It's about time!

So it's true!  I am actually updating the blog...sad right?  It has been a crazy few months.  First, let's go all the way back to November!

We spent Thanksgiving in Arizona with the Talbots and the Maughans and it was the perfect vacation for us when we really needed it.  I so wish that we had taken pictures while we were there!  The best part of the whole thing was that we didn't have a schedule that we had to follow and we could be lazy if we wanted to and no one cared! :)  We got to stay with Richelle and Brian and it was a blast!  They have the cutest house and we wish we could have stayed longer.  It was wonderful to enjoy the warm weather and finally take a vacation!

December was the best month of the year for us I think though...

December started off busy and ended busy.  December for me at work was kind of crazy because I had a few more hours in the week and Mark was, as always, busy with his job.  We headed for Utah on the 15th and then began our trek back to good ol' Michigan on the 16th!  We were super excited but super nervous because if you have ever driven through Wyoming in December - well, it is not fun.  Our original plan was to leave mid-week but we left early and it definitely paid off!  Wyoming was rough...a lot of black ice and wind storms and overturned semis but overall we made through after a long time in the car.  It was a good drive after that point, we got lucky and missed the snow storms that came through the mid-west the day after we got home.  We were incredibly blessed.  I give props to my good husband...he drove all but the 7 hours that I drove!  And in weather he had never driven in before!  He thought it was hilarious that the driving conditions through Wyoming were so bad while Brian and I kept our heads down because of the anxiety it was causing us!  You would think it would make the California boy nervous but not Mark Splain!! :)

Anyway, we made it home alive!!!  It felt SO good to be home.  I had never gone that long without being home.  Little Ruby was only 8 weeks old (I think) while we were home and I really took advantage of the cuddle time!

We got to spend so much time just being together as a family and that is one of my favorite things in the world that I don't get to experience at home very often anymore.  It was a wonderful experience to be able to spend so much time with my grandparents as well.  My grandpa was very happy and responsive while we were there and let me hug him and kiss his forehead as much as I wanted to.  Mark and I got to spend one evening just sitting with Grandma and Grandpa, while they sat watching a Christmas Devotional, and talk to Grandma and enjoy her company.  We also got to spend time with the Butlers which was a blast and I got to spent a day with my good sister!  It was an awesome day!  We had an amazing Christmas and got to go sledding with the Butlers. (I learned not to do that the day before you fly because then you have a sore rear end the whole day that you fly) 

I got a lot of time with my parents and I forgot how hard it is to be away from them!

Mark was a little excited about the snow storm we went out in to take Dedric for a walk.  It is amazing how much I love Michigan in the winter when I struggle so much enjoying Rexburg winters.  Mark also succeeded in finally getting Dedric to be his buddy!  He had worked so hard at it when he lived with my parents and never succeeded and now he talks about how he and Dedric are friends now. :)

I volunteered to make cookies for everyone and I hope they enjoyed them!  With a little assistance from Dedric :)

 

It was REALLY hard to leave but we were so grateful to have to opportunity to go home and be home for so long.  Thank you Brian for taking your car home! :)  But believe it or not, the month got even better!

After we got back to Rexburg from Michigan, I took one of these...

It's kind of hard to see but that definitely says that the Splains have number #1 on it's way!!!!!!

 

Can you believe it??!! Cause I'm pregnant and I can hardly believe it!  We were much more than excited and had a really hard time keeping it a secret.  But finally the word can go out that Baby Splain is expected to arrive September 3rd, 2013!  Everything has gone extremely well and we are feeling very very blessed. 

So needless to say the last couple of months haven't been the easiest on me.  I started feeling sick at the very beginning of the new year and it lasted until last week and still sometimes at night.  It made for a very long couple of months for us.  I have the best, most patient husband in the world that would do anything for me.  For that I am extremely grateful.  I would only do what I had to do, like go to work and take care of Relief Society, but more than that was really pushing it.  I am so glad that it is starting to ease and I can start to actually enjoy being pregnant!  So we may be in Rexburg a little longer than we thought...as long as Mark can start grad school a little later.  But the end of the year will bring some very big changes for our little family!  It is so exciting!