 2013

How do you do it?

How do you keep trucking along when you feel so miserable?

Seriously. I'm on day 2 of my cycle (which is by far my worst day for cramps), as well as i'm on day 3 of this illness which so far is the worst day yet! i feel like i'm dying. i'm achy, my throat hurts, i'm crampy, my head feels like its swimming, i'm congested, i have a cough, and i think i'm starting to chill. (i cant seem to get warm---very unusual for me!)

I think of all of those expectant moms out there. First time mommies who are dealing with morning sickness all the time.

Or about the mommies in their second or third or more pregnancy. How in the world do you keep going and keeping up with your other kids when you feel miserable?

I think about my mom. She had her first 2 kids within between 2 and 2.5 years of another. Then my oldest brother got sick and became physically and mentally disabled. She not only dealt with that AND a toddler---but then proceeded to get pregnant again (only to miscarry) and then 6 years after my next oldest brother-- have me! while still dealing with my oldest brother's medical issues and a rambunctious 6 year old. AND THEN 8 years after me she had my baby brother. While dealing with all of that, but also a couple of TEENAGER BOYS and their mischief and sport practices and all of my only girl whining and attention needing and music lessons and softball games.

Bless her heart.

You all are an inspiration to me.
Seriously.
Gold medals and stars for all of you!

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Soup

Okay.

Confession.

I don't really like soup.

Shocked? Sorry.

I never have. I'll eat chicken noodle when i'm sick or its cold outside. I like stew--but only if the weather is dreary. I NEVER order soup at a restaurant...if i have a choice i'm getting me a salad.

So when I married Jace, and his family likes soup---adjustment time!

Jace's absolute favorite is his mom's Broccoli Cheese soup with homemade breadsticks.

It took me 2 years, but I can finally appreciate this soup (even if I only will eat it when its cold outside).

Jace got SICK yesterday. And he passed it onto me.

So, i thought, "i'll just whip up some of Kara's soup"....

HA. whip up. Those breadsticks take forever.

BUT i did it. All on my own. And it tasted good. My breadsticks didn't come out like my mother in laws...i'm going to need her to show me her jedi ways.

The soup was like 40 times more than we needed...

So we shared and took a huge bowl over to my parents where my brothers were...i knew it wouldn't go to waste THERE. :)

I still wont make this often.

I still don't love soup.

But its nice to know that I can make it every now and then for Jace and have it turn out.