One AMAZING thing after another!

So right now is the BEST time in our life together because...

1. We are now temple worthy! We got our recommend to go do baptisms!! :]

Neither one of us have been able to go to the temple since sophomore year in high school! Yay yay yay!

2. Mike gets his Melchizedek Priesthood in 11 DAYS!! 

Obviously this is a huge deal because it means that he can now baptize me in the temple, bless our baby boy, give me and anyone else blessings and stand in Priesthood circles!! I'm so proud of him!

3. We are going to be getting our endowments in about a month!!

We are currently going to a temple prep class and our teacher wants to meet with us privately to have a discussion about the temple and then the bishop will give us our recommend to get our endowments! :) I can't wait to go!

4. Our OFFICIAL Sealing date is October 19th, 2010! About 11 days before Milo's due date! :]

Let's hope he's not early! ;)

There is just so much happening in our life right now that is going the right direction. I have one thing right after another to look forward to! LOVE IT!

Its a...

Its a Boy!!!
We've decided his name to be..
Milo Morgan Sage <3
Ultrasound pictures coming soon!

What wonderful sunshine! :]

So lots has happened recently that has changed my life significantly..
First, a few weeks ago (I think.. I have a horrible memory & sense of time), we were tested to our very limits. Only the strong survived! My cousin's mother-in-law was moving to Missouri to live with them, but we weren't expecting to help. Not only were we not expecting to help but we had no idea how MUCH help was needed! So my mom, Jon, and I all loaded up and head over on Saturday to help where we could.
We walk in to the house and not a single thing was packed and ready to move.. They were supposed to be leaving that night with a huge moving van full of stuff.. It was such an overwhelming feeling I can't even explain. BUT there was definitely a higher power going on because nobody's hearts were even permitted to feel emotionally overwhelmed the entire time! Ok except mine.. but I'm pregnant and there's only so much I can control!
After working myself way too hard and lifting way too much.. Saturday was over. Unfortunately though, we were barely half way through PACKING the house.. not moving it. So the next day is Sunday, Mike's only day off for the last 2 weeks.. Guess what he does? He sacrificed his entire day to lifting and straining his bad knee and back and rolling his ankle.. I have THE most amazing husband ever..
I personally was so bitter at first and didn't want to help at all but once I got over myself.. it ended up being a very nice experience that was very rewarding for both Mike and I.
Second, through all the craziness of the moving weekend, my Mom, Jon, Mike and I all made time to go to the last night of the Manti Pageant. This was especially special for Mike and I because last year Mike and I were dating when we went and that is where he prayed about whether I was the girl he should marry and he was immediately overcome by overwhelming positive feelings and he knew I was the one.. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and I knew.. because he was the one and I felt the same way. :) Cute little moments!
Third, of course the 4th of July weekend just passed! That was an adventure in and of itself! On Saturday the 3rd, Mike got off work at NOON which was so amazing! He hadn't taken a day off since before the moving weekend, so he seriously needed it! We both got all dressed up and were going to see Toy Story 3. We get to the theater and we have to buy tickets to a show that started 2 hours later because it was all sold out.
So, being the young immature couple that we are, we goofed around all day together. It was so.. perfect. It felt like I was seeing him for the first time and I was so in love all over again! We needed a really cute day like that. :) We went to Nordstrom Cafe and got Pomegranate Sparkling Lemonade and went to Best Buy and found a parking spot for PREGNANT WOMEN! Yeah I'm not lying! Here's proof!

We went to Toy Story 3 finally and sat by a super nice lady that had an ADORABLE little baby girl on her lap. She started making conversation and when I implied that I was expecting (of course nobody would ever say anything about someone being prego without knowing first..) she was so excited and was telling us how much fun it is to be parents and to enjoy quiet movies now while we still can.. :) And we definitely did!
After the movie, we went to see the PG fireworks for the 4th of July. We went to the Jr High, where they were launching from, so we could get underneath them and lay down and look straight up at them! It was really romantic snuggling up to my honey after such an AMAZING date earlier that day UNTIL a firework platform tipped over and things started getting scary..
At first, the fireworks were launching straight to the side, which wasn't harming anyone, it was just facing the other fireworks. Well, apparently that was worse because it knocked a lot of firework platforms in multiple directions. Then all of a sudden 3 or 4 fireworks, one right after another, started spraying across the audience that was close to where we were. Mike tackled me with the stadium blanket over me telling me to stay down. My mom and Jon were frantically getting people to lay down so nobody would get hurt.
Then, the biggest firework, you know the ones that explode in the air and don't sparkle on the way there, it launched right at some girls to our left, maybe 50 feet away. It scared us so bad and we thought they were going to keep shooting bigger, more dangerous fireworks into the crowd, that we RAN out of there!
Come to find out, the two girls are okay, one had a huge bruise from where the firework actually hit her leg. And the other girl was having a hard time hearing from it exploding inches from her face. SCARY! I know right.. I'm a little sensitive about fireworks now.. :S
Anyhoo!  
Fourth, Sunday was actually the 4th and instead of being good and going to church, Mike and I were so exhausted that we had our own little ritual. We got the blankets and pillows, went to Battlecreek Park down the road from us, and laid under the cloudy sky and took a nap, talked and smooched. :] Best Sunday School Lesson ever if you ask me! ;)
Sunday evening, we went up to Jon's parents for a 4th of July BBQ where I had the best hamburger I've ever had in my life.. Holy Cow! It was a blast, as usual. When Mike and I got home, everyone else had gone to bed and we started watching True Blood Season 2.. yeah we're junkies. We were only gonna watch maybe 1 or 2 episodes and then go to bed but no.. we watched the entire season.. :] We stayed up until 4 in the morning.. The. Best. Night. Of. My. Life... Ok one of them :]
Mike and I have been on this romantic high this weekend.. If you're married and reading this, you understand that its normal to not have this happen a lot and when it does happen, it really is a romantic high! We would sit and look into each others eyes and not help but kiss and kiss and kiss just like we were discovering our feelings for each other for the first time! It was so perfect.
Fifth, Monday comes around. Mike doesn't work YAY!! We spend most of the day recovering from our lack of sleep hangover and relaxing. Monday night my mom makes dutch oven dinner, Barbeque Chicken & Rice. YUMMM!! Dutch oven rules. We had Ann's family over too and it was just awesome :) I love girl chit chat with my mom and aunt. Its like I have two amazing moms! :)
Sixth, Well now its today and some exciting things that are going on is we are getting all ready to go on VACATION!!! We are borrowing Jon's parents RV and going camping up Granite Flats tomorrow through Saturday! I am so beyond excited to get away and relax and continue this romantic high with Mike. ALSO, tomorrow we are finding out the gender of our little sweet pea! :]

VERY exciting time in our life right now :) I am loving every moment.

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5 months Pregnant, 1 year together, & 7 1/2 months married!

So I am officially 5 months pregnant (aka 20 weeks) and already I'm feeling some MAJOR changes that actually make me think that I am pregnant after all!! Yes I was having doubts.. Anyone who has ever experienced first trimester of pregnancy will understand.
The first difference: My bloated belly is now FIRM! And its now pooching in an attractive shape not just muffin top.. :)
The second difference: And my favorite difference.. I can feel baby moving all the time. This is by far the most special and incredible feeling I've ever known to date! Its so magical I can't even begin to explain. Being a first time mother and all, I'm definitely enjoying the little things that I'm feeling different every day as I get farther along in pregnancy.
Mike and I went to my mid-pregnancy ultrasound last week to find out if the baby is healthy, the gender etc. Don't get excited because thats exactly what we did and it was kind of a bummer. Yes it was absolutely amazing seeing the movement that was happening as I was experiencing it, but of course I was bummed that our little one was squatting right over their boyish/girly parts.
Stubborn at such a young age, yipee! :)
I have to remind myself that it wasn't a complete letdown since we did get to see the little face and hands and toes.. It made us both cry :) And everyone we've shown it to as well!
I am trying to get the energy to get cute enough to take belly bump pics but its tough! But I promise I will! And I'll get the ultrasound pictures on here somehow!

On the subject of exciting news.. Mike and I had our first interview with our new bishop!! (who is awesome by the way) We love love love our new ward and all of the amazing people we've met so far. We were welcomed like new family members from day one and seriously.. who doesn't need that kind of acceptance in a new ward??
We talked to our bishop about our goal of getting sealed before the baby is born, around our 1 year anniversary and he made it sound like if we stayed on track, that would be possible!! For so long, getting sealed was a goal in my far far away future. You know what I'm talking about.. the kind of goals you make but never really think you'll ever see happen. Kinda like winning a million dollars.. But guess what?? This is so much BETTER than winning $1,000,000 and its so much more real than that now and I am SO excited for that day to come!
Mike and I also took the Sacrament on Sunday for the first time since we've known each other. We asked our bishop when we could start and he said NOW! Take it Sunday!! All I have to say is, Bread and water has never tasted so good.. Mike agrees :)

Yay more exciting news!!
Mike and I both have been qualified for pell grants AND student loans to go to school this August!!
I, of course, am going to do online classes. I don't really wanna run around campus 7, 8, 9 months prego. And Mike is still deciding if he's going to take real classes or do online with me. I'm going to take tons of different kinds of classes and see what I am good at. It has been 3 years since high school and I need the refreshers! Anywho, we are thrilled to be able to say that we are OFFICIALLY going :)

I've never been so happy. I know what you're thinking.. "Alecia, everyone writes on their newlywed blogs and says how perfect their lives are and how much happier they are than anyone else.." Was I close??
Well I'm not going to pretend our life together is perfect. We have a lot of work to do, but we're excited for the rocky roads, the humbling moments, and the blessings that come from working our a$$es off for something we love. And that's how Alecia "C's" it. ;)

A whole lotta love!

Today I want to show my appreciation for my incredible companion in life. My husband.

Mike and I started "hanging out" last March and quickly fell for each other. Granted some of us were more open about it and some of us were a little more nervous about it.. I won't name names here.. ;)

May 27th was the day we stopped playing the guessing game and dedicated ourselves to each other as a couple. I remember that the first thing we wanted to do was make it official on facebook cuz we were so excited about it haha yeah we're still kids. :) And you know if you are our facebook friends right now, you would do the same thing so don't even laugh.

The first thing I noticed and loved about Mike was how much he had become my teddy bear. At first he was my shoulder to cry on when I was getting over myself and then he developed into my best friend and confidant. Our relationship went from acquaintance, to friendship, to deep unconditional love in about 2 months. Hey! When you hang out with the same person every spare minute you have, you tend to get to know them pretty fast! It was pretty natural that since our life together was so fast paced, the next step(s) happened rather quickly. 3 months later we were engaged. 2 months later we were married. Now we have been married for 6 months and I am 3 months pregnant! We are awesome at making things happen in no time. :) I couldn't be happier. Some people date for years before they are engaged and then are engaged for years after that! When you know you want to be with someone for the rest of your life, why take extra time to get there? Mike and I had both prayed about if we were doing the right thing and we both got overwhelmingly powerful answers that we were doing the right thing! I couldn't have asked for a better husband and a better life right now. 

We are both so excited and nervous to start a family and have a little one around the house. :) Of course I am absolutely thrilled! :) I keep having dreams that its a beautiful baby girl but that could just be wishful thinking. Mike tells everyone he wants a little boy but when we picked out our names for both, his heart melted at the thought of having a little daddy's girl. She is so gonna have him wrapped around her perfect little finger. :)
I am so blessed to be able to write about this and how happy we are together because, trust me, the first year is definitely the hardest and we definitely feel the heat sometimes! Thank goodness we remember the end goal and don't let contention rule our lives. It took a lot of practice!

Mike and I are very excited and anxious to meet our little one and are enjoying all of our quiet moments together before that happens. Here's to you babe. To another 6 months, 6 years, and beyond! I love you.

This is what change looks like??

I am beyond scared for the future of humanity right now.. I hope I'm not alone and I hope someone else out there is thinking the same thing. We are SO living in the final dispensation you guys.. Lets review..
Earthquake in Haiti
Earthquake in Chili
Earthquake in Japan
Earthquake in Turkey
For the First time in history, a bill was passed without the voters being able to read the 2700 page bill! House representatives said "Yes Obama, we trust you with whatever so here's our votes!" The only thing we knew about this bill was that it would be giving health insurance to millions of Americans. But who are we talking about covering here? People who don't work. NOT people that CAN'T work, but people who are capable and who just don't. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of Americans that deserve health insurance and work hard for it and just can't get it any other way, but how do you separate those people from the people who will be completely dependent on government programs and rob the working America? Guess what? You don't! There is no difference anymore! Meaning if you have a job and try to feed your family the old-fashioned way, you will also be feeding family A and family B and family C who don't work the old-fashioned way and just sit back and take advantage of the "Obama plan". Now that THAT is out of the way, if you're still comfortable with this bill passing read on.
Its called a single-payer-system. For someone who doesn't fully comprehend this concept, it means, in a nut shell, that the government will have CONTROL over ALL health care when before they had ZERO control over health care. There are a couple of things that this bill has in store for our country..
1. The government will have COMPLETE CONTROL over 1/6th of the country's entire economy. (But they've been doing a great job keeping us out of debt before right?? Maybe they just need all this power to prove themselves.. gag)
2. When you buy your federally mandated, IRS enforced - either by penalty of a fine or imprisonment - health care insurance you may be buying from an insurance company that will donate a portion of what you spend for your insurance to a special fund to help pay for abortions. It is now mandatory that certain insurance carriers provide a portion of what you pay them for health care coverage to a special abortion fund – Stupak’s hastily scribbled hall pass aside, this is now law.
3. There is no special fund for Breast Cancer
4. There is no special fund for Heart Disease
5. There is no special fund for Diabetes or MS
6. There is ONLY a special fund to pay for abortions
7. Tanning? Apparently Democrats want us all to be pasty for some reason…if you frequently use tanning salons, you will pay a 10% excise tax.
8. Pharmaceutical companies will be allowed to pass a $3 billion annual fee on to you, the consumer, in the form of more expensive drugs and medication.
9. About those fines – Citizens who don’t purchase insurance would be subject to a fine of $325 in 2015 and $695 in 2016. Individuals may be subject to a charge equal to as much as 2.5 percent of their income in 2016.
10. The Medicare program will see $500 billion in cuts to its program along with the Medicare tax being raised.
11. Doctors and hospitals will receive less compensation than they do now to control revenue streams.
12. Here’s a really sneaky tax “increase” – if you itemize your tax returns, the deductible for medical expenses will change. You will only be allowed to deduct medical expenses in excess of 10% of your adjusted gross income. Currently that number is 7.5%.

There are so many more random taxes that will go into place that I just don't have the patience to type right now. If you think this bill is the right thing to do after reading all the facts presented, that's really frightening.
All I can say is to my fellow Latter-Day Saints, What has the prophet and his apostles been telling us for YEARS now?? Food storage! Pay your tithing! I, especially right now, am starting to get scared into doing those things. Who knows what a loaf of bread will cost in the next year.. My prayer is that we stay close to what matters.

Counting my Blessings!!

Well probably the most obvious blessing that Mike and I have received lately is the fact that our baby is healthy and growing! :) But besides that here's a little list of things I need to remember more so I can stop feeling sorry for myself. :)
1. My amazing husband that will go to any store and get anything my little pregnant self desires. ( This is a blessing but also a curse. Sometimes I shouldn't eat oreo shakes after every meal.. But I love you sweetheart! )

2. TRUE friends that are supportive, and honest. MOST importantly honest. I'm especially thankful today for Kelsi for the sweetest texts I've probably ever seen, and for Beth who wants our babies to be besties and for including me and my little one in her and her little one's life. I love you both and you have both seriously boosted my spirits today. :)

3. SUNSHINE! Holy crap am I solar-powered sometimes. I get depressed and tired and lame when it doesn't shine. And this morning, my Mom and I went on a WONDERFUL walk in the sunshine and I folded up like wall-e and re-energized and was like the energizer bunny ready for the day!! :)
4. My mom. She is so excited for Mike and I to have a baby and seeing her optimism every day is a huge blessing! It reminds me that I do have a support system and she's the team captain!
5. Sprite & Club Crackers. I'm pregnant, do I really need to explain this one?
6. My phone! I can finally text and call my husband and make sure he's alive instead of waiting to get home and email him. I know thats so spoiled but hey, I'm counting my blessings here!
7. Hot water! For many reasons. Taking warm, not too hot, bubble baths. Taking looooooooong warm showers. DISHES! Don't ever take warm water for granted, especially if you have to do dishes.. ugh. Thank you hot water.
8. Sundays. The one day Mike and I don't have to work when we can relax, and enjoy each other's company all day. And most of the time my mom invites us to dinner and its 100% guaranteed to be delicious. :) Thanks mom!
9. Jim and Pam!!! I freaking love the office. I love watching it. I love talking about it. I love thinking about it. I love it. When Mike and I were first dating, we watched the first few seasons. Then when we were married, we watched all the rest of the seasons up until we found out that Pam was "probably pregnant" and now we're waiting for the last season to finish up and get on DVD already! Yeah yeah some douches ruined it for me and told me they get married or whatever. I don't wanna hear it! Jim and Pam remind me of mine and Mike's relationship from start to finish and it makes me smile. :) The end.
10. My laptop. Sorry I neglected being thankful for you before! I'm using you right now to make this little blog post! But I'm grateful for you and your extended battery life! You rock!

Complications..

So last night I had severe abdominal pains so bad that I was tossing and turning, not sleeping, and miserable. This morning the idea of straining and lifting at work made me really nervous so I went to the Instacare in Saratoga Springs, only to be told by the doctor that this was something that needed to be treated in the emergency room. Great. What have I done to myself and my sweet pea?? :(
We go to the American Fork Hospital where my sweet husband is anxiously waiting to go in with me. I had a horrible IV put in that hurt so bad and I couldn't move my whole arm.. :( A really nice lady came in with a wheelchair and wheeled me down to radiology to get an ultrasound to make sure the baby was alive and growing properly. I never thought seeing a black blob with a lighter blob inside that blob would be so exciting! My heart started beating faster! But of course my bladder wasn't full enough to see what they needed to see so I had to go the lovely vaginal route.. Yeah that was so awkward and cold and gooey and gross. But it was amazing how much clearer the picture was!
Then there it was.. the flicker of a baby heartbeat! A mini strobe light in the midst of the blobs! Who knew something so small and faint could make everyone in the room cry! It was the most beautiful moment thus far in my pregnancy! I found out I am 6 weeks and 1 day along, a week less than I thought. Not that I really care that I have one more week of pregnancy, its been wonderful so far!
So I was walking on air just long enough to have someone rain on my parade. All of a sudden the nice lady doing my ultrasound had a very worried face as she looked at the gray radar thingy, somehow seeing something wrong with it. Right about now I wish I knew what the heck she was looking at. She calls in the Radiologist and asks him a bunch of questions with big words that I've never heard before in my life. After they seemed to agree on something I kindly asked them to explain what was going on. This is what I understood..
My egg/yoke sack has been planted way too far to the left of my uterus. On top of that my endometrium, which is what you shed when you have your period but don't when you're pregnant, is heart shaped instead of triangle shaped which means there are two peaks, like a heart obviously. That pushes the egg to either one side or the other I guess. If the baby stays too far to the left and is too deep into the endometrium wall, it won't grow to term and will have to be surgically removed. There are things called "tubal pregnancies" where the egg is planted in your fallopian tubes and it has to be surgically removed. Its not in the tubes but it COULD be implanted into the uterus wall. BUT, if it shifts and starts growing in the middle, where it should be, than there's nothing to worry about and the baby will grow healthy and I won't have a complicated pregnancy. So the idea is to have an OB-GYN take another ultrasound in about a week and see if the baby's moved or not. Yay for the waiting game..

Mike Here..

Well... This is Mike and its my turn to tell you whats been going on haha so far you have heard the story from my beautiful wifes point of view... so here's mine! Well we are currently living at her parents house out in eagle mnt. which isnt bad, just the drive is bad. We are broke, but still in love haha. I'm selling cars for my dad again, which is nice because i've missed it so much haha and my wife is working at both Wallaby's and yeah. I've been working non-stop, 6 days a week trying to make some sales... but its tough! It sucks being away from my wife so much! This weekend though, we are watching my moms dogs and house!! WAHOO! It'll be super nice to see my little puppies! I know we are both stoked! My mom has... 4 dogs haha Aramani, Fabio, Chloe, and Isabella who are all so very sweet! Aramani is a rat terrier and looks like a cow, Fabio is a rat terrier as well, Chloe is a beautiful albino boxer, and Isabella is a super cute boxer/pitbull! Man we are excited to watch them! Anyway... I dont know what else to write about... so i'll leave it at that! I'm sure my wife will keep this updated, but as for me... this was a one time thing pretty much haha