Baby K Update

The last time we tried to get the baby's heartbeat, it was moving around too much to get an accurate BPM count. And today, when we tried to find out "he or she" the baby was in an odd position which made it rather difficult...makes me wonder how this will translate to it's personality once it's born, it doesn't seem to enjoy performing =)

BUT, from what we could see, there's a 70% chance we'll be having a little boy in just a few months!! When I was first pregnant, I thought it was a girl, but ever since I've been feeling it kick, my intuition has been telling me BOY. My mom, sister, brother-in-law, and Keith all thought from the beginning it was a boy.

We registered today at Babies R Us, but since we aren't 100% sure it's a boy, we registered for green sheets, blankets, etc. Most of the big items we wanted gender neutral anyway, and we figured green goes with blue, pink, or lavender.

The doctor did say the baby is looking great, no problems whatsoever, which I am amazingly grateful for. I already feel so blessed to even be having a baby, sometimes it seems too much to ask for a perfectly healthy one too, but the Lord certainly knows what I can and can't handle.

Summer

We were able to spend a lot of time with my family this summer, and got to do some neat things. I thought I'd put a little post together showing what we were up to during our (unemployed!) summer:


My nephew Tyler got baptized!! He wrote us a "thank you" card a few weeks later, thanking us for coming to his baptism "clear over in Utah". =)

My brother-in-law Mike needed an extra adult to attend scout camp with him, and since we were in town that week, Keith graciously volunteered. He got to go white water rafting, test his skills on a rope course, and mountain biking. He claims he had a blast, and I was proud he did all those adventurous things...he can tend to be very cautious most of the time.

As many of you know, my little sister passed away unexpectedly on July 30. We had a viewing and graveside service for her about a week after she passed, but because of the short notice, some of my siblings could not attend- most of them had already taken time off work, etc., for the family reunion in Bear Lake. My parents decided to hold a memorial service early in September so all her siblings could have the opportunity to remember her.

Keith and I took a short trip down to LA to meet up with my friends Michalle (who lives in Santa Clarita) and Megan (who flew in from Washington state). A big highlight was going to get cupcakes at Sprinkles- they didn't disappoint! I got vanilla with vanilla frosting, Keith got red velvet (their specialty) and we got a pumpkin one to share. It was delicious!!

My parents sold their house a couple weeks ago, and are getting prepared to move to Lindon, Utah sometime in October. They lived in their house in Bakersfield for just over 30 years. It's hard to belive I will probably never come back to the house again, but I am glad Keith and I have been here the past few months. It has been difficult to start packing everything up, but I know my parents will be okay in Utah.

Since the business Keith was going to help start has hit some "speed bumps", we feel it will be best for us to move to Houston for the time being. He is hoping to find a job there to hold us over until the business gets started, or to find something he can do as a career. We have the added stress of the baby coming in January, so we are planning on staying in Houston at least until the baby is born. So, for now, we are busy with downsizing (both ourselves and helping my parents), packing, and the "joys" of pregnancy.

Austin Family Reunion at Bear Lake

At a creek near Minnetonka Cave

Andrew on the playset- he and the other kids LOVED this and spent any time not at the lake outside playing on it.

Burying Andrew in the sand

Keith and the lake, building a sand castle (a popular activity during the week)

The amazing view from our cabin

The Letter

A letter that Glenn Beck read on air today, which I completely agree with. The woman who wrote it had a suggestion that people mail this to the White House, just like with the teabags. It's a little long, but I feel like it hits the nail on the head.

GLENN: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona. She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership:
I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?
Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.
Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.
Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.
Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.
Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!
Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.
Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.
Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?
Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.
Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.
Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.
I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.
From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.
We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when hewill rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.
Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/26742/

Playing Catch-Up

Just a little update on what's been going on the last couple months.

Keith graduated from UVU in Technology Management with an emphasis in Construction Management. Since the construction industry isn't doing too well these days, after applying for over 100 jobs, Keith was unable to find anything. However, some friends from school in the same boat had an idea for starting a business, and asked Keith to participate. Since we had nothing else, we took them up on their offer. Unfortunately, they won't start work until August, so for now, we are staying with my parents in Bakersfield.


I was able to get a temp-hire job as a receptionist at a company that processes credit card payments. It's quite boring, and pays minimum wage, but without rent to pay, it's helping us meet our monthly bills. Keith just yesterday acquired a job doing customer service for a small appliance company. Again, it's not what he wants to do forever, but it should help us save enough to move in August, as the business he is helping to start will be based out of San Diego.

Much to our surprise, we found out that I am pregnant. We have been trying for 2 years, and haven't started any super fun fertility treatments yet, so we were really shocked that it happened without much outside intervention. It's actually good timing, since even though Keith doesn't have a career yet, he is at least done with school, and can work full time.

We went to the doctor today and were able to hear the heartbeat, and to determine I'm about 12-14 weeks. My due date right now is anywhere from December 11th to December 25th. I'm hoping to get an ultrasound soon to get a more definitve time line. We're waiting for all the fun Medi-Cal paperwork to go through, so we paid for the first appt. out of pocket, so we had to miss out on the ultrasound this time around (it was and extra $300!). It's still a little difficult to give in completely to the excitement since I've had a miscarriage before, and after trying for so long, it's really hard to get my hopes up too high. Hearing the heart beat helped, but I guess I have what you could call an "infertility complex."

Overall, we are enjoying our time in California, as we realize we may not be here long. For the record, here is the video of Keith walking across the stage for his diploma, just as further proof. =) It's not super great quality, as I just recorded it on our little digital camera, but you should be able to hear his name at least.

Easter

For Easter, we went to my brother Shawn's house for dinner, and for Keith to meet Baby Kate. Nothing too exciting, but the food and company were great.

We also made a final decision to move to Texas May 3rd, so Keith can continue his job search there. I gave my notice at work today, so if anyone in the American Fork UT area is looking for a GREAT full time job, let me know so I can recommend you! I will really miss my co-workers, and especially the atmosphere of my job.

I'm going to miss my family, and I'm especially saddened by the idea that some of my nieces and nephews here won't remember Keith- it may be a while before we'll get to be able to go back to UT or CA. I just hope the ones that are old enough to remember us remember that we are the "cool" aunt and uncle!!

My Newest Niece- Baby Kate

Tyler re-creating his face when Kate was first born...

Baby Kate, just 45 minutes old.