how great are "true" friends?!

priceless.

they just don't come around often enough do they?!

 ... you know the kind that you don't have to see very often, but then when you do everything feels like "home". 

thats how i feel about these two cute girls... 

my two best friends from high school.

i have known holl & have been besties with her since kindergarden

 (even if a few other girls tried to claim her "best friend" title from time to time along the way. ha)

and then i met cole our sophomore year.. and i immediately felt like I had known her all my life. 

the three of us were inseparable..

 

and looking back its funny we found each other and stuck together.. because we didn't have to terribly much in common. all ends of the spectrum really. 

(well, according to what defines you as a person in "high school" anyway!)

holl was always a cheerleader

cole was a dancer

and i played sports

 but maybe that's why it worked.. and has always worked. different enough there has never been competition.. but very similar when it comes to the truly important aspects of life.

whatever it is.. i'm so incredibly grateful to call these cute girls...

"my girls"

happy 27 cole! 

so glad we got to spend part of your birthday with you!

love you!

(cole, me, holl)

Cole's mom, Judy, has always been "MOM" to all us girls... we just love her.

fun to see you today judy.. 

and my statement from when i was 16 still stands about your candy drawer..

"i don't ever want to see this thing empty again!!!"

some of my FAV pictures of the three of us..

(i stole them from your blog judy :) thanks)

we were sophomores here

(cole driving, me in the middle, and holly on the back)

aren't we such natural beauties gazing off in various directions ?!

.. this picture is proof enough of why we couldn't keep the guys away.

gosh we're hot

love you girls.

he's a good one.

yup..

talk'n bout  

my friend.

he was gone all day today, and on his way home he called and told me to get did up.

we went to carinos (our fav), and he had a table in the back reserved for us with flowers, 

a gift (a watch), and all the food hot 'n' ready for us. 

just cute.

 

nights like this remind me of why i feel in love with this cute person

.. and makes me feel like we are dating again..

 i love it. 

i love him.

when i asked him what this was for he said

"well, i guess cuz your pregnant"

ha. 

i'll take it!

he is not perfect, heaven knows i'm not perfect (don't tell him i admitted that :) ha!), our relationship is not perfect, our lives are not perfect..

but we DO love each other, SO MUCH, and that is something to share and celebrate! 

i'm so lucky.. blessed to have this guy. 

****ALSO****

... germany has a BIG BIG BIG day this saturday...

he is taking the LSAT (law school admittance test)

so pretty much.. this saturday will determine where we will be the next 3 years!! 

NO PRESSURE!

he'll do great.. he has studied A TON.. and has done all he can do!

so proud of him already.

wish him (us) luck.. 

we'll NEED it! 

its here..

the bump has definitely arrived.

and other than my pants quickly becoming a BIT .understatement. snug these days.. 

i can't say i mind it too much..

its fun/amazing to physically see and think about her growing everyday

24 weeks...

 &

i'm feeling great.. almost completely over the sickness. 

thank heavens! 

i have more energy now than i have had in MONTHS,

i just might consider a baby #2 someday now that i know i'm going to survive this one :)

lets just say shopping and preparing for baby girls is dangerous business..

SO much fun stuff.. its pretty ridiculous. 

She is moving around like a mad woman, 

& I'm positive I put my husband and my family over the edge with my constant 

"oh oh oh.. come here.. come feel/see her move!"

... i'll enjoy the kicking and moving now because i'm sure in a couple of months that will turn into wanting to spank that bottom of hers for constantly kicking my ribs at all hours of the night, right moms?!

oh yeah.. fun lil tid bit for ya..

i've been blessed with the ..

protruding pregnancy belly button. 

its been a slight adjustment to get use to seeing that pointy little friend through my shirt everyday.

if it sticks out this far when i'm only 24 weeks.. you better watch out when i'm full term..

 it might poke your eye out. not kidding.

it was a merry one!

Christmas '09

It's always a sad.. yet.. in the same sense refreshing feeling to have the season come and go.

I love it while it is here.. there is nothing like it, but after it is over, I always feel a sense of

 "a new beginning" 

 And I LOVE it.

We had a grand ole time with both families this year.. as usual..

and instead of going into the detail of what we did with our families, I wanted to share what my sweet husband did for me this Christmas.

It wasn't an extravagant, expensive gift.. but it was for sure my favorite gift I think I have ever received..

he gave him 2 of these....

One for him, one for me.. 

with a letter inside mine.

In this letter to me, he talked about President Kimball's talk where he encouraged us to get ourselves a new copy of the Book of Mormon at the beginning of every "new calling" we receive. Kimball also encouraged us to focus on that calling specifically every time we read that new copy and to mark, underline, and record feelings right in the book as the spirit speaks and bears witness to us about that calling and various things.  

Jeremy then goes on to say that we are about to embark on

"the most important new, eternal calling we will ever receive"

"parenthood"

.. I can barely see the computer screen as I write this because of the love I have for my sweet person and his example...

his testimony and love for our savior, the gospel, and the Book of Mormon, is one of the very first things I fell in love with about him. 

He also made a calendar marked with how many pages we need to read each night as a couple to finish this copy of the Book of Mormon before our little girlfriend is due to join us.

..what a simple... yet perfect gift for Christmas..  

I have never felt so blessed as I have this Christmas, for so many reasons.

*my husband who is my very best friend

*a baby girl on the way

*my brother, savior, and redeemer's birth, life, example, and infinite sacrifice

*my family and my husbands family

*my health and the health of my family

... how do I even begin to list the blessings I have received and enjoy everyday...

pretty humbling.

snowmobiling at my parents..

Huls Clan on Christmas night

my fam + spouses

its a ZOO when all of us are together. and i love it

as of right now there are 14 adults

14 grandkids

and 2 on the way. 

gotta love the puffy-eyed christmas morning pictures!

I was so bad about taking pictures this christmas.. especially while we were at the Call's!

This is about the only one I got.. 

jeremy with our niece Kamryn.. her new christmas outfit kills me

Hope you all had a very merry one.. 

&

Happy 2010!

can't wait for this year to get roll'n... 

so much to look forward to.

twin falls

we went and saw lace, mr, and jared this past weekend in twin falls

i don't think i have even made the big announcement yet... 

lace is expecting also!!! 

and thats not the best part...

we are due only 2-3 days apart! 

CRAZY. SO FUN! couldn't have planned it better if we would have wanted to!

 

me and laner @ 18 weeks

mr. his facial expressions kill me

jeremy and muner in a target shop'n cart

carinos 

thanks for letting us come! 

love you.

a few pictures..

i was horrible about taking pictures over thanksgiving.. 

but here are a few randoms.. 

jeremy has been fishing with my brothers just about every week since we got back to idaho

i think he's found a long lost passion

i love that he loves it actually

... i told christopher he looked like an idiot with his hate like this.. but who can stop a kid when he's feelin a lil gangsta ?!

(jared-bil, germ, john-bil, christopher-bro)

the camera died right before j caught this 5-6lb-er.. 

so he took it on his phone (hence the horrible blurriness)

he got home about 1:30 in the AM, and couldn't help but wake me up and tell me all about his "big fish story"

another passion of his...

a fruit truffle i made for thanksgiving dinner at the Calls

(layers of cubed angel food cake, white chocolate pudding, whip cream, and fruit)

i didn't get one picture of my family on thanksgiving.. even though we were all together. 

i know... lame.

but this was a few nights before when a few of us were out for dinner

us call girls.. 

did some crafts over thanksgiving. 

nancy had blocks for us to make a count down craft for christmas. SO cute. SO fun.

and i taught them.. or attempted at least.. to teach them to make flower head bands & broaches

its a ...

GIRL!!!

oh boy.. we couldn't be more excited. except we would have been as excited either way.. its just SO RIDICULOUSLY fun to find out and to know. makes it feel so so REAL.

the tech told us she couldn't "guarantee" the gender at 17 1/2 weeks.. but that she has only been wrong 1 time in 6 years, and that she would "definitely" say its a girl. and after seeing the ultrasound and the pictures.. we are VERY confident 

we are having a little girlfriend.

let the shopping begin! 

during the ultrasound we saw HER

*suck on the back of her hand

*cross her feet

*open and close her mouth so wide

*rub her eyes

and heard the heartbeat again

oh my emotions today have been off the charts. 

first, i was SO nervous for some reason to go and find out what we were having.. i know that sounds so silly, because we had NO preference with gender, but i think it was just the reality of knowing if WE were going to have a SON or DAUGHTER. just that sentence alone is so overwhelming.. yet the most exciting thing in the world. 

so palms sweating, we got there.. and heard her tell us it was a girl, i was beyond excited.. and when i get excited mixed with a little bit of nerves.. i laugh (and if you have heard or seen me laugh.. you know its not a petite/quiet giggle).. so you can imagine the ultrasound techs job at this point.. her hand, the wand, and my stomach rapidly bouncing uncontrollably.. making it impossible to see anything on the ultrasound between my "episodes". out of control. one of the greatest experiences of my life though.

after, to celebrate, we went to the SANDWICH TREE (Divine! a huge addiction of mine these days)

while we were there, i looked up at jeremy, and something just hit me.. emotion overload! i buried my deformed crying face in his neck and bawled my eyes out 

(no, we were not the only ones in the restaurant.. what a treat for those spectators!) 

and although many times in my life he has looked at me while i cry for NUMEROUS reasons... sometimes NO reason at all... and i know he wonders what kind of psychotic creature has taken over my face and body... 

he didn't this time. 

he just understood.

he felt it too. 

filled with gratitude, anxiety, excitement, and too many more emotions to put in words about this new stage in our life.

just something that you "feel" together. LOVE those moments.. they don't happen enough between a man and woman do they?! 

priceless. something i will never forget.

what a perfect day. one i will always remember and will record so SHE will know how we felt because of HER.

i love my husband, and couldn't feel more grateful to be able to share this life with him, have and raise children with him, and most importantly be with him, our children, and our families for eternity. what a peaceful, comforting feeling. 

it was a wonderful thanksgiving. 

too blessed and grateful to even put into words.

hope it was the same for all of you.