A somewhat real post...

So I haven't been "gone" from blogging really. I wasn't ever really here in the first place. But there HAS been a significant enough gap between when I first "wrote" and today, that I feel like I should probably do something about that. I just posted an entry on LiveJournal so for now, I will just copy some of that same info over here. I was making reference to the fact that I hadn't been on there in quite some time and was listing some interesting and happy things going on in my life right now. That's where I'll copy from! :)

*Nate and I bought a house and moved out of condo last Fall. We signed on the house at the very end of September. If I remember right the first time we actually stayed in the house was over "Conference Weekend". (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints holds a worldwide broadcast the first weekend in April and October. The leaders of the church itself, and different parts of the church speak on church doctrine and give encouraging messages and lessons about applying those doctrines to life!) It's a little weird to think that we've been living here for nearly a year. In some ways I still feel new in the neighborhood, and even in the house itself. The move was VERY fast and though I'm sooo grateful that we were able to sell our condo quickly and find a house that works great for us, I wish we would have packed/moved in with a little more grace and organization. There are still plenty of things to be sorted through in the garage and under the stairs. Working on that!

*I graduated with my Associates degree this spring (2008). Most people made comments about how dumb it was to only get an Associates and walk in commencement for it, or that they didn't even know you COULD get the Associates I did. Oh well. I did it for me. It made me happy and it completely validated me doing something hard... even if no one would have considered it so! :) I have a diploma from a now University. (It became one JUST after I graduated. It was just a "college" before!) I never thought I'd be brave enough to even step through the doors. This has allowed me to think about stepping through the doors again later!

*Nate and I are expecting our first BABY!!! We are going to have a little one in January. We know the gender... but the deal is, if you want to know it, you have to guess who we're having first. I have a great scrapbook page imagined up with everyone's guessing, so indulge me if you will!!! I'm already 22 weeks along and the baby is the length of a spaghetti squash. That didn't mean quite as much to me as the banana or carrot, but it's still fun to think about! :) Quite soon after I found out about the baby, I quit my beloved job at PartyLand. I really do miss it. I LOVED the people and I of course loved the feeling of accomplishment that came with a good hard days work. I was worried though that I would be lifting too much (lots of rentals during the summer) and being yelled at too much. I probably attracted it to me more that I want to admit... but I had just told them I would move up as the Manger of the whole store when the current one left to serve an LDS mission. THAT doesn't make for the most peaceful, stress-free environment for a pregnant girl. I felt completely and utterly selfish, but I "bowed out graciously" before they could want me to leave, and quit in the middle of June. It's been good. I've had time to waste and feel about it, and time to work on the fore-mentioned boxes around my house. I'm learning to be a house-wife/Mom... and there's more to that than I realized. I'm excited though!