The Changes A Year Can Make

So I am a little bit behind but bear with me. I wanted to post this on September 11th but I didn't have my computer so I am a few days behind but I still think this will be a neat post; especially to look back on later :)



September 11, 2009:
After 431 days, Jayson was finally coming home from Iraq. I was a bundle full of nerves, waiting around the house for the right time to leave. Mom, Chelsea, Sydney and me had made Welcome Home signs for everyone to hold up. Even Tristan and Kaycee were excited to see Jayson again (this surprised me a little bit since they were so little when he left). Most of Jayson's family was meeting me in Salt Lake at the airport to welcome him home.

Finally, it was time to leave for Salt Lake. The car windows were covered in phrases, earning me many honks on the way down :) I couldn't wait to see Jayson. I was so nervous. I hadn't seen him since February, when he came home for two weeks on R&R, and I was anxious to see him again. Who wouldn't be???

In what seemed like an eternity, but at the same time, a split second, I was pulling into the airport parking lot. I ran into several other families, hurrying in to welcome their soldiers home. All of us were happy and excited to soon be seeing our family members again.

I ran into the terminal, and there was no doubt I was in the right place. There was probably 100 other people there; other family members, a motorcycle rider group (all holding American flags), and two news cameras. We all grouped toward the front, waiting for our men and women to come down the escalators. I knew Jayson and the other soldiers would think the celebration was too much but I thought it was amazing. I was practically jumping with excitement!

Suddenly, a lady came down the first step of the escalator and yelled "Soldiers on deck!" The whole crowd began to cheer and all I was hoping was that Jayson would be one of the first because I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to keep from crying too much longer. Thankfully, Jayson was the third or fourth man on the stairs. I wanted to just run to him but I made my self stay where I was. Jayson came over and hugged with everything he had. We just stood there, not saying anything, and when I opened my eyes, there was a TV camera RIGHT in my face. I whispered into Jayson's ear, "I think we are going to be on the news." All he said, "I don't care, I missed you." Good enough for me :)



September 11, 2010:
It's hard to believe a year has gone by already since Jayson came home. It has been the best year of our marriage, I think, just because so many positive things have happened. Even the negative things, in retrospect, weren't really that bad.

I graduated from my first college degree on May 21, 2010. I got my first post-school job in May as well, before I had even officially graduated, on May 10, 2010. It didn't seem like life could get any better.

Jayson got a new job the first part of June and shortly after starting, was promoted to a team leader. He surpassed people that had been there much longer than he had to get the promotion and I couldn't be more proud of him.

On June 17, we found out that we were expecting our first baby. While that was a little bit (okay a big bit!) of a shock, I wouldn't change it for the world. I am starting to feel little Peanut's movements and we only have another two weeks before we find out if Peanut is a boy or a girl. It seems like these two weeks are dragging by so slowly! But next thing I know, we will have a bouncing baby boy or girl to add to our home.

It has been a very interesting year, with many changes for the better. It's crazy that it has been a year already but I can't wait to see what the next year brings us, especially with Peanut on the way! :)

The Belly

Just some quick pics of the growing belly. I will be 17 weeks on Saturday. Another 3-ish weeks and we find out whether Peanut is a boy or a girl!!

That Beautiful Sound

Blump-blump-blump-blump....

Hearing our baby's heartbeat for the first time was one of the coolest things I think I will ever hear. To be honest, I wasn't expecting it at that doctor's appointment. We weren't doing an ultrasound that day and I always thought the heartbeat and ultrasound went together....so since I knew that we weren't doing an ultrasound, I didn't think we would hear it. But we did.

That sound of our baby's heart was beautiful. There are no other words to describe it.
Simply beautiful.

The Baby Crib :)

We finally sold our truck the last Tuesday in July and we figured that while we had some "extra" money, we should buy some of the bigger baby things that we needed. We already had a crib set picked out and it finally got here on the 3rd of August. I came home from work and Jayson was so excited, he couldn't hold still. He wanted to put it together right then and there. It was really cute. So these are just a couple pictures of him putting the crib together and the finished products.










We don't have any bedding or anything yet because we still don't know whether Peanut is a boy or a girl but as soon as we find out for sure, we get to decorate!! Jayson looks at baby stuff online almost everyday. It's really cute. I think I will be a little more "into it" once I know the gender. It's just hard to shop when you don't know what you are shopping for, you know?

The same day we bought the crib, we also bought a stroller and that is my favorite thing we have bought so far. It is the Graco Alano Flipit stroller and it is so cute! The handle can switch around so that the baby can be looking at you while you push (like the old style baby strollers) or you can flip it back so that the baby faces out like a regular stroller. The pattern is really cute and will work for either a boy or a girl. I will post some pictures on here later.

We also have been taking pictures of me as I get bigger (and yes, I already am) but right now, I don't think anyone would be able to tell the difference except Jayson and me. Once I "pop", I will post some pictures of me.

I hope everyone is having a good last couple weeks of summer. School is starting shortly and it'll be Christmas before you know it. Enjoy!! :)

Johnson Family Reunion and then some...

Last weekend was the famous Johnson Family Reunion. Jayson hadn't been able to go since 2008 (it was the last thing we did before he shipped out for training for his deployment)so we were really excited to go see the family. Jayson got off work a little bit later than we planned but I was ready to go so it wasn't going to be a problem. I met Jayson at his job and we left from there. For those who don't know, you have to travel through a canyon to get onto I-15 from Logan. The town you hit after the canyon is Brigham City and it's about 35 minutes from Logan. We were cruising along, enjoying the drive when we got down to the last hill from the canyon. Whenever I get the chance, I usually make fun of Jayson's stick shift driving skills, so when he tried putting the car into fourth gear and ground the gears a little. We were still slowing down, approaching the light at the intersection and he tried to put the car into gear again but it still wouldn't work. By now, we were stopped at the light and he looked at me, with worry on his face and said "Jenifer, the clutch won't work. It just goes straight to the floor." Keep in mind, my car is 8 months old. It's a 2010 Hyundai Elantra and we have only put 11,000 miles on it. There is absolutely NO reason why a clutch should be acting up in an eight month old car. None. By now, all the cars that were behind us have moved around to continue on their way, so I made Jayson switch me so I could get in the driver's seat to see if I could get it to work. I got into the car and Jayson wasn't kidding...the clutch went straight to the floor and stuck. Great. We coasted around the corner to get off the main road and I started to freak out. We barely had money to make it down to the family reunion so this was the last thing we needed to happen. Thankfully, once Jayson made me calm down and my rational brain kicked back in, I remembered our warranty! Now I just had to figure out how to get back to Logan. We called my mom to have her come pick us up and then called roadside assistance so they could come tow my car back to Logan. I called the dealership to get us a loaner car and got all that taken care of. Now we just had to wait. And wait. And wait some more. A little over an hour later, the tow truck and my mom got there to pick us up. We made it back to Logan at about 7:45 and got our loaner car. The second time we left Logan, it was almost 9 o'clock. It's a four hour drive. Awesome. We got down to the family cabin at a quarter to one in the morning. Jayson didn't want to wake up any of his family to find out where we were sleeping so we slept in the car. No blankets, no pillows, the moon shining bright, and dogs that looked like wolves outside. Talk about an interesting first night. I finally got sick of sleeping in the car at 6 in the morning so I made Jayson get up and come in. Here lays Jayson's dad on the couch and he says "Are you guys just getting here? I've been waiting for you all night so I could tell you where you were sleeping." Aaaah!!!! Night one, over.

The second day was actually pretty fun. I was tired most of the day but that's what happens when you are pregnant and sleep in a car. We had the annual Johnson Family Talent Show where everyone does something (the original kids (like Jayson's dad and his siblings) and their families pool together to do something), it's usually something like singing, either church songs or funny ones. Jayson's uncle Dallen and his family did a really cute thing this year "How to Create A Johnson Monster" where they took food (like spaghetti) and passed it off for body parts to all the little kids. It was really cute. Carri and her family sang a song to all the pregnant ladies, myself included, about having a second child that is better than the first, it was hilarious! Jayson's family did a church hymn that we sort of changed the way we sang it, which made it really pretty. Kim's family did a church hymn in English and then in Spanish, which was cool. Polly recited a poem for everyone. Karlene and her family did a game show that crowned Jill Queen of the Johnson Family Reunion for the rest of forever! It was a fun day. We finished off the day with a game of Survivor, which our team, the Pink team, kicked butt in! It was really fun.

The third day, Sunday, everyone was talking about going on a hike. Almost everyone was going, including two ladies with 2 month old babies and an 8 month pregnant lady so I couldn't wimp out....even though I am always short of breath, we were in 9000 feet elevation instead of the 6000 I was used to, and I had no shoes. Well, I had flip flops. My tennis shoes were back in my "real" car. But I couldn't wimp out. I have no idea how long it took us to complete the hike, all I know is I finished!! 10 mile hike, full of rocks, sagebrush and very little water but I finished! When we got home, I couldn't walk for two and a half days, my calf muscles constantly felt like I was flexing, even when I was relaxed and I had to have help to stand up from a sitting position. It was sad but I finished. That's all I care about. I finished.

About my car...they replaced the clutch and the cables but it still wasn't working so they called me to tell me that they are pulling the entire transmission out to look at the clutch assembly. Nice. Thank goodness for warranties. I have no idea when I will get my car back but at least we still have the loaner.

That brings us almost up to date. The only other big thing that has happened is we FINALLY sold our truck!!! We sold it for 1800.00 which was enough for us to pay our bills, get out of the financial hole we were in and still have baby money! We bought a crib set that has a dresser, changing table, and a crib that changes into a toddler bed, day bed, and then a full size bed. We also got a stroller and car seat combo. The stroller is really cute! The handle can switch so you can make the baby look at you while you are pushing the stroller or it can look out like a traditional stroller. I love the colors, it'll work for a girl or a boy. Jayson had so much fun putting it together and he can't wait for the crib to get here so he can set that up too. We still have six months to go and Jayson is cuter than ever. He loves setting up all the baby stuff. It's great.

Anyway, that brings us to the end of July. It's August tomorrow. Another two weeks and we have our next ultrasound. I can't wait. By October, at the latest, I am hoping we will know whether it is a boy or girl. We are having a baby shower in Montana as soon as we find out the gender. Now we just gotta wait. :)

Anyway, hope everyone is doing well. And even if you aren't right now, keep your head high because it'll turn around eventually.

Where Has July Gone?

It's somewhat hard for me to believe that July is almost over. I'm pretty sure last week, it was June and I was just barely finding out I was pregnant. It's amazing how much stress can make time fly. Even with Jayson having a job now, we are still very far behind in our bills. It's somewhat of a vicious cycle...we write checks to pay our bills and our account goes into the negative. Jayson will get paid, bring our account almost up to the positive again and our next set of bills are due. We have been going like this for two months. When Jayson lost his job, we depleted what little we had in savings very quickly. Waking up to face another day of not having enough money and not being able to pay our rent or put gas in the car for the past two months has been the hardest time of my married life. Add in the fact that we are expecting a baby, and it's a complete recipe for anxiety. Surprisingly, I have done okay; just a lot of crying here and there but it hasn't affected my pregnancy any. My blood pressure is still within normal range, I'm eating pretty healthily (thanks to my mom, if it wasn't for her, Jayson and I would be starving) and my weight gain is on schedule. Unfortunately, to make matters worse, I am hardly working at all this month. The doctor I work for took a lot of July off for family vacations and things, which means I'm only getting about 7 days of work every two weeks. This definitely hasn't helped our finances at all. So, I guess, even though I am very surprised July has come and almost gone as quickly as it has, I am excited. I'm working more hours in August and my mom finally has a job, which means Jayson and I are watching my baby brother and sister and getting paid by the state to do it. It won't be a whole lot, just a couple hundred a month, but that is our car payment at least. Jayson also has an interview for a new position at work which means, if he gets it, he will actually be hired on with the company instead of through a staffing agency and it will be a pay increase. So things are finally looking up. If I can just hang out for another week, I think we will be okay. Things most certainly aren't great, by any stretch of the imagination. I wouldn't have made it this far if it wasn't for Jayson, my mom and other family who have helped us out this far. But things are going to be okay. Somehow, they are. Two things I have learned throughout this difficult time: be more prepared. Have more in savings, cut back on the extras all the time, not just when you can't afford them, stick very closely to a budget. The second thing I have learned: have faith that eventually, no matter what, things will always work out. Thanks to great people all over my life, there is always help when you need it. You just need to get over your pride and ask. I am determined, however, that once we can, whether it be in 6 months or 10 years, we will help out someone just because we can. I can't wait until we are able to do that. Something to look forward to. So, anyway, now that I have had my little whine fest and I feel a little bit better, I'm going to go. The Johnson Family Reunion starts tomorrow and it will be nice to spend time with Jayson's family. This will be the first time a lot of them have seen Jayson since he got home so it'll be really nice. Maybe for two/three days, I can stop worrying long enough to enjoy the last little bit of July. :)

Oh Baby!

Say Hello to Our Little Peanut!!


"Peanut" is due February 19, 2011...two days before my 21st birthday. Some birthday present, huh? :)

Great Quotes!

"When faced with a challenge, look for a way, not a way out."
---David Weatherford

"Things will happen in your life that you can't stop, but that's no reason to shut out the world. There's a purpose for the good and for the bad."
---"Crazy Pete" Sims (Walter Sparrow), Now and Then

"Consult not your fears but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible for you to do."
---Pope John XXIII

"The odds are very good that worrying is a waste of time. And besides, worrying won't change what happens anyway, will it?"
---A Whisper in the Night by Judie Angell

"When you feel like nothing is there but pain and hurt and great despair, that is when we know we need to not give up, whatever it is we're going through."
---Unknown

"Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up."
---Proverbs 12: 15


I've just been having a rough morning and needed some good thoughts to keep me going. Hope you guys enjoyed these.

Otter Pops

Otter Pops

Red are the best, hands down. But eventually, all the red ones are gone.

Orange comes second. Sometimes a little too much orange but they'll work in a pinch.

Next comes green. Every now and then, green gets to go in front of red.

Purple. Doesn't usually hit the spot but that's okay.

Yellow. A little weird, but I'm weird.

Blue. Last resort, every time.

This is how I eat my Otter Pops,
just in case anyone wondered.
I hope you are all enlightened.

One May Go A Long Way After One Is Tired

Let's just face it. The month of May was horrible! We had no money, we knew that rent for June would be late, and there just seemed to be no end in sight. But now, only weeks later, everything has worked out, or is heading that way. Things only continue to get better. While I am incredibly overwhelmed right now, for several reasons, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it's coming up fast. July will be here before you know it, and I can't wait! We have some amazing things planned for the upcoming months and I can't wait to share all of our journeys with you guys.

On another note, Jayson loves his new job! He is working at Inovar, a company here in Logan and he is testing computer boards/components for military projects such as the spy planes. Inovar does many things; they make house arrest bracelets, general computer boards for regular computers, and many more projects. Jayson right now is testing the computer components for the military spy planes. He said he sometimes get sick of sitting all day but it's definitely better than standing all day! The hours are better too. At his old job, he was working 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. on the weekends. I was starting to worry we wouldn't be able to do anything this summer, like fireworks and such because he would be at work at nights. But now, he is working 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This is great because we have the nights off together and we won't have to worry about parties at night in July. Oh the simple things in life. :)

Jayson and I have never been happier than we are right now, even if there are still bumps in the road. But isn't that the key to everything? Continuing to smile when you would rather cry? There were many times I did cry, and many times I wanted to give up over the last couple months but, now, with everything that has changed this past week, I'm SO glad we didn't quit, even for a minute. Thanks to all my friends and family who supported us through one of our worst times. And especially thanks to Jayson for keeping me smiling when I would have much rather cried. I love you Jayson. ♥