What are you doing December 9th?

...Because we're having a baby!* We couldn't be more thrilled about this new upcoming addition to our family.



Most have inquired about how I've been feeling. I feel pretty lucky. While I am nauseous and exhausted most of the time, it is completely manageable and I can still function in the real world. Quite a blessing. It could be much worse. I am, however, looking forward to the day when my appetite comes back and my weight starts going the right direction--up.



At our 12 week appointment yesterday, we got to hear the heartbeat. That was one of the most incredible things either of us has experienced. My emotional little self is tearing up just thinking about it. This whole process is just such a miracle, and to be honest it wasn't really real until yesterday.



I have a zillion other things I need to post about. In May, both Chad and I graduated with our Master's degrees and we took a family vacation with Chad's family. However, I was feeling too excited and couldn't wait any longer in posting our happy news! So, more posts to come.



*I attempted to post a picture of the 4 sticks I peed on, but the airport internet is janky. Yes I did in fact do 4 pregnancy tests. Yes they were all positive. I just wanted to be sure. =)

Mr. & Mrs. Byron Go To Washington

We went to Washington D.C. over Spring Break. Chad had never been before, and since I used to live in Maryland, I got to plan the trip! Thanks to my rad cousin Katie for the travel tips and tours =)

Chad after the White House tour, which was...well, unimpressive. It was neat because it was the White House, but the actual building is not very big, and the tour only covers a few rooms.

The Capitol building, however, was incredible. We loved the tour.

The rotunda

Each state can donate two statues to sit in the Capitol. This is obviously one of Utah's contribution--good 'ole Brigham.

Ronald Reagan--my dad's hero


The Library of Congress--another very impressive building.

We went on the monument walk, and saw all the monuments. This is the Korean War Veteran's Memorial.


The Lincoln Memorial


Washington Monument and reflecting pool from the Lincoln Memorial

World War II Memorial

Love this picture of the Washington Monument


We also visited the D.C. temple at night--gorgeous.

We spent some time walking through Arlington National Cemetery



And saw Iwo Jima

We finished off our trip with a visit to Mt. Vernon, which was my favorite part. I hadn't been before, so it was fun to go somewhere new.

We did lots of other things, like spent an afternoon at the Holocaust Museum, ate at some delicious restaurants, and visited with friends and family that live in the D.C. area. Turns out that my cousin works in an office with one of Chad's friends from Jr. High. Small world! It was fun to have dinner with them at a little place called "Cosi." It was there that we discovered this:

This is an indoor s'more maker. It changed our lives. We will be purchasing one of these bad boys sometime soon. Thanks for introducing us, Katie!

St. Patricks Day in Chicago!

Since Chicago is so close, and we missed it last year, we decided that we should celebrate St. Patricks Day Chicago style! So we went up to Chicago with our friends Scott and Codi Barnes, and their kids.

We started the trip right by having Friday Night Pizza at Giordannos!

Then Saturday, we enjoyed the Green River...we couldn't believe how GREEN it really was.

Then we headed down to the St. Patricks Day Parade:

Finally, we stopped by Garretts to get some of that famous Chicago Style Popcorn! Mmmmm! It was a great trip. Glad we could take advantage while we are so close. Thanks for coming with us Scott and Codi it was fun.

Hand Painted Mugs...by Chad & Bekah!

For Christmas, Chads little brother Travis gave us a giftcard to a place called Uniquely Yours Pottery. We finally made it there a couple of weeks ago and these were the results. Thanks Travis we had a great time! It was actually funny how long it took us just to paint these small mugs.

New Residence and Birthday

The idea of writing a post right now is the last thing on my mind. I've been feeling "blah" about blogging lately. I have not been feeling "blah" about this, however:

Meet our new house. Barring any disasters this will be ours on the 21st of June, and we are ecstatic!

I have also not been feeling "blah" about my favorite person, who turned the big 2-6 on Sunday. Happy birthday, Chad!

Thanksgiving '09

The highlights:

Some of us started off the day with a Turkey Trot (5K) in downtown Detroit, and we all finished the race in about 34 minutes!
Alexa, Jim, Greg the speed demon, Chad, Bukah

The others slaved away in the kitchen to prepare the meal - Zach and Mike (What is Zachary doing, by the way?) =)

Here is the master chefista (the one actually doing the "slaving") doing what she does best - She does lots of things really well, but she's a reaaaalllly good cook

Chad and Zach cheesin' for the camera


The pretty table decor

We polished off all of our hard work with 4 pies

Overall - I think the day was a success!

Lucky

***Warning: This post contains extreme mushiness. Proceed with caution.***

I don't like to write mushy posts on my blog. I'm not the kind of blogger who sees my blog as a journal. A journal to me is a private and personal place to share your innermost thoughts and feelings, and I don't particularly like the whole world to have access to those (sorry, friends). I look at my blog as a way to show friends and family near and far what we're up to, in a lots-of-pictures, few-words kind of way.

With that being said, there are sometimes in life where I want to tell the world how lucky I am. And today is one of those days. The reason for today's general feeling of luckiness? Chad.

I love Chad for many reasons. He's funny, hard-working, easy to talk to, kind, and he just understands me. But I think I sometimes take all of that for granted. That's how I expect him to be, and he fulfills those expectations for me. Then there are days like today. See today was the day where I had to accompany the ward choir in the Christmas program. This means that I basically sat on the stand for 2/3 of the meeting. Right before I had to go up for the first number, Chad leaned over to me and asked who was going to watch the choir director's baby (her husband is also in the choir). I asked her if she needed Chad to watch him, and she looked relieved as she handed the baby over. After the first number, I just sat on the stand. A few minutes into the talk, I peeked to the back row to see how Chad was doing. He was playing a little game with him, and the baby was giggling. It made me smile. Several minutes later, I looked again and the baby was getting fussy and starting to whimper. I watched as the girl sitting next to Chad offered to take the baby from him, but he simply took the baby out to the hall. One choir number later, I looked back again and Chad had reappeared with a sleeping baby in his arms.

This moment may seem insignificant to some. And I can't really explain it--but I just loved Chad so much at that very moment. I've spent the rest of the day pondering how lucky I am to be married to a man like Chad. A man who recognizes when someone needs help with their child, a man who is quick to offer help, and a man who is so naturally good with kids. I look forward to the day when I can watch him with his own children. I know he'll be a wonderful father.

I never forget why I married Chad. But it's days like today that make me so grateful I did.