Gratitude: Day 5

The Generosity of Others

The nights are only getting colder here which means the apartment is getting colder too. I couldn't think of Abigail having another freezing cold night so I got in touch with someone in the ward. After a couple of phone calls we had a place to stay. This family has only been here a few months longer than us and I couldn't put a face with the name. But they opened their home to us and were great enough to let us bring Bentley. If he was a bigger dog with more fat on him I would have been fine to leave him at home by himself, but he's only about 12 lbs and would freeze at night. The kids have enjoyed having dog to play with and we all know Bentley loves kids. Which is great because it looks like we will be spending another night out of our place and they have invited us back.

How else could you move to a place and not know a single person but still feel so at home and like family!?! This ward has been truly wonderful and so great to help us out in so many ways.

Gratitude: Day 4

UConn Theatre Peeps

This week with the power being out we needed to find some way to stay warm. Paul invited Abigail, Bentley and Me to come hangout at the Grad Lab this week. Of course we were hoping it was only going to be a day or two but as it turns out we have gone up to the school every day since Tuesday.

I wasn't planning on taking Abigail to the school until next semester when she would be a bit older and the fall cold and flu season would be well behind us. Everyone was great to not get all touchy-feely with her and when she slept they left her alone. Between staying home and keeping away from strangers or going to the University where there are tons of people but warmth, I chose the lesser of the two evils.

The other Grad students have been so great to let us stay there. I have even heard from others that they would never feel comfortable enough to go hangout at their significant others department. I have not had a chance to meet anyone yet so I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, but everyone was so great!!!

Gratitude: Day 3

My Sister

I have had my heart set on breast feeding sense before we ever found out that we were going to be having a baby. It's just something I have always wanted to do, thought would come so naturally and be great to do for the baby and me. As it turns out Lady A. doesn't like to eat that way. To try and help her work through it we have had her tongue clipped and I have been finger feeding her so she can get used to the skin to skin feel of nursing. With the power out and momma at the end of her rope, I was thinking it was time to go to the bottle, but was having a hard time with that idea. I know a lot of people use the bottle and formula, my own niece and nephew did but for some reason I'm having a hard time with the idea now that I'm faced with it.

Out of the blue my sister called me and after a long chat I felt a lot better. I haven't taken her off of the finger feeding we have been doing just yet because it's only been one day since we went to the Dr. to clip her tongue so we need to at least try but I'm not sure how much longer the two of us will last.

Thanks for the call Sis. I really needed that!!!

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.