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

We're having a baby!!!

I had taken many tests month after month so I wasn't expecting anything new like, say, a positive! I peed on my little stick and when two lines came up instead of the routine single line.. I walked out of the bathroom looked at my sweet husband and he rushed to me, held me in his arms and with tears in his eyes he said "You're pregnant oh my gosh!" We both were beside ourselves. SUCH a precious moment in our life together.
Although, it was still really hard to believe that was the definite answer. So we went to the hospital and got a blood pregnancy test, which was also a neat experience. My mom and Mike were there to hold my hand when I had to get a shot, instead of just my mom like the rest of my life. The register lady gave us a little blue flower to go on my hospital bracelet as our first souvenir of our first baby's life. It was very surreal! And we didn't even know the results yet!
Later that night, Mike and I were alone at his office and I called the number I was supposed to call to get my results. The lady all of a sudden blabbed "It's positive." Completely monotone. No sign of human emotion.. lol It took me a few seconds to realize what she was saying because HELLO! Its exciting news, not robotic, non-emotional news!! Anyway, it settled in as Mike and I both listened and we did the same thing. We looked at each other, me with butterflies of all kinds of emotions, and him I'm sure with fright panic and nervousness.. haha
We called my mom and told her since she was already at the hospital with us! She screamed out loud and was SOOOO excited for us!! I'm the only child she has so the fact that we're giving her a grandbaby means so much to her! And since we were at the office we told Lance, Mike's uncle, and his dad! They were both excited for us and probably surprised I'm sure!
I've been kind of nervous to tell anyone because it is really early along in the pregnancy and I'm scared of all of the things new moms are scared of. Miscarriage. I can't imagine having this feeling taken from me and if it is, I'll have to tell everyone that right after telling them the happy news! That would be so hard.. But I'm trying to keep things positive! Heavenly Father is in charge of this one. He knew we were meant to have this experience, whatever it turns in to. If its supposed to be a healthy pregnancy with a healthy baby then it will be! I have to remember to not stress myself out. (Work in progress for sure.. lol)
Well I'm 6 1/2 weeks along and next week I'll be able to hear our little Sweet Pea's heartbeat on an ultrasound! How very exciting!! :)

Keeping Up With the Sages!

It's that time again! We need a blog update! So here's a little bit of what Mike and Alecia are up to!
We are living in Alecia's Mom's basement, every newlywed couple has to move in with their parents at least once right? ;) We really do love it. We like having good neighbors that we hang out with and can talk to if one of us is gone. Its really nice! All of us are looking for a place to move to together that accommodates everyone. We're really excited to get out of Eagle Mountain once and forever!! We won't miss the awful commute to civilization..
Besides that, Mike and I are both working right now and waiting for school to start in May! I'm still at Wallaby's, and Mike's still at A New Ride with his Dad and Uncle. He made a sale this month! Woo! I think business will pick up once the sun comes out. We hope so!
I especially am excited to go back to school. I know Mike is too, but I ESPECIALLY am. :)
I can't wait to learn about what I want to base my career off of and use it firsthand by starting a wedding business with my mom! I can't wait to know all the ins and outs of business so I can feel even more confident about starting my own! I have such a deep-rooted passion that, I feel, nobody has seen or experienced yet, which is why now more than ever its so important to act on it!
Soooooo many people have asked us when we are gonna start having kids. lol. I guess it is the next natural question, since it is the next natural step in our lives together. The answer is: Whenever the Lord sees fit! Obviously its under his control and when He knows we're ready for a little one, He'll find a way! When that happens we'll let you know! :) Of course I'm beyond ready and excited. ;)
I do have to say something about a blog I came upon that moved me as a future-mommy. Its about the Staker Family in Salt Lake City and their little boy, Bronson, that had a near-death (technically he was dead on arrival) experience. It broke my heart and I couldn't help but sob as I read and saw pictures of such a beautiful family in that time of extreme hardship. But Holy Cow! Sara is the mother and WOW is she a rockstar.. She is so spiritually minded and humble and wonderful to listen to. I'm so happy to read that little Bronson is now home and healthy and my prayers are with that family. Way to hang in there B!

It's my Birthday!!

I'm 21 today woo! I've had a wonderful birthday with my hubby and family and friends. :)
Mike woke me up at midnight with a sweet love letter and cute kiss.. ;)
We spent all day together home alone cuddled up on the couch watching movies and eating yummy birthday cake! It really was a wonderful day. :)
Last night my Mom and Jon threw me a little birthday party with the kids and my Dad and Grandpa Christensen and Susan! It was such a blast!
So as many of you know, I'm trying to get a wedding business going with my mom! I'm sooo motivated right now because my Mom and I had such a blast planning out my wedding! My mom has so many talents, she just is so humble that she doesn't have the heart to charge people for her work! She's a sweetheart and I can't really blame her I just wish she could have some of the money so many people have offered her! haha Here's your sign momma.. ;) haha just playing!
I know sometimes it just takes some prayer and some time to get that boost! I'm gonna be patient. :) I love you mom!
Well, my birthday is officially over as of an hour and a half ago so I'm gonna hit the hay. Night blogspot!
Love,
Alecia Marie <3

Our first married couple post! OMG!

So Hello! Long time no talk! The last post said 10 days until we are married.. well.. surprise!! We are about to have our 3 month anniversary!! :) Here's a little bit of what the new sages have been up to!!
Mike is currently working two jobs (bless his sweet heart), one at Convergys and one at A New Ride. For those of you who don't know, Mike's dad and uncle took over Mike's Grandpa's car/tractor business and Mike's been working as a little car salesman before he could drive legally! So we both go down there and help out whenever we can.
Alecia FINALLY got a job!! I've been out of work since September which has both a blessing and a burden.. I didn't have to worry about a job while planning the wedding, which was a blessing, but didn't get the advantage of the pay obviously. But all of that is over because I just got a job at Wallaby's as a cashier/server and I can't wait to get going!
As for both of us, we are just working on saving up some money and getting into school asap! I'm gonna be going for dance, business, and graphic design. Mike wants to take a bunch of classes to help him decide, but he's always loved History and wanted to be a teacher! (So cute)
Right now we are living in a little one bedroom apartment in central Orem, right by Baskin Robbins. :] We love the apartment but maybe not our downstairs neighbor as much.. He's kind of a douche but we're trying to enjoy the journey!
We just had our first Halloween, first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, and first New Years! We are already getting the hang of bouncing between families for holidays and we wouldn't have it any other way! What better way to spend a holiday then with your cute hubby road tripping all over Utah visiting dozens of family members?? I declare there is nothing better. :)
Well thats about it for now. We just got our laptop up and running so we'll (I'll) be able to keep this updated!

10 days!!

10 days until the big day!
We're very excited to see our family and friends on the biggest day of our lives!!