Fathers

Fathers day was a few days ago...and this year was extra special. Not only did I get to celebrate my own father and his influence on my life, but this was the first time I was able to call my husband a father as well. And while our sweet little babe hasn't fully entered this world, he has fully entered our lives, and Kirby has taken his role as a father very seriously. 

Nothing fills me with more love than seeing the love my husband possesses for his little guy. I can hear it in his voice, I can see it in his eyes, I can feel it in his touch when he rests his hand on my belly each night. He loves our little boy fully, and that makes me love him even more than I already did.

They share a special bond, my boys do. When the baby is putting pressure on me in uncomfortable places, or punching me where he knows it hurts, all Kirby has to do is place his hand in the center of my belly and start talking or singing. Then baby boy moves right under his hand and curls up under his warmth...then depending on the song he might start dancing. 

Since the first day we felt the baby move, Kirby has loved singing to the baby almost as much as the baby loves hearing his songs, and I love watching the bond grow. He has three songs he always goes back to...Home on the Range, She'll be Coming Around the Mountain, and You Are My Sunshine. The first two all started with him being silly, but that's the kind of dad he is going to be. The kind that can get you giggling when you least expect it. But almost every time he starts You Are My Sunshine, I have to hide the tears rolling down my cheeks. Those two precious boys are my sunshine, and I would be heart broken if anything took my sunshine away.

Fatherhood sure looks good on my Kirby.

Since Kirby met my dad he has said that he hopes to be like him when he is a dad, and there is no hiding why. My dad, raising 4 daughters, is one of the most patient and hard-working men alive. My dad would sew the straps on my ballet shoes when I was little, show my recital videos to the men at work, and sit down with an emotional and frustrated little me through all types of homework and grueling school projects. He would set up the tent in the back yard so that we could "camp" and warm my car up at 6:00 in the morning before seminary. He still irons my church clothes when we visit over the weekends and he spent days painting, unpacking and cleaning our house before we moved in. He might have 4 girls, know every One Direction song, and read books like The Selection (a glorified version of the bachelor but with a prince and princesses), but he is still one of the manliest men I know. He lives and breaths sports, football, basketball, golf, you name it...whether it be watching the pro teams, going to college games, watching the little specials on TV, or playing the games himself, he is all in. Oh and the outdoors...he is very outdoorsy. He can fix your car, completely remodel your house, and get those perfectly even and straight lines mowed into your grass. He was always one of the cool dads, you know, the dad that all the youth like to joke around with at church? Yeah, that was him...actually it still is. 

So yes, my Texas-sheet-cake loving, pop-song singing, marathon running, non-stop project doing, hiddenly artistic, couch napping,  dad... who once accidentally used salt instead of sugar in the pancakes, is the kind of dad that I am glad my husband has the chance to look up to. The kind of dad I am blessed to call my own, and the kind of dad I am proud to have as a grandpa to my little boy.

Happy Fathers Day Kirby, Happy Fathers Day Dad, and Happy Fathers Day to all other fathers out there!

A May in Dallas

I arrived in Dallas at the very end of April. Kirby had been here for two weeks without me, and those two weeks were killer! I was finishing my student teaching in a 6th grade class in Idaho Falls and it was time for him to start his job for the summer. He drove out with one of the other guys who is selling with the team, and I moved in with my in-laws so that the renters could get settled into our place for the beginning of their new semester. 

In case you didn't know, I am madly in love with my husband. Anytime spent away from him is hard on me...and those two weeks were particularly hard. I cried, a lot. I cried when I had to crawl into an empty bed at night, I cried whenever someone asked me if I missed him, needless to say carrying a baby turned me into a baby. When the two weeks were finally up, I packed our little car, said good-bye to my sweet sixth graders, and drove myself down to Utah. Once there, I stayed the night with another wife from our office who was about to make the long drive for the second time, with me. We left early in the morning and drove the entire day until we reached Amarillo, TX, stayed in a hotel, then finished the trek to Dallas. We got there early in the afternoon, while Kirby was already working. So I started unpacking our car, and carrying as much up to our 3rd floor apartment as my pregnant body could handle...then the sweetheart I call my companion made a surprise trip back from work to help me finish unloading and to take me to lunch. The second I saw him I was in tears (again). A hug has never felt so good as that one in the parking lot, with my big old belly between us.

And as soon as Kirby started talking to me our little baby boy started going nuts...he is such a daddy's boy already.

I did what I could to make the little apartment feel like home...which was hard considering all of our decorations and furniture were put in storage in Idaho for the summer. But that first night back in our queen sized rental bed with my sweetheart by my side was the best night's sleep I had had in weeks. Nothing feels more comfortable and right as being with my husband. 

Soon the stresses of moving hit me. Getting rent, internet, insurance, doctor information, and everything else that comes with moving and being six months pregnant has been one of the biggest hassles of my life. I am now 28 weeks pregnant and still don't have a doctor lined up! I have had to jump through so many hoops here it is almost funny. Texas is definitely not Idaho...and I am quickly realizing that things here work a lot differently than they do back home. On top of all of that...my morning sickness has been back to full blown. I prayed so hard day and night that I would not be sick at my in-laws or on that long car ride...and Heavenly Father answered my prayers because even if I felt nauseous, I did not throw up once over those few weeks. But, the first day I experienced in Texas, I was right back to running to the toilet in the morning and Kirby was right there by my side, as he has been through this entire process.

And HELLO! Where is my Blue Bell Ice-cream?? Can the recall be over yet? Blue Bell in bed each night was our favorite summer tradition, not to mention I have been craving the pistachio almond ice-cream since day one of this pregnancy! I demand it be brought back!

*rant over*

 Also, as I am sure you have heard and seen...Texas is quite literally under water. We have probably had a total of 5 sunny days so far, it has been rainy/stormy non-stop! Most nights we get restless sleep as we try to ignore the thunder that causes our ceiling fan to wobble, and lightning that lights up our room through the closed blinds. I have always been a fan of thunder storms back home...but those are nothing like the storms here. As beautiful as they are, it is often hard to appreciate them when my phone is getting constant warnings of floods and tornadoes headed our way. We have seen our fair share of streets covered in inches to feet of water, we have heard the tornado sirens, we have heard of the deaths and damage cause by these storms, and now the beauty I used to appreciate now fills me with fear. Kirby has had to hold me tight while I silently pray through my tears that we would be spared from the tragedies night after night. But we have been lucky. While the rivers near us cover the trees on their banks, and the streets get temporarily covered in water, we live up high enough that the flooding we experience ends up settling farther down in Dallas. So really, we are so lucky to have been kept safe through it all...but we continue to pray for those who have been affected by the weather here, and hope the worst of it is over (even if going to church in the pitch black of a power-outtage was kind of fun haha) Also, this tiny baby inside me ALWAYS knows when there is a storm going on. He has this torpedo move he does during a storm, where we can literally feel him spinning in circles inside me!

But aside from the woes of settling in, being sick, not having Blue Bell, and having close calls with nature, we have been enjoying Dallas so far. Naturally we have been loving having tacos and bbq at our fingertips again...and it feels wonderful to have Torchy's Tacos near by for the 2nd time! But one of my favorite things from this summer is a magical tradition called Sodapalooza. Let me tell you about this brilliant concept: spend $7.99 on a fancy cup at the beginning of May...fill that fancy cup as many times as you want at any Race Trac (gas station) with whatever beverage you want until the end of July! To a pregnant girl who craves slushies like nobody's business and has a Race Trac on the corner across the street, this fancy cup is heaven in my hands. I've become pretty good friends with the workers at our near-by Race Trac...often making more than one trip a day to fill my cup with half coke slush and half cherry slush ;)

Kirby has been more than happy with his decision for the summer. He has switched companies and now works for Alterra Pest Control. We love the people we are with and Kirby seems happy with his job, which is all I need to be happy! He still works long hours like he has the past few summers...but get this...remember how our Saturdays used to be non-existent? Meaning his longest days were Saturdays? Well now he gets home between 4 and 5 and we actually have time to go on dates and be together on the weekend! We have tried to take advantage of the amazing city that holds never ending possibilities...and will have a lot more exploring to do over the next few months. But mostly, we have been seeing a lot of movies. We are both movie people, and with the upcoming bundle of joy, we figured we had to take advantage of our baby free nights at the movie theater! And of course, being a couple of foodies, we have tried to try a new place each weekend to test out all the gems of Dallas.

....oh and you might already know this, but I take every holiday very seriously. Here was part of Kirby's Cinco De Mayo surprise ;)

So this was kind of boring and whiney...but hey guys, it is what it is. I love my life, and next month is going to be even more exciting I am sure!