So Cal and Baby Shower

Just before school ended we were fortunate enough to have Angela's supervisor look at and reassess her financial account which in turn gave us a $500 refund check. We decided that this would provide us with a great opportunity to get away one last time before the arrival of our new son and since the money was more like a bonus we did not feel bad about going to California. So on Saturday (May 2nd) we left for a trip to Southern California. Most of our trip was to relax and get away from the stresses of school and everyday life.

Throughout our trip we ended up going to the beach only three times, and thankfully one of those times I was able to convince Angela to walk along the shore line when she thought it was too cold. Another reason for picking So Cal was to revisit my mission, and reestablish contact (because I am horrible at writing letters, e-mails and making phone calls) with those who I was able to make friends with while on the mission. One great blessing we had throughout our trip was that those families I knew were kind enough to invite us over for dinner each night we were there. Though some of the time we felt like we were mooching off them, we were so grateful for all that they did for us. It is a nice reassurance that there are still many great people like that in the world today. Sadly enough my memory seems to be functioning less and less as time goes one that we forgot to take some pictures with them so we don’t have too many. The trip ended up being exactly what we needed

There was one experience I had on Sunday as we were attending church. In my last area on my mission we taught and baptized one investigator from our teaching pool. This man was one who during the lessons would actually teach us some things as we were teaching him. He was the kind of investigator every missionary hopes for. Well, just before I left for home from the mission we were able to see him get baptized. Well the Sunday my wife and I were in Cali, we attended the ward I previously served in and there was young man who bore his testimony and, though it took me a minute to figure out why he looked familiar, I realized that this young man was the son of the man that I had baptized. As I was talking to him after the meeting I learned that his whole family had joined the church and that he (the son) was getting ready to leave for a mission. It was the first real time that I had felt that my serving a mission had gone beyond those who I taught. It was a great experience for me and hopefully for Angela as well.

Well just a few days after we got home from California we went up to Price to see family for Mother’s day and for the shower for our new baby boy. The shower went really well. There was really good food, fun games, and several presents that will help when the baby is born. We are so grateful for the gifts from friends and family and, if anyone who helped is reading this, we just want to let you know how grateful we are for the gift! After the shower we were able to see several family members that we seem to forget we have when our head is stuck in a book all semester long. It was so nice to visit and talk and not to have school in the back of our minds. We have truly been blessed with wonderful friends and family and the other major supporters who have helped us to survive our 2 years together. We often times look around our apartment and wonder how we afforded it all. We absolutely know we could not do it without our kin.

This weekend was also a great opportunity to see our Mother’s for Mother’s day. It was so nice to see them and show our gratitude for them. Talking over the phone is just not the same as seeing them in person. I worry about the day that Joseph and I move even further away from our families (wherever his schooling takes us). I don’t know how I will survive without seeing family once a month but guess that’s one of the sacrifices of school.

Well as a quick update on baby palmer. His due date is July 5 (but I have a feeling he will deliver later than that) so I have 8 weeks left of the pregnancy. I am trying not to push it though because I want to find joy in every aspect of this pregnancy (as much as possible).

I really have had an easy pregnancy. I was hardly sick although I got the flu twice and really tired during the first trimester. I think it’s funny when people tell me that I don’t look 7 months pregnant, I actually take it as a compliment. Joseph and I definitely believe that it is because I have a longer torso that I haven’t poked out as much. I just makes me laugh because Joseph acts so proud and talks about how big my belly and when people finally see me they say that it isn’t as big as they were expecting.

Baby Palmer has been quite a kicker. Joseph says that he’s like me because I can’t sit still for very long but I say the baby’s like him because he is going to be runner like daddy and that he’s only working his leg muscles in preparation. Time will tell on those factors. I just feel sorry for our poor child that will have a large nose and poor eyesight like mommy and daddy. I only hope that he has Joseph’s olive skin and I wouldn’t mind having a baby with a whole lot of hair on his head when he comes out. There is an old wife’s tale about the correlation between heart burn and baby’s hair but the thing is, is that I haven’t had any heart burn so who knows, we may have a bald kid just like his mom.

Thing are wonderful down here in Cedar and we have a fun-filled summer ahead of us.