Finally...

You'll never hear me say that again, but when you get punked by the national weather service you actually look forward to snow. 


Maybe because last Tuesday they told us there would be at least a foot of snow on the ground, that we would be having the worst blizzard of the decade, that everyone should leave work/school early, that we should stock up on groceries....maybe because I made homemade wassail and soup, got cuddled up with my hubby with a good movie and kettle corn, and peeked out the window every hour......only to  find NOTHING. Such a bummer.

But now it is Sunday and it is here! I am nothing but happy about it. 
Maybe because B is driving me to school tomorrow :)

In other news, my poor sweetheart baby is sick. 

I was just rocking and singing quietly in her ear. 

I just love her little hand on my wrist.

Then I had to rock and rock and rock her until she fell asleep in my arms. 

{giving thanks}

I didn't take any pictures on Thanksgiving, but we had a wonderful time!

B's Aunt was so kind to open her home to not just the 3 of us, but also my sister and brother! She made the yummiest Thanksgiving feast. It makes me laugh every time she says "it will just be laid back" or "no frills today" and then I see the most delicious gourmet dishes in front of me. We has such a good time eating, talking, laughing, and playing with her family! Liv had the best time playing with Joonie (their dachshund), and of course seeing her second cousins and Auntie Kath! We just LOVE that family!

Kathleen's generosity and kindness reminded me of my parents, who are also very generous and kind and basically willing to help anyone out anyway they can....even if it means letting them live in our house until they can get on their feet. I'm so grateful that there are people like that in this world, and even more grateful that I'm related to them!

{Happy Thanksgiving}

Happy Thanksgiving!

-from Livy and me

{photos from this very Thanksgiving morning}
Livy was sooo excited she couldn't wait to get the party started so she woke up at 5am.
Its a good thing we have so much fun together.

I have so much to be grateful for, and I'm so happy that I'm reminded of my blessings everyday of the year.

{the office}

We have a few seasons of The Office on DVD and we like to watch an episode or two at the end of the day to unwind.
Olivia has learned to recognize the opening song, and will drop whatever she's doing (including throwing a fit) to dance to it:



And here is one more (we played the song like 4 times that night for her) where you can see her new dancing feet for just a second:

{Date NIght}

I was excited all week for our date night on Friday! 
What did we do? 
Went to see Harry Potter of course. 
We shared a giant drink and giant popcorn that we didn't even get halfway through.
This was our first time seeing a movie together in the theater since Avatar. 
Loved it. So much suspense and drama, and I only cried once :)

*I highly recommend going to a theater with assigned seating. We bought tickets online and then didn't have to get there early or wait in line.  If you haven't read the books, and you go see this you'll most likely be completely lost.

check it out

This semester is coming to an end, which inevitably means that lots of tests, presentations, papers, and requirements are due very soon. For me, it also means that my anesthesia Boards are coming waaayyy too fast. I'm feeling excited and nervous.....all the time. 

But now its the weekend, and for a few minutes I forgot about everything and had a dance party with my husband and baby. Today, I'm thankful for music- all of it. Thankful for how it can cheer me up when I'm sad, or just let me sulk {without judgement} if I'm depressed. Or, on days like today, let me forget everything and live in the moment.



The song of choice today was "Check it out" by Will.I.Am (clean version). Olivia is learning to move her feet to the music {so cute I can't even handle it} and she LOVES when we dance with her.

{New words}

photo by WhitneyAsay

Lately the Livster has really been mimicking sounds. She will randomly mimick things like "i love you' (which B got on tape) or "night night' etc, but there are some definite words that she says all the time.


shoe (ssshh-eww)
hot (ot)
cheerio (ssshh-ew-o)
banana (nana)
light (ite)


She is such a blessing.


I know I say it a lot, but its such a sweet privilege to watch her grow.

{technology}

I can't write or say that word without thinking of Kip from Napoleon Dynamite.

I'm so thankful that while B and Livy were gone I was still able keep in touch. B and my bro-in-law were awesome about sending pictures and videos of what was going on, so it almost felt like I was there ;) I even got to 'face time' with my husby and baby a few times. I love technology.

Olivia (13 mo.) with her Grandma and Grandpa Hansen

Testing the wheelchairs at Grandpa's work

Livin the life

Yep, that's my husband.

{phone calls}

I'm thankful for phone calls from friends. I'm the world's worst about picking up the phone and calling anyone. The truth is, for the most part, I hate talking on the phone. But not when its with a good friend. That's why I'm thankful that other people are so good about calling to chat and catch up. That should probably be one of my New Year's resolutions. Today my lovely friend Angie, who lives in Ohio, called to chat and it was such a treat for me. Especially since B and Liv are gone. Thanks for brightening my day Ang!

Girls night in October

When Angie was visiting for her sis-in-law's wedding, the few of us who are still here got together to do what we do best = chat and eat! We had corn chowder, yummy breads, and delicious cinnamon apple dessert! Anne was there too, but left before the pic. I look hideous in those scrubs. I didn't realize how terrible they look on me because I see 59 girls Mon through Thurs who look good in them. I also have to note our hands. We were dying over it!

{alone time}

As much as I miss the two loves of my life...I have enjoyed some alone time. I got to sleep in on Saturday for the first time in 13 months. Like good sleep in, where there were no noises of a screaming/crying baby in the background. I slept pretty deep til 9:00am and then I woke up totally ready for the day...but decided I might as well sleep a little longer, so I did. It was awesome.

I've written an easy paper for school that has been on my "to do" list every weekend since the beginning of the semester. Feels good to finally get it done and crossed off. I cleaned the house, and organized my closet.

Best of all, I've finally gotten a jump start on my studying for anesthesia boards! That's right, before this weekend I hadn't even started studying for one of the biggest tests of my life. And its in December, only a month away. I was having a lot of trouble buckling down and studying for it, but now that I'm 7 chapters into the book, I'm feeling like its do-able. I still might not pass, but now at least I know I tried.

 Now off to take a nice hot bath.

{these two}

This weekend I've realized how terribly empty my life would be without B and miss Livy P.

 They are in Oregon for Brady's mom's 50th birthday (I was unable to make the trip due to school), and I miss them a lot. My life is quite boring without them. They bring me an incredible amount of joy!

{building a life together}

I saw this video over on the rockstar diaries, and although I don't know what the artist was really trying to say, I saw 2 people building a beautiful life together and a union that will last forever. Today I'm thankful that I found that special person to build my life with, and I'm so grateful that we'll get to continue our journey together for eternity.

Postcards From Italy from ForYouLoveMe on Vimeo.

Olivia's dolphin/mermaid kick

She literally just started doing it today, and it makes me so happy. I wish you could see her face because she's making a sad noise, but she's totally smiling. We just love our Livy P.