Gratitude: Day 2

We have a gas stove

Being without power for 4 days and nights now it has helped us to realize there are a couple of things that we will want in our house when we buy or build our own. One of these items is a gas stove. Sunday morning Paul wanted omelets but I didn't see how that would happen. He said in Brasil they had gas stoves too, all you had to do was turn on the gas and use a lighter to get it going. So we had omelets for breakfast and warmed up soup for dinner. I was able to keep the babies food warm by boiling water through out the day. What a small and simple blessing it is to be able to warm up water.

Gratitude: Day 1

My wonderful little FAMILY

Now I know you're thinking it's Pauls fault that we are out here in the first place but he really has worked so hard at his education and providing for us and wanting to be able to provide for his family in the future. Having our first baby so far from family and everything familiar was not something I was looking forward to, Paul made sure that he did everything he would need to so he could be there for me, even when it turned into a 5 day ordeal at the hospital.

Lady Abigail has been such a blessing to us. I catch myself looking at her all the time and just thinking 'WOW!!!' Wow...I'm a mom. Wow...she is so beautiful. Wow...she was inside of me? Wow... what color will her eyes be, what will her little personality be like?... The list goes on...

Of course there is Bentley, our cute little miniature schnauzer. His little personality has brought so much to our family. When we were looking for places to live out her in Connecticut we found that most places accepted pets, mostly just accepted cats. Why? He only weighs 13 lbs, is house trained, doesn't shed and is not trained to do his business inside the house. If we ever need cuddle time or someone to play with at the end of a long day, he is always there.

Final . . . See ya when we see ya!!!

Paul wanted to have everyone over for one last night together before we headed off so on Friday, the 12th, we asked our families to come help us finish loading the trailer then we could all visit one more time before we headed out. With all the guys there it was pretty quick work to get the trailer loaded, no messing around. It was great to have the trailer because being in my last trimester I did not want to drive across the country in a UHaul towing our car. Also since it was our Anniversary and we are heading out anyways, we wanted to make a fun trip out of it so we have some stops planned and places we want to see along the way.

One of my brothers was planning a trip out to California but once he heard we were packing the same weekend he put his trip off so he could help on Wednesday and pack the big heavy items. What a great family!! That is what they all did last year on New Years as well. We were moving in the freezing cold and needed some help to load up the UHaul and they were willing to rearrange plans to come and help.

For the last seven and half months we have been living with my parents and I have really enjoyed it. It was hard to keep a secret so I told my mom the day after we found out we were pregnant. When Paul started his job during the summer and needed tools my dad went through his stash and gave him the last few tools on the tool list. I love that my family can make everyone feel so welcome. I have four brothers whose personalities are all very different and they all treated Paul as one of the brothers. On Sundays our niece and nephew would come to church with us. Paul would sit with Gabe and help Sacrament Meeting not seem so long, sometimes I wondered who the adult was between the two of them. Gabe would always ask for a piece of gum and I had a stash in my church bag. The rule was they could have a piece after the Sacrament was passed. Bailly always had a bag of books and crayons to help when the meeting went longer than their attention. When I was cleaning out my bag to give the gum and treats to my mom I started crying. I have loved taking them to church with us, watching them learn about the gospel and Gabe as he tried to learn all the motions and hand signals to the primary songs. I miss everyone already and it's been half a day.

The 12th

Dad and Mom Nuesmeyer

Paul's family
Justin, Analey, Vonda and Richard

The Northern Nuesmeyer clan
Bentley really loved his cousin Bosco!!

The Central Nuesmeyer clan
We heard that Tonka went all through the house that Sunday looking for Bentley.
My mom said he looked kind of sad when he couldn't find him.

More cousins. Bentley loves these guys and so do we.
I can not believe how grown up they all are.

On Thursday my brother was heading out to California so he came in and gave me a hug. When we went to say bye we both stopped in our tracks, that seemed such a final thing to say at the time. We both opted for "see ya when we see ya." He's the last brother at home with my parents right now and over the summer the three of us have really enjoyed being 'neighbors.' I got a little chocked up at the idea of not knowing when we would see everyone again.

The 13th

Time to head out. I was giving my parents a hug and I lost it. This isn't like a trip or even a mission where you know exactly when you'll be back home to see everyone again. My dad has put on a really tough face all summer telling us how excited he is for us, which made the idea of leaving easier, but when it came down to it we were both loosing the fight of trying to hold back tears.

We had to stop by Paul's parents house to drop off some things we forgot to give them last night so we stopped by to see Paul's grandma one more time. She is ready to go and be with her husband and Paul doesn't know if she'll be around when we make it back to Utah with our little girl, so he wanted to be sure to see her one more time before we left.

Bentley, always up for a good long car ride, has no idea how long this car ride is going to be. He's just happy to be in the car with us and not left behind.

Happy Anniversary ~ 5 Years and 3 days

Can you believe it, we have been married five {5} years now!!
It seems like it has all gone so fast.

We both got home from our missions in 2005, me in February and Paul in December. Two weeks after he had gotten home we met. I had been set up on blind dates so much since I was home I had sworn them off ~ just because I am a return missionary and the guy is a return missionary DOES NOT mean we are perfect for each other. Come on people!!!

For that reason we were not really 'set up' but I wanted to meet my best friends boy friend and did not want to be the third wheel so I told her that they needed to find someone else to come along; guy, girl, brother, sister ~ I did not care, just so long as I was not the odd person out. His friend, Paul, was available to go out with us all and needless to say ~ No, it was not love at first sight. He was wearing wrangler's, cowboy boots with a huge belt buckle, no thank you!! He, on the other hand, thought I talked too much. But we were trapped, neither one of us had cars yet and so our ride home depended on when our friends wanted to call it a night. By the end of the night, however, our opinions had changed.

He asked if he could call me and go on a second date and invited me to come to his homecoming talk the following Sunday, but he was so nervous that he did not ask for my number. He gave a great talk and while most everyone in his family thought I was a tag-along with his group of friends and that he was going to date the sister from his mission who came to his homecoming, Paul knew different. One of the many traits about Paul that I love, he knows what he wants and will go for it, not matter the opinions of others.

In January I went up to USU and Paul worked and went to SLCC. I found out that he was going to propose to me over Spring Break and told him I was not ready, I wanted more time. But he knew what he wanted and was not going to give up. While I was at Snow College I remember hearing a talk by someone in the Presidency of the church. They counseled to not study scriptures and attend the temple with someone you are dating. The reasoning behind it is because the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Love and there is no way to tell them apart and discern the difference. When we are dating someone we need to make sure we get to know them and love them, and not mistake that love of the Spirit that we feel as love for the person we are with. Even though Paul had asked me to go with him, when I told him why I needed to go by myself and not together, I needed to be sure for myself with no doubt, he was very understanding.

He asked in June and we were married by August, we had known each other a whole seven and a half months. I would not change a thing!!! I am so grateful that we got married and did not let life, school and money get in the way. We hear it all the time, that couples find reasons to put off moving forward and I'm so glad we did not let the ideas of the world get in the way of our own happiness. Why would someone want to put off starting the rest of our lives? That just doesn't make sense!! So we have struggled through school, finances, surgery and misfortune together ... so much better than doing it alone, we have also had great times together, and all of this has helped to strengthen our relationship.

After 5 Years of marriage we have



4 Diplomas

3 Surgeries


2 Moves


1 Dog and


a BABY on the way

We are now starting a new chapter in our life together, 2,500 miles away from everything familiar.

For our anniversary this year we have been packing everything up and loading a trailer. Which means it also went into my Parents anniversary and my Brother and Sister-in-Laws anniversary. They were all great enough to change their plans so they could help us load. With the stress of moving and having the guy we were going to rent from back out on us two weeks before we left I was right on the edge. Then, on our anniversary I was outside cleaning up after the dog and stepped right next to a hornet and got stung on the side of my foot. Well I lost it, I hobbled forward a little bit and sat on the lawn and let it all out, happy anniversary to me!!

Hopefully this is not a sign of what is to come.

Chasing the Train

About a week and a half ago I picked Paul up from the Trax Station and we were going to babysit my sisters kids while her and V went to see an early screening of the latest and last Harry Potter movie. It was going to be tight cause I had to pick up Paul about the same time that Staci and V needed to drop the kids off to get to their movie on time. So my parents were going to watch them for just a bit until we got back.

I picked up Paul and as he got into the car I thought he looked a little light but obviously didn't think too much of it and we just drove home. It wasn't until we were actually in the driveway that Paul realized he forgot his tools and lunch box on the train. We happened to have a Trax schedule so I ran through the house like a tornado to get it so we could see where to meet the train. As I ran through the kitchen I yelled {not mean just load enough so all the kids could here me} 'Put your drinks down, get your stuff. We have to go chase the train, Uncle Paul left his tools on it.' Well our five year old nephew didn't see the importance of this and decided he needed to finish his milk. Our niece and V's son were at least in the garage but in no hurry to put one foot in front of the other. Poor Paul was just in shock over leaving his tools and worried about how much it was going to cost us to replace them all. I finally got all four of them in the car and we were off.

I had Paul co-pilot {I'm a little bit more of an aggressive driver} and keep track of the time and which stop the train was closest too on the schedule. As we got going I realized that we were going to have to go all the way to the North end of the line {we live past the South end of the line}. Paul called the train security and they said that the main offices were closed and so if someone turned it in he was going to have to wait until the next morning and call the lost and found. That made his heart sink a little more. All of downtown is a no fare zone and there are so many transients that ride the train to get out of the heat, we knew we were never going to see those tools again. As we were getting close I told our niece {she's nine, almost ten}, that I was going to give her the keys and my phone. She needed to lock the car after Uncle Paul and I got out and only unlock it when we were coming back. I never mentioned to the kids that while we were searching the train it might take off with us and that we would just hop off and catch the next one back.

Paul got out before I had even parked. Once we finally got to the hub station , I gave Bay the keys and my cell phone and reminded her NOT to open the door for ANYONE. But wait it gets better there are two trains there...ahhhh....which one do we search?? I went to the one that I thought came from the South station where I had picked up Paul from. What a sight that must have been as pregnant little me went running after a train. I decided to go right up to the conductor and ask her if anyone had turned in a bag of tools. Paul found me and said he checked both trains but the one we were on, he was sure wasn't the train he left his tools on. Then the second train pulled away.

The conductor got on her radio and asked if anyone had seen a bag or had one turned into them. I told Paul I bet this was the train and that he should go check the center of all the cars again where he was sitting earlier. A few more burst over the radio and she tells me 'Someone turned in a bag to my boss we'll see if that's it.' A few seconds later Paul came up with his lunch box and thing of tools. Wahoo!!! Don't mean to brag but I knew we were on the right train.

The whole time I was able to keep a distant eye on my car full of kids and a mini schnauzer. As we got to the car Bay unlocked it for us and it was then, as I was getting in, that I realized what I had done. Bay told me that V's son started crying cause he thought we were on the train that pulled away and even when she pointed out to him that they could see us on the train that was still there, it wasn't enough to keep his heart from racing. Are you kidding me, I left three unattended kids in a car in downtown. I will make a great mom!!! Oh I felt just terrible.

We went over the apartment afterwords and waited for their mom's to get home. I told them what happened and apologized like crazy. Staci just laughed as I was telling them about the kids being in no rush to get out of the house and the panic that ensued when they thought we were on the train that left. All she said was 'That sounds about right.'

Time Is Flying So Quickly

I can't believe how fast time is flying by. In just a month, exactly we will be leaving for our new place, all the way over on the east coast. Yep, we got the place we wanted and I'm so excited to get there. There were about a handful of couples that applied for the the place but we got it. Then when we were reading over the contract I had so many questions and the Landlord was very helpful with taking his time to answer all of my questions. I was afraid he would just give up on use and move onto the next people on his list, but he didn't. He said that everyone we called had great things to say about us and went on and on. Not that I think the two of us aren't pretty swell people but then we were racking our brains to remember who we put as referrals and what they could have said. But, it's good to know we've left a good impression with people.

Last week I went in to do the glucose test at my Dr.'s visit. The next day a nurse from the office, luckily not one that I know, told me I failed my test. I can not even tell you how many times she told me 'you failed your test.' Really?? So you are giving me less than great news, could you at least say 'the test came back positive,' that way it doesn't sound so horrible. Well I scheduled my 3 hour glucose test for Monday morning because Paul had a Dr.'s apt in the morning too so they would over lap. When we got to the hospital everyone was telling me that the Dr.'s office never sent down the order so I had to wait until they could, they weren't going to be open for another hour and a half. Aaahhhhh!!!! Well the supervisor for the testing lab said to go ahead and get started so I only started a half hour late. Yesterday I got the news that I passed!!!! Yea!!! I don't exactly know all of what is involved in taking care of gestational diabetes but I really didn't want to have to worry about as we drove all the way across the country.

In a month we are also going to be celebrating our 5th anniversary. Can you believe it five years? It most certainly dose not seem like it has been five years. I couldn't imagine putting them off for school, work or other silly reasons. He has been my best friend and someone I can talk to about anything and everything, no matter what time in the middle of the night I start thinking about things.

In the world of baby news, we have 3 months left as of last Saturday. In 4 1/2 weeks we will be leaving, in 5 1/2 we will be in our new place, Paul starts the Grad program for lighting a week later and 6 weeks after that is my due date. Needless to say our lives are going to change A LOT in the next short little bit. My family has been great examples to me as I have watched them raise their kids, hopefully I can take that and share it with our little angel.

Happy 4th of July!!

The 4th of July has always been a great family holiday growing up. We celebrate our country's independence, my dads birthday and my brothers birthday. We now have a niece to add to the celebration. Paul and I weren't able to make it to last years party but we heard that it was a blast. This year the family went a step further and rented Sumo Suits. Paul was so excited then found out on Sunday afternoon that he was going to have to work the whole day of the 4th {I mean the whole day, 15 hours}. He did get a little break in the middle so he was able to come visit for about 45 minutes. Just long enough to get in the sumo suit and visit with the family!!!

The chase...

The hit...

One of our cutest nieces ever!!!
Her mom made her fun 4th of July dress.

Other activities included Volleyball

...and the slip n' slide in the sumo suit!!

The weather was nice and overcast all day, it was perfect for a huge party in the back yard. We even heard that some who were there turned down their own families to come and spend the day. I love my family and that they can make anyone and everyone feel so welcome!! There were extended family and friends from everyone there, I really couldn't believe how many people showed up. It was so much fun and a great Holiday party to be our last before we leave.