Friday, May 22, 2009

It's A...


We are excited to announce that we are having a baby boy!  We are so excited to have one of each!!!  We had the ultrasound on Wednesday and got a good view that he is definately a boy.  The ultrasound results were all good!  He is healthy and big- measured about a week big.  Apparently I just have big babies.  I asked the technician if boys typically were born bigger than girls, and she said yes.  So, any guesses on how big this one will be??? Sydney was 8 lbs 6 oz, so I'm hoping he's not much bigger :)  You can tell here, that he's big, because I am big!  My belly button has been poking out for a couple weeks now and Sydney thinks it is hilarious!  Here is a picture of us on our way to the ultrasound.  We don't have a scanner, so can't put the ultrasound pics up.  Now we need to start thinking of good boy names... any ideas???



18 Months!

I can not believe that our little girl is 18 months old!  It is amazing to see how much she has learned in the past year and a half.  She has such a fun and bubbly personality.  She is just full of energy and is our social butterfly!  She loves to play with her stuffed animals, dolls, and toys.  She loves to read, and she especially LOVES to be outside!  Sydney is constantly grabbing my finger to take me somewhere, many times to the door saying "side."  She follows directions pretty well and understands most of what we say, like "get your shoes" or "throw this away."  Sydney knows so many words now, it's hard to even write them down, but I'll try to write most of the words we hear every day...

mommy
daddy
bebe- baby
car 
truck
shoe
ball
ooon- balloon
uckie- duckie
og- frog
dirty
yummy- food/drink
cookie
aah'ie- allie
beeh- brett
ampa- grandpa
mahma- grandma
key- kate
down
uck- stuck
side- outside
bye
hi
moo- what a cow says
ack ack- what a duck says
cocko ooo- what a rooster says
puppy
ca- cat
bir- bird
moon
su- sun
ishot-it's hot!
whosit- who is it, when the phone rings
whasat- what's that?

Sydney had her 18 month check up on Wednesday and the doctor was very impressed with her language skills.  He said that many 18 month olds have a vocabulary of 5-10 words.  Sydney is very healthy!  Her 18 month stats are:

weight: 23 lbs 2 oz (30 percentile)
height: 31 1/4 inches (45 percentile wahoo!!!)
head size: 46.2 cm (40 percentile)

Who would have thought that MY daughter would ever be such an average height?  Hopefully she keeps that up!  


Friday, May 15, 2009

The Job Search

Matt has officially been on the search for a job since last Thursday.  At the beginning of April we found out that Discover Card would be laying off 500 employees between May 1st and the 15th.  Last Thursday, Matt found out that he was one of those employees.  He has applied for 5 or 6 jobs this past week, and we are still waiting to hear from all of them.  It has been an interesting month for us, anticipating the possibility of Matt no longer having a job.  I am so grateful that we were able to listen to and attend General Conference last month.  It has really helped me understand and deal with the situation so much better.  Many of the talks seemed to be directed specifically for our situation, and I really have recieved so much strength from them.  Today I read Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually, by Elder Robert D. Hales. 
( http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1032-2,00.html ).  He tells us that the Lord will never allow us to sufffer beyond what we can endure (see 1 Corinthians 10:13).  Also, that Christ stands ready to help each one of us.  "Fear not, " He said, "for you are mine, and I have overcome the world" (D&C 50:41).  

I remember when my cousin Brooks was ready to leave on his mission and he became really sick.  We were all pretty nervous that he wouldn't be able to serve his mission, or that he might even die.  My grandpa told my aunt Liz that you can not have fear and faith at the same time.  I remember that she tried so hard to not have fear, so that she would be able to have the faith that was needed for Brooks.  I have been trying to do the same thing for the past month.  At first the thought of not having a job was very scary, but I have tried to not have fear.  Since Matt has been officially laid off, i have had a peace in my heart and I truly am not scared.  I know that because we have made good decisions and because we obey the commandments we will be blessed.  We may not be blessed with all of our wants, but I do know that we will get through this.  

We already have seen so many blessings in our lives this past month, and I wouldn't trade any of those blessings for a job.  My grandpa had a cancer scare, and a near death experience, and we were able to have a family fast for him, and everything has turned out fine!  We are expecting another baby, and I have been blessed with a healthy pregnancy and as far as we know a healthy baby.  We have a beautiful daughter who continues to grow and learn every day.  She is a strength to us and helps us remember what is really important.  We have family members who support us through everything and have actually been in our situation for longer than we have.  I feel like we have been blessed in abundance and am grateful to the Lord for that!

If any of you do know of or hear about any leads on jobs, please let us know.  We have found that the best way to find something is by asking around!  Thank you for all of your support.  We think of each one of you as one of our blessings!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Just in Time!

My dad called me this morning to inform me that we had "moved just in time."  Just in time for what you might ask... just in time to miss the break-in/shooting that took place at our apartment complex last night- in the building just next to our old apartment! 

Suspect fatally shot during Midvale home invasion

MIDVALE -- There was a terrifying wake up call for neighbors in a Midvale apartment complex as a home invasion robbery turned deadly.

Four people were inside the apartment Tuesday morning when there was a knock at the door. They answered it, and that's when the ordeal began. When it was all over one suspect was dead, shot by one of the residents in the apartment.

Police have been able to identify the man shot and killed during the home invasion at the Spring of Country Woods Apartment complex at 6995 S. 1030 East. They say the Metro Gang Unit was able to identify him through the tattoos on his body. They are waiting to release his name pending family notification.

Police say he had been affiliated with gangs in the past, but whether this was gang relates is still under investigation.

Sgt. John Salazar, with the Midvale Police Department, said, "On the deceased we found a weapon, a handgun and two knives. So, they were loaded."

Armed with handguns, knives and latex gloves, Sgt. Salazar says the nine suspects who pushed their way into the apartment were on a mission, but to do what?

"We don't know what was said, we don't know what they were here for," Salazar said.

A man and his nephew were visiting his girlfriend and her sister Tuesday morning when they heard a knock at the door. When one opened the door, the suspects pushed open the door. One of the men tried to close it but was stabbed. Once inside, the suspects held the victims at gunpoint and forced them into a back room.

Neighbors say they heard the rest.

Nicole Hulett said, "I heard screaming, and then I heard three shots and then flashes that happened with the triggers."

Another neighbor, Brian Lee, said, "I heard consistent gun fire, I thought maybe someone was getting murdered."

Police say at one point one of the male victims grabbed a gun from a suspect and opened fire, killing him. More shots were then fired, and the eight other suspects took off.

David Sandford was watching TV in his apartment nearby when he heard the shots. He ran to his porch just in time to see the suspects coming down the stairs.

"It was kind of a free-for-all, everyone was going, getting the heck out of there," he said.

Sandford says one of the suspects, an injured female, ran right past his porch, leaving a blood trail for police. One of the other suspects, he says, was carrying a gun.

"The way he had his hands held looked like he was carrying a shotgun or a riffle," Sanford said.

Police, K-9 units and swat teams all searched the area for hours this morning, looking for the suspects, but so far no one has been located.

Police, however, did locate a gun they believe was used during the invasion about a block from the area.

Police say no evidence was left behind in the apartment, but that everything at the scene does indicate the victim shot the suspect out of self-defense.



I must say, I am glad to be gone from there now!  There were a few scary things that happened to us there, and I'm glad to have missed this one!  While we lived there- 1) Matt's car got stolen 2) Police showed up at our door looking for a bank robber.  One day when Sydney was just a few months old, I heard a knock at our door in the middle of the day.  When I opened the door no one was standing there and I heard someone ask if I was alone.  Unsure of how to answer, I hesitantly said, "yes," while noticing police standing up and down the stairs that led to our apartment.  They told me that their police dog had sniffed a bank robber directly from the bank to our front door, and asked if they could look around.  I said yes, and they came in and looked under beds, in the shower, in closets, and all over.  Then they asked me questions about how old I was and about our neighbors.  After they searched our house, I packed Sydney up, and left to my parent's house, so I wouldn't have to be alone there.   After those two experiences I never quite felt safe there, and after this...we'll just say, we moved just in time!  On a brighter note:  We are excited to be moving to a 'safer' neigborhood!  People have been asking for pictures of our new place.  Here are a few, although they really aren't that great.  It looks much better in person!


Sydney & Baby's Room
Our Room
Along this wall will be our kitchen and dining area
Family Room- notice the BIG windows!
Our deck- that Sydney already loves
A blurry view from our deck
The outside: Ours goes just past the second window on the left

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