Catch up on Summer Events

I'm a little behind on things, so here's a summary of events.

• July 18-22, 2012 Sunriver Reunion!

-We stayed in two, big houses in this fun resort town. We spent our time walking around the mall, visiting goodies (a notorious candy and ice cream shop), playing family games, and performing skits. We even saw deer and some racoons in the back yard! All the kids had a lot of fun swimming at the pool and in the river near by.

-Right before the reunion, I went in for a routine glucose test. I do not have gestational diabetes, but I did find out that I've become slightly anemic from pregnancy and my platelets are a bit low. That explains why I've been so tired! I've started to load up on leafy greens, and I've been taking iron pills.

• July 26 Flight to SLC

-I flew to SLC to stay with my Mom, Patrice, and Alan in Preston, ID at my grandparents house while my Mom prepared for the wedding. It was a really long three weeks away from Scott. I wish it were possible to be with the people we love all at the same time, but Scott needed to work. Plus, we didn't have the money to fly me back and forth a lot. But it was nice to see my family and help with the wedding.

• July 28 Hale Reunion at Uncle Nathan's Ranch in Grace, Grandma Louise's 75th Birthday Celebration

• August 10th Naomi's (a family friend) Sealing and Reception at the Bountiful Temple

• August 11th Becca's Endowment at the Logan Temple

-http://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/endowment?lang=eng&letter=e

-http://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/seal-sealing?lang=eng

-Becca's endowment was a very special experience. Mom and Dad were married in the Logan, UT temple, so it was neat for Becca to be endowed there! I've included a link explaining a little more about what endowments and sealings are.

• August 18th Alan's Sealing at the SLC temple and Reception at the Wight House

-It was amazing to see Alan and Becca get sealed for time and all eternity! I've seen Alan yearning for his eternal companion the last couple of years, and I'm so happy that he's finally found his love! It was a pretty hot day, but at least it didn't rain. There were about 180 weddings that day in the SLC temple. Crazy! When Scott and I got married, I think there were only about half that much. Becca looked beautiful. I'll post pics of them later.

• August 19th-20th Moving Our Stuff from Idaho

-Scott and I left our stuff in Rexburg, ID when we graduated in December while we were figuring things out. We decided to take advantage of being near Rexburg during the wedding to move our stuff where we are now living in Vancouver, WA near Scott's family. Sunday we took the Salt Lake Express up to Rexburg, ID and relaxed in the AmericInn. The next morning we hired movers to load up our u-haul and drove 11-12 hours to Vancouver, Washington.

-We had a brief set back with the u-haul though. We were just about to walk across the street to rent out our u-haul after eating breakfast when the u-haul company called us and said that our truck was at a different store across town. Of course, they didn't know that Scott and I were without transportation. So for the first time in my life, I became a hitch hiker, lol. We were walking along while I stuck my thumb out. I have to say it was one of the stranger things I've done especially while waddling along being pregnant. But hey, who can resist a pregnant woman in her seventh month? We ended up getting a ride from a nice, elderly gentlemen who simply laughed at us when we opened the door. 

-Besides this little adventure, everything went smoothly. We dropped off our old love seat at Alan and Becca's new apartment, made a trip to the bank, and I got to purchase a few blankets for Baby Asher from Porter's Craft store that I absolutely love. I have no idea where else to find these blankets, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy a few. They come in a package with the blanket pre-sewn and punched all around the edge to allow for a beautifully crocheted edge. I just finished one of them. I'll have to post a few pictures of all the blankets I've made. My nesting urge may have caused me to go a little overboard, lol.

• The Latest News

-Everything is going great with Scott's work at Sherwin Williams. He just interviewed with a recruiter this week, and he should be getting a call soon from the next man up. So if all goes well, he should be getting into the MTP (Management Training Program) soon. This will allow us to move out of his parent's house. They have been so kind to have us! When we were moving our stuff into Rachel (Scott's sister) and Dave's basement, which they have lovingly let us do for the next month, Rachel told us about a really promising duplex near their neighborhood. It has a garage and backyard for the same price as the two-bedroom apartments we were looking at, so we're pretty interested. Anyway, if all goes well, we should be able have a little home ready for baby Asher before he comes along. Keep us in your prayers!

-Pregnancy has treated me relatively well. I've had trouble with my tail bone the last few weeks. It was bruised about ten years ago when I was tubing down the bear river, but it never really bothered me that much before now. It's just really aggravated from all that extra pressure I guess. Luckily, allergy season has passed, so I don't have to deal with horrible allergy symptoms anymore. I could only take one pill of the not-so-strong stuff once a day which hardly did anything for me. I basically had to stay inside all the time to get any relief. Also, the topical acne medication, which is safe during pregnancy versus oral pills, I got about a month ago has tamed my pregnancy breakouts. I hardly have to apply it anymore. I don't have any stretch marks......yet, but a lot could happen in the next two months, lol. I can't believe I'm going to get even bigger! Arghhh! But this little man is worth it. I am looking forward to being done though. As I've said before, I will have been pregnant for a year by the time we have Baby Asher because of our previous miscarriage. Even though my body has gone through a lot of hormonal ups and downs, I feel so blessed to have a healthy, little guy kicking around! It feels so much more real than it ever did before. I can't believe that we will be parents in the next few months! Should I feel nervous? Where is this all-consuming calm coming from? I'm not even scared of labor pain! I used to be terrified of the idea all growing up, but now all my motherly instincts must be kicking in. Or I'm just ready to have this little guy out of me, lol. Anyway, this was a really long blog post. Hopefully, I will be able to keep up with things better from now on.

4th of July Festivities!

Here's how our 4th of July Festivities went this year:


-Fireworks at the Prices the night before

Marzee's parents invited us all out to their neighborhood block party. Everyone was dancing in the streets, and the grand finale of the whole party ended with a bang, amazing professional fireworks, courtesy of the neighborhood pulling their funds together (free for us :)). They were a bit too close for my ears. I kept my ears plugged the whole time.

The most momentous thing about this night for us was that Scott was able to feel the baby kick for the first time. He's been wanting to feel him kick for so long that I had stopped telling him sometimes when Asher was kicking. It just disappointed him when he couldn't share in the joy, so it really made me happy that Scott could finally feel him. Now, he is constantly asking me, "How's baby doing?" It makes me laugh that he likes how pregnancy is changing my body. He says he can't wait until I'm bursting and waddling. He says I'm cute, and I think it's cute that he likes my pregnant figure even though I'm looking forward to having my body back to myself :). My visiting teacher was surprised when I made this comment until I mentioned our miscarriage. This has been my year-long pregnancy :).

-Hike in the morning with Jon and Rick Dyers while everyone else was swimming at the Mays

This Eaglecreek hike was gorgeous. I love how green and lush it is here. It ended with a beautiful creek and waterfall to greet us.

-Barbecue in Mom and Dad Dyer's backyard

The flag made of fruit kabobs was a simple, fun idea I found on pinterest, which I'm becoming more addicted to every day. Baby James sported his cute little 4th outfit, which said "Baby's First 4th". So adorable!

-Adorable baby birds in Mom Dyer's front porch, fuscia plant

This is just a random July note. I was going to try to get a pic with their beaks up, but they have already grown up and flown away since yesterday.

It's All Down Hill from Here

This week marks the half-way point in my pregnancy! Yeah! I'm starting to feel little pulses/bubbles/flutters (whatever you call them :)), and Scott is feeling jealous. I think it's funny when he says it's not fair. What could be more fair than a pregnant women feeling her baby (lol)? Soon enough my dear.

Not much has been going on besides the fact that Scott started his job (that has room for growth) at Sherwin Williams, a paint shop. We are breathing a sigh of relief that we will soon be on our own again. As much as we love our parents, does it not pronounce in the good book for a man and women to cleave unto each other? We are very grateful for the support we have had from our families. They have been so kind and supportive during this hard time. We did hear back from another company that wants to further the interview process, but we are being careful not to take risks right now. Independence is the most important object in mind right now for us.

Because I am in what I like to call "the waiting period" (a time where I can't really get a job but am a bit bored with waiting for the baby to grow up already :)), I've been working on a few projects.

This is an afghan I made for my mom for mother's day. Mom Dyer got me started. It was pretty simple once I got the hang of it. The ruffle is my favorite part. I like it better than strands. You can see the purple color better in the close-up photo.

This is one of the humanitarian quilts I made for a RS project. I made one other that I didn't get a picture for. The reason they are so small is because they are for people who are grieving over babies they have lost at the hospital. The blankets are used to wrap the babies for the funeral procedures. This project was healing for me, having gone through a miscarriage myself. The whole package, along with the blankets, is a very thoughtful idea because many people are not prepared for such an experience.

I got this off of thechew.com. It is Martina McBride's Zucchini & Mozzarella Tart. It is delicious! Scott loved it. It has sundried tomatoes, goat cheese, and half-and-half. Go to my pinterest page under comfort food for the recipe, or just go to their website. It doesn't have any meat in it, but it is still undoubtedly a comfort food. Yum!

These cookie dough truffles are becoming a tradition for us. Scott absolutely loves them and asks me to make them any chance he gets. I made these for Rachel's baby shower this week. Little James Mark Keller will be Asher James Dyer's (we are almost certain that will be his name) playmate. Rachel says they will be James twins. How fun. Scott likes the name Asher, and I chose James in remembrance of James Michael, my stillborn brother. Anyway, these truffles are the best! I found them on theidearoom.net (thanks to Jessica Clark), and I also have them posted on my pinterest page. So fun!

Our Baby Boy

It's a boy! At 18 weeks, we finally know whether to use purple or green (not that Scott cares much for the decor, lol). It was so amazing to meet our little miracle for the first time. I felt the joy of having our baby increase today as the sadness from our first loss heals. I don't know if I will ever get rid of this silly paranoia that something will go wrong after our first experience. But after seeing our precious little boy, my heart is filled with gratitude for our many blessings. My head is reeling, "Wow, this is really real! All of this discomfort has been worth it! What a bundle of joy!"

The ultrasound tech kept referring to the baby as "he" when he first started measuring everything, and I asked him if that meant it was a boy. He was like, "Well, I don't want to call him an it, but I'll check if you like." Scott and I were thinking, "Well, yeah!" Later, I asked him how sure he was, and he made a point to show me our little one's "parts" very specifically so that I would not doubt him. I think he was a little offended at my dubious attitude, but I wanted to know how sure he was after hearing nightmare stories of buying clothes for the opposite gender.

I should also mention that I seem to have a case of ultrasound giggles. For my vaginal ultrasound at 7 weeks, I was landed with an oriental women with a thick accent and a total lack of social graces. She was a very serious soul, and I didn't feel very comfortable with her to say the least. Anyway, the clinic had me drink a ton of water, so that they could try to use the normal ultrasound. When she started using it, she said very frankly, "You're bladder is very big" in her thick accent. Once I got started, I couldn't stop laughing, and the situation was only made worse by her serious demeanor and stiff posture while telling me to calm down. This time the nurse, ultrasound tech, and doctor that attended me made me feel far more comfortable, but I still started laughing at a joke the tech said. As soon as I started giggling, I gasped, "Oh no!" I kept saying I'm sorry, but Scott made it worse because he couldn't stop laughing at me. Luckily, this whole scenario ended more quickly than the first time because the tech had a good attitude about it. Oh the woes of pregnancy! :)

Teuscher Family Reunion (Memorial Day Weekend)

For memorial day weekend, Scott and I went down to Reedsport, Oregon with Scott's parents for the Teuscher (from Mom Dyer's side of Scott's family) reunion. We stayed in a deluxe yurt (which is kind of like a mix between a cabin and a tent), played in the dunes, went crabbing, and savored a viewpoint with tons of sea lions and seals.

 This beautiful lily pond was on our short hike to the dunes.

 All our little nieces and nephews were so excited to make the climb!

I snapped this shot when we went crabbing off the dock. While everyone else was pursuing crabs, I was running around trying to get glimpses of four or five sea lions swimming around. Scott was laughing at how excited I was, not having grown up near the coast.

Five Pregnancy Side Effects

1. Weird Dreams/Dreams Period

I never have dreams. People always talk about these amazing dreams they have, and I rarely wake up remembering a dream if I have them at all. Lately, I've been waking up to the most random dreams ever. In one, a neighbor had a pet leopard who wouldn't take it's claws off of me. The neighbor said it was harmless. The leopard just kept it's claws on my head without tearing into me, lol. Scott wasn't very happy that he was in the dream standing by doing nothing when he would rather be an amazing ninja or something. Today, I was crafting with my cousins and lending them materials. Random!


2. Pregnant Zits

I never really struggled with acne very much as a teenager. This must be karma! I hope the dermatologist can help me next week!


3. Going Number 1 is my number one priority

You know how you can usually hold yourself pretty long usually. Not so! I'm physically in pain if I try to do that. I'm not loving being at the beck and call of my bladder and my stomach, lol.


4. Not Loving Cooking

I've always enjoyed cooking nice meals for my family, but it really doesn't appeal to me right now. I guess I'll chalk it up to the overwhelming smells of the kitchen and the fatigue. My poor husband misses the old me.

5. Tired Tired Tired

I'm not throwing up, and I'm not really that nauseous besides having a sensitivity to smells. But I am really fatigued all the time. Just like with the bladder thing, I can't just ward off sleepiness. It is an unyielding force that whomps me every time. Sleeping is no longer a choice. I could doze off at the super market :).

Time for an Update

Well, I haven't really felt like writing anything lately because not much has been going on. Yesterday, I organized all of my photos on my computer because I don't want them to be in a tangled mess twenty years from now. It's best to keep things labeled and organized as we go along. I realized that I have kept a better record of Alan's birthdays than our birthdays, lol.

So from now on, I'm going to make sure that I record what we did and take a few more pictures. On my 23rd birthday this year, April 12th, we went to Leonardo's Pizzeria, where Scott used to work, and we saw The Vow, an extremely good chick flick. Scott gave me a dozen roses, a romantic card, and a gift card for a nook book from Barnes and Noble. Also, Rachel bought me some really pretty, pink flowers. Even though I'm really not getting that much older, my mind is still thinking that I'm 21 or 22. Next year, I'll be 24! Weird :).

Baby is coming along. The due date keeps getting switched on us though, which has been a bit frustrating. Last week, we went in for our first doctor's appointment, and she said that I was eleven weeks instead of thirteen. I guess the secretary who sent me the letter made a typo. That news hit me a bit harder than the doctor seemed to understand. It's really only 10 days difference, but for me it meant so much more than that to get past the first trimester after having had a miscarriage. I've been going through one long first trimester between getting to eleven weeks before, miscarrying on Dec. 5th, and now doing the whole process all over again. So yeah, my hormones are a little whacked. To know that our baby is going to be okay is so important to us. On a better note, we got to hear the heartbeat, which was so exciting. It sounded so strong and clear, and it was really freaky to hear a heartbeat from my abdomen. It's also kind of cool to see the beginnings of a little bump forming. I'm really excited for the baby to grow more, as funny as that may sound, because I will get to feel more physically the vigorous life kicking around down there. My due date is now October 29th, and I'm 12 weeks along. I'm hoping for a November baby because I'm not sure about Halloween birthdays.

We have a lot to be grateful for in our lives. We've earned college degrees without accruing hardly any debt. We have a great marriage, and we have a baby on the way. Even though the miscarriage was very hard on us, I'm grateful for the fact that we are able to conceive quickly. Despite all that we have to be grateful for, since December, the last few months have been the most challenging of our marriage. This isn't meant to be a dramatic statement, but it's true. I think it's mainly due to the face of the compounding of many things at once (miscarriage, not getting into master's programs, trying to find employment, living with our parents and not having our own home (as much as we love them), depression/hormone issues etc.). I think the last time I went through this much was when my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. It has been the first real trial period of our marriage, but it has definitely made us stronger. We have learned a lot from these experiences. But things look like they are going to turn around for us very soon, so keep your fingers crossed.

Love to all,


Clarissa