thor and a grape

Thor. Thor. Thor.

He is our most favorite dog ever and my brother snapped some really cool pictures of him, I just have to share. Then, I have a very Thor story for you.

Always on his daddy's lap.

Why he loves the car.

That face though.

The bond that he has with Ashton is unbelievably sweet and to say he makes us happy is an understatement.

So, on Friday night, when he decided to eat a grape, we were worried. I had read before that grapes could be lethal to dogs and we quickly called an animal ER. They suggested we come in so that they could attempt to make him throw it up and do some blood tests to make sure he wasn't going into renal failure.

We rushed Thor to the doctor and we were there from 9:30 to 11:30 pm. It was just great. Long story short, Thor is alright. We had to take him back in Saturday night just to test his blood once more and everything looked fine.

Best part. Today, Thor and I were in the kitchen and I was going into the fridge to get myself some pickles (pregnant much). Guess what? The bag of grapes,  placed precariously on the edge of the fridge shelf, toppled over. I went into panic mode and rushed to pick up grapes, while Thor went into food frenzy mode and rushed to the juicy green grapes. I fished one out of his mouth, put him the corner, and told him to sit while I picked them up. 

Everything is fine now, grapes just make my heart beat a little faster now.

General Conference, October 2014

This past weekend was General Conference - one of my favorite times of the year. Every 6 months, in April and October, we are able to listen to / be inspired by our Church leaders. It consists of four beautiful sessions (two on Saturday and two on Sunday) plus one session for the men on Saturday night and one for the women of the Church, held the week before.

I just love listening to conference. It is a welcome break from our normal hustle and bustle of the weekend. The special thing about this conference was that many of our speakers spoke in their native language. It's beautiful to hear and it is amazing how the Spirit is able to speak to us, even when we are listening to a language we do not know.

Ashton and I were able to go to the Sunday afternoon session with my dad, Porter, and Hannah. It was the perfect way to end the weekend. I feel so full of peace, love, and have an overall new confidence in life (if that makes any sense).

The very best part is that, if you missed any of it, if you want to watch a certain talk or all talks again, or if you want to print out you favorite talks to study,  you can! They are found here. Use these resources as they will enrich your life and continue to fill you with peace. I try to study one talk a week and I always have high hopes that I will share my thoughts on each talk here - maybe this time I really will.

week 15

Life has been pretty boring ever since we have found out I was pregnant. Boring in every sense except for the fact that I am growing a baby!

It is probably boring because Ashton and I are back to work, our siblings are back to school, and we have yet to make new couple friends in our area. But in my defense, by the time I get home from work, I am ready to crash - and most of the time, that is exactly what I do.

But, back to baby.

Yesterday, I hit 15 weeks! In my last doctor's appointment, my awesome doctor told me that at this point, miscarriage is very unusual. It finally feels like I can relax and smile and be so happy and excited about our baby. I can feel sure in my pregnancy. It is a beautiful thing and I have been an emotional wreck waiting for this moment - not that I still don't have those minutes of worry here and there.

So, my first appointment with doctor wasn't until I was already 10 weeks along. Waiting for that day to come was hard and then going in for my first ultrasound was one of the scariest moments. (My first ultrasound back in January was when we discovered that I had a blighted ovum. I still can't breath when I remember that day.) BUT, things were 100 times different this go around. This time, we saw a beautiful, perfect baby, dancing around with a perfect little heartbeat. I am already so proud of my tiny baby, so I can totally show off with some precious ultrasound pictures, right?

Then, just last week, I went in for my second appointment and it was just as magical. We didn't get an ultrasound this time around, but we had another opportunity to hear our baby's heartbeat. Doctor warned me before she started that sometimes it takes a bit to find the heartbeat, just so I didn't get to worried. She put the cool heartbeat tool on my lower belly and there was baby's heart. She didn't have to search at all. In fact she said, "Wow! Very cooperative!" And of course, we have it recorded and I listen to it daily.

We are pretty excited to meet our baby. For those of you who are wondering, we will find out gender, but we still have another 5 weeks before that happens.

sweet baby smith

Today we made a big announcement.

We are pregnant! yayyayyay! Pregnant!

And this time we have heard a heartbeat and, while we know we aren't completely in the clear, this is the furthest we have made it.

I am a few days past 11 weeks. After my two previous miscarriages, I was pretty sure that I wouldn't announce it until I couldn't hide it anymore.

Then I read this amazing article. As I read it, my heart just about burst out of my chest. There is a life within me, my baby! I had announced to most of my family and close friends that I was pregnant in December. When I miscarried, I was devastated, but I received so much support and love. Every card, email, text, phone call, and even the flowers that were sent, buoyed me up. The second time around, I miscarried much earlier, but that didn't make it any easier. I hadn't known I was pregnant until we realized something was wrong and, while my immediate family knew, many didn't and I hated going through it "alone".

So, that is how we got here today - the earlier than planned on announcement. I have no words except that it is a miracle. Every precious life is truly a miracle and we feel so blessed that we are having this opportunity.

national doggy day

As you all probably know by now (thanks to social media), today is National Dog Day!

...and guess what...

We have a dog. The cutest dog. The best dog! Thor.

Thor has been a part of our family since June 4th. He is four and a half months old and has already grown so much! He can sit, shake, and lay down - so smart huh! 

So here - enjoy some of my favorite pictures of the little guy. It was hard to pick favorites because we have hundreds...

 Our roly poly little baby

Just a bit bigger.

Even bigger! And really starting to look like a bulldog with that tongue out all the time.

We sure love our Thor and, well, we just love love love him! He is the perfect addition to our little family.

(not to end this on a sad note)But, I have to finish this post by recognizing my first dogs - Our loyal, sweet, gentle giant, perfect Woody and my crazy adorable little man Bubba. Both of them are in doggy heaven now, but we think of them often. In fact, Mom saw a picture of a dog that looked like Woody today and almost started crying. We love and miss our first puppy loves.

San Diego (6/27 - 7/02)

A sweet family friend got married this summer. It was a beautiful wedding, beautiful weekend, beautiful trip.

6/27 - Our first stop when we got their was, of course, the beach. I had been doing a cleanse and was on my last day. (Side note about the cleanse: It felt so good and I felt so accomplished at the end of those three days. But, a few of those drinks have ruined me. Just the idea of kale makes my stomach churn.) So we walked by Ruby's and I dreamed of fries and a shake. It was a beautiful evening.

6/28 - Temple. Beach. Reception. It was the best kind of day.

A beautiful sealing at my favorite temple.

 Beach party with my Jackie and our boys.

The beautiful bride and her groom.

6/29 - Visiting the Birch Aquarium with the family. I love love love this place.

Ashton trying on Hannah's hair. Who do you think he looks like?

6/30 - Visiting Grandpa Thork and exploring Balboa Island - because "There's always money in the banana stand" and Ashton had never been!

California never disappoints.

summer...

...is over

...and I don't know how I feel about it.

We had a great summer - one that has kept me so busy that my blog has (obviously) been neglected.

BUT I am really enjoying my new job and we are only 4 days in. The staff is fantastic and my students are a lot of fun. I have a lot to learn, starting in a new district, and they let me know as I get to attend all of the new teacher trainings again, but I am happy here.

ps. This is my SIXTH year teaching!

The point of this post:
- I have so many summer posts to add
- Things are good here! Busy, but good.
- & last but not least, happy new school year!!

- Oh and of course, our Thor is now HUGE. And we love him and all the adventures we get to have because of him.