Baby Dreams

I had a very vivid dream last week, and I have not stopped thinking about it, so I thought I'd post it, since this is my version of a journal...

I dreamed about our baby -- that he was already here. But he wasn't just an accessory or a little toy or something. In the dream, I felt his personality so strongly!

Well when I woke up, I was ticked! I thought, "Hey, my friend is gone! Great...what am I supposed to do all day?"

Needless to say, I'm getting anxious to have him here.

Graduation

Yay for graduation!!! This is the whole group who came to celebrate with us after commencement. Elder Nelson and President Uchdorf spoke to the graduates and their comments were beautiful! Just a few highlights:

President Uchdorf instructed us never to waste our time. He said that time is the only resource that is divided fairly between every man, and how we use it is an indication of our character. No one has more or less time in a day than anyone else, and we must spend our time wisely, in the service of others, in gaining education, in helping those around us.

Elder Nelson told a beautiful story about faith. Years ago, he and many of his colleagues were attending a volunteer medical conference in a remote village in Mexico. Suddenly, one of their friends, and a fellow doctor, began bleeding without warning. Even though the room was full of doctors, they had no equipment, and were helpless to apply their medical training to assist their friend.

Elder Nelson and the other doctors prayed to God and gave the man a blessing, and the bleeding stopped.

The lesson, he said, was that we must always trust the Lord, not ourselves alone, to handle what life gives us. The doctors in the room had done their part by studying and preparing, but when they found themselves in a helpless situation, they turned to God, and God healed the bleeding man.

Both of the speaker emphasized how education is a righteous ambition, and is made powerful when combined with a humility toward God, and with faith that He will direct you in using your education to better the lives of the people around us. BEAUTIFUL!!!

Graduation was wonderful -- and I am so happy to be done with my Master's!!!!

Gillian's Baby Shower

Last week, all of our Utah-based Richey girl cousins got together for Gillian's baby shower. She is due in three weeks and is having a little boy. We are so excited for her!


Lindsay, another cousin (and Gill's sister-in-law) hosted the party and it was delicious...I mean wonderful! Here are some of the treat we got to devour:









Another highlight was getting to hold Lindsay's new little baby, Skylar Jane...

I think the following picture may be my favorite:





This is my sister, Meredith, holding the new baby. Welcome, Skylar!

Tuckered Out...

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday with the Olsen Family in Salt Lake, and got to attend Richard and Rosemary's ward Easter Program. So much talent in one congregation. They all seem to love Bishop Olsen. And as a testament to how hard he works...this picture was take a few hours after church!

Dentist Woes

I love going to the dentist. Even when I was a little kid, I loved going to the dentist. I'm kind of proud of this fact.

Well, today I have a dentist appointment, and I'm nervous for some reason. I think it's because I haven't gone to the dentist for almost 2 years because we didn't have dental insurance, and I'm afraid of what they're going to say.

I'm not sure what I'm expecting. In my mind, the hygienist approached, inspects my teeth, and then clucks her tongue disapprovingly and says, "You must be one of those people who doesn't like going to the dentist."

Heartbroken! Humiliated!

But then, why do I need the dentist to validate my worth? I think it's because in my mind, the status of my teeth is peculiarly tied to my socioeconomic identity -- is that unusual?

Regardless, wish me luck...I'm going to go pick out my outfit now...

Baby Bump Photo?

This is a picture from this past Easter weekend. I know I've been promising a "baby-bump" photo for a while -- I definitely have one -- but I keep forgetting. Hopefully, this will suffice for the time being -- you can kind of see my bump...

Thank you everyone for being patient with me! :)

The Commercials are True

On my mother's insistence, I went to H&R Block today to check our taxes. We thought we owed $2500 to the federal and state governments combined...as it turned out, we'd done something wrong, and instead, we're going to get a rebate for $800!!

My mama, Brad the accountant, and definitely God... just saved us $3300!

How's THAT for good news?! :)

Wait a minute...

I just sort of realized that if I blog regularly, I can stop feeling guilty for my lame journal-keeping skills. I've always thought, "I'll just print out a bunch of old emails for my kids to read later in life." -- isn't that how we all got to know Emily Dickinson? I guess that sounds kind of ostentatious...

Today was my last day of class EVER! In true "you-won't-get-out-of-here-without-a-fight" spirit, I had a term paper due yesterday, and a presentation in-class today. Both were great, though, which is a word/emotion I do not normally use/feel with regard to homework.

I've had a GREAT BYU experience, but I'm so happy to be finished! And for the record, my summer plans include a stack of library books (the brain-candy kind), a glass of lemonade, and a hammock. Hooray for summer!

Objection!

So I'm not sure how many people I've told about this, but I have had a really bad experience with my doctor. Lots of examples, but to keep a long story short... I decided about 2 weeks ago that when we move to Nor Cal for the summer, I'm going to switch to a midwife. I'm done with ObGyns for the moment...

So I'm looking up my doc's address for a health insurance claim form, and I came across a rating site, where he averaged half a star out of five...there were 15 reviews -- YIKES!

Turns out I'm not crazy, he's just kind of a terrible doctor. I'm not trying to ruin his life, but it is nice to be validated -- at our last ultrasound, I left almost in tears, I was so upset. Bad experience...too bad I didn't find this website 6 months ago, right???