Hi Everyone! I apologize for my recent blogging hiatus; I assure you it was not intended to make you feel left out -- we are just a very busy family! Anywho, after repeated comments (ahem, Mom... ha ha) about how "Fun Fall Things" was a little outdated, as we have now seen Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's come and go, I decided it was time to take a few minutes on a lazy Sunday afternoon and write a new post to the world.


Christmas was a delight, as Christmas often is. The food was wonderful, the company was heavenly, and the time off work to sleep in was ever so priceless. We have enjoyed Danny's winter break from BYU for the last couple weeks (we are gearing up for school to start again tomorrow), and were able to spend time with family, with each other, and getting things really ready for the baby
(coming soon, by the way: pictures of our almost-finished nursery, and some darling pregnancy shots by Leah Wasson).
... I'm not sure we'll ever feel 100% ready for parenthood, but getting the baby's room almost done, crossing things off my shopping list, reading countless books about "baby's first year" (thank you, Mom and Dad), and getting ready to pack my hospital bag -- just in case -- are all helping me feel a little more prepared, at least on the outside :) Danny is endlessly patient with me. He massages my aching back, wakes up in the middle of the night to work out the nasty charlie horses in my legs (I guess he doesn't have much of a choice when I wake up screaming in pain, but still, he's very patient about it), puts on my shoes and socks for me since I can literally no longer reach my feet, and is ever so compassionate when I complain about heartburn, having to pee
constantly, and being pummeled from the inside out by our very active little boy (we are very excited to have you HERE, Kiddo!). I think more than anything I am looking forward to seeing Danny in dad-hood. He will be SO great at it!
As we count down the days til baby arrives, we have found ourselves enjoying another new adventure:


We were finally able to set up our saltwater tank! -- something we've been wanting to do for years. When I met Danny, he had an impressive 80-gallon freshwater aquarium up and running. After a few months, we decided to take it down in favor of setting up a saltwater tank instead. However, when we realized the cost of this not-so-cheap-and-highly-addictive hobby, we knew we would have to wait a while before getting it going. Meanwhile, we moved twice and were thankful to not have to deal with moving the huge tank again. Anyway, around Thanksgiving Danny found a smaller tank and stand for sale, and the price included the sand and rock, which is a major part of the cost. We decided to go for it, and consider it an early Christmas present to ourselves. Since then, we (well, Danny is the mastermind, but I help) have successfully established a beautiful little underwater world in our loft -- complete with two Clownfish (like Nemo, if that helps), a purple and blue striped Wrasse, a cute little Yellow Watchman, a cleaner shrimp, a starfish, crabs, snails, an anemone, mushrooms, and half a dozen corals. It is
quite the hobby. Until you've tried it, I don't think you can understand how compelling it is (I know I never did). I often feel like people wonder a little how it is we can have so much to say about our fish, and the only other people who get it are the other weirdos who have fish themselves. But really, it opens your eyes to this whole new little world, like having 24 gallons of the ocean right there in your home for you to marvel at everyday. I know it sounds a little tree-hugger strange, but it is really, truly so neat. Our next project is setting up our 80-gallon tank again, but this time with a planted freshwater system, as that is much cheaper than saltwater. We are excited for the relaxing feel it brings to the room and enjoy the time we spend together working on it.
Well, sorry to go on and on about that. In other news, did I mention we are having a baby in four weeks? Oh yes, and we saw
Avatar twice this weekend! It was wonderful both times, although I recommend seeing it in 3D. We loved it -- the visual, the story, everything. I am certain there are things about it which will become the new standard in film-making. It was wonderful.
Anyway, thanks for stopping by to read about what's been going on in our lives. We are very excited to meet 2010, and are sure it will be a fantastic year! It is always a blessing to be able to start anew, to try to be better, and I am thankful for the opportunity to do just that. And I will try really, realllly hard to keep my blog more updated... especially as we get ready to welcome baby! Have a happy Sunday, world!