Happy New Year!

Skousen Family!

Somehow we all managed to get together for a great family photo!

Christmas wrap up

I had a great Christmas this year! Stephen and I went to his work party where I met his trainers. He is surrounded by some good air traffic controllers and that should make us all feel safe when we fly. We got one good shot from the Christmas party, so enjoy.

We headed down to Phoenix on Christmas Eve so that we could spend some quality time with the Barnes. I am so glad we got to see all of Stephen's siblings. Michelle drove down from Vegas to surprise her son while Sonya and Jeremiah let us know they are moving to Michigan. We spent the morning at the movies and then opened gifts with family that evening. We took a great Barnes family photo and I think we got everyone in the shot.
Stephen and I drove to Maricopa to play some games with Craig and Blair. Somehow, Stephen has managed to win the games lately. Sharla, Wade, Kendra, and Mike were all able to come and stay with Craig in Maricopa so we played more games, and of course, I lost.

*Note the blue for Boy!
Blair threw me a great baby shower on Saturday and I am so blessed to have such good friends and family who support me. There is no way I could raise a child with out their support. Thank you to EVERYONE who came!
I am so grateful for my family and my friends. My parents were able to drive down just for Saturday, so I did get to spend a few hours with them. My Mom had surgery on Monday, so she was restricted to her travel times. I truly thank each person who has helped us out so far with our unborn little boy. We won't see anyone until after he is born... so hopefully you got a good look at the "belly" because it will be GONE when I see you again!

Enjoy the new year!

Merry Christmas, Kidney Stone!

Stephen and I spent another wonderful weekend in the hospital. No, the whole weekend didn't start out that way, it just seemed to end that way. Saturday was Stephen's work party so we went out to eat at a VERY expensive restaurant and shared a steak. Sunday I sang in church. Then the world crumbled fast. I came home with a lot of pain in my back, so I got a back massage from Stephen and put a heating pad on it. I thought I was feeling better so I got up to make deep fried apple pie. Nope, I was not feeling better. After a few hours of throwing up and not being able to keep anything down, Stephen took me to the hospital. They gave me a nice shot of Demerol, something to stop the nausea, and of course, all this excitement was putting the little baby in some distress so they had to give me a shot of something else to stop the contractions.
After a long night of intense pain, the hospital staff sent me home with some percocet (sp?) and said to come back if I felt more contractions. I have no idea what a contraction feels like, but if what I felt the last two days was any where near what a contraction feels like, then COUNT ME OUT!

Hopefully we will be seeing most of you for Christmas. We are supposed to be driving to the valley tomorrow. Merry Christmas and sorry little baby for giving you pain meds and causing you to go into distress.

Date night and snow in ABQ!

Unannounced to me, it snows in Albuquerque. I am sure that does not seem foreign to some, mostly because it snows in Arizona. However, I had no idea that I needed a warm winter coat and snow tires for the tiny town of Albuquerque. The roads and drivers remind me of my four good years spent in Rexburg, Idaho! The snow melts a day or two later so it isn't too bad, just a little unexpected.

Stephen and I went on a little date night a few Friday's ago. We had pie and hot chocolate. "Everyone" says that you should go on plenty of dates before the baby is born, so I am taking advantage of that. My favorite dates in college were the hot chocolate dates with my friends. So I am keeping the tradition alive. Every Friday night, Stephen and I are planning to do something small and special.

Two more months and we will have a little baby boy to take care of. I have not been able to really grasp that statement, but it feels better to write it down. 30 weeks and the countdown continues. We are not prepared at all for a baby, but maybe, just maybe I will have this thing women call a "maternal instinct" and I will start shopping for baby items that are necessary. So if you are wondering, NO, I don't have the nursery ready and it may be 9 weeks until I really start to prepare! :)

Happy Holidays!

HOA's ARE EVIL!

I have other things to blog about... such as date night and snow in New Mexico... so I will make this short.
HOA's ARE EVIL!!! They give you stupid violations and up the price with out telling a soul!

I state this one more time for my own benefit: HOA's ARE EVIL!

OK... I will update later about the positive.

JB

Ultra Sound!!

Had another Ultra sound and noticed this little guy might have my nose. What do you think?

Thanksgiving '08

Stephen and I had a great trip to the small town of Kingman, Arizona over Thanksgiving. We woke up at 4 am to make the 6 hour trip. Along the way we came across an Arizona winter storm. It snowed for about two hours of our trip and I was surprised to see how much snow had actually fallen and STUCK! We took a few pictures of the snow as we drove 35 miles an hour through the icy patches.

We arrived in Kingman just in time to join the family playing rock band. I learned how to play the drums and watched Kendra and Micheal beat all of the family at playing the drums. We turned on Mario Kart and Stephen began his weekend long domination. I had to force him to play other characters in order to beat him. Friday all the guys went golfing for 5 hours while the girls went out for a nice movie (Twilight, my second time) and shopping. I love hanging out with my sisters and sisters-in-law. We had a lot of fun talking and shopping. I got to hold my new little nephew while the girls were in the movie and I learned that babies need a lot of attention. Am I ready?



Saturday and Sunday we did a lot of laying around and, of course, headed to church. I am so grateful I got to spend 4 days with all of my family. Everyone is happily married and have lives of their own. It is awesome to get to see each of them and get the entire Skousen family together.



I can't wait for Christmas!!

5 Things I am thankful for:

1) An awesome husband who rubs my back each night

2) A forever family! We all get along so well and I am happy to spend eternity with them!

3) A healthy baby boy who is less than 3 months away from joining my family

4) A beautiful home in Albuquerque (yes, my apartment)

5) A great job that has helped pay the bills for the last 4 months

Happy Holidays

In the area?

For Christmas, my sister-in-law, cousin, sister, and aunt are throwing me a little shower in the Phoenix area. If you will be down there December 27th, I sure would like to see you! So send me your address and I will get an invite to you. If you can't come, send your address anyway and I will send you an announcement when the little tot is born.

juliembarnes@gmail.com or you can leave your address as a comment.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Twilight

Saw Twilight

Loved It!

Is this supposed to be a compliment?

Today, I strolled into work, "la la la" minding my own business.

I walked in and cheerfully said "hello" to the three ladies gabbing up front. As I signed in to record my time, an older woman said to me....

"You look so cute pregnant, it looks like you could be having twins!"

Trust me, shock rang across my face. It sounded so nice and sweet, as if it was a compliment. She masked a nasty "fat" comment with a sweet tone.

No, I am NOT having twins. This is ONE baby... one big baby boy. He will be big, he likes to eat, and he is a little lazy about his works out lately. So yeah, he has gained some weight, he feels bad, why should we rub it in? He is working on getting better.

Things I took for granted:

1) My figure!
Never again will I complain about being fat!
2) Sleeping on my stomach
3) Sleeping
4) Motivation
Has been gone for months now and I am lucky I get up in the morning.
5) Running three miles with ease
Now I am lucky to make it 10 steps with out running out of breath
6) Clothing
7) Compliments

Honestly, the list could go on, but I truly have learned to appreciate my mother and her sacrifice for me. I was basically offered a full time job starting in January with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This would be my dream job with a GREAT pay. I will now step aside and walk away from something out of selflessness.

To each mother, I applaud you and your sacrifice. Thank you for making our world a better world by raising good children.

To my Mother... No words can ever express my deep gratitude for your sacrifice to ensure I live a spiritual and privileged life.

Thank you!

25 weeks!!!

Here is an update of the growth... Stephen looks the same (lucky!) He might even be getting skinnier!!!!!

Enjoy!

Kidney Stones + Pregnancy = 3 AM hospital visit!

Monday morning, 3 AM, and massive pain. This would be kidney stone number two for me within the last three months. I am not sure if Kidney stones are a side effect of pregnancy but I will say I do not drink caffeine. Either way, I woke up at 1:30 AM and an hour and a half later decided I needed real medical attention. After a scan of both my kidneys (and no pain meds) my doctor said I have another kidney stone that is just ready to come out as well!!!!
I suppose I will weather the storm of my third kidney stone drug free as well so that my little baby can come out happy and healthy with out being addicted to extra strength Tylenol. I suppose if I have gone through three kidney stones before giving birth I should be prepared for labor, right?

I love Arizona!

Stephen and I took a mini trip to Arizona last weekend. I really thought we would have more time to do things; however, we ran out of time fast. We spent the weekend with Stephen's family and got to see how much everyone has changed in only 4 months! My parents also drove down to help Craig and Blair look for homes in Maricopa. I also had a wedding to attend so the weekend went by fast with hardly any moment of down time. I am sad to say we didn't get to see a few people I wanted to and we didn't get to do a few things that needed to get done, but all in all I had a BLAST in the HOT weather in Phoenix.
We arrived at 10 AM on Friday morning. I was wearing a sweater and expected to keep it on all day. My outfit was sort of planned around the sweater. Well the second Stephen and I stepped outside to wait for our ride I took the sweater off. I was sweating by the time I got in the car! I believe it was about 92 degrees that day. We left ABQ at about 65 degrees!
We were able to spend a lot of time with Stephen's family shopping and eating out then we went to watch a long movie with Craig and Blair.
Saturday was all about the wedding and straightening my hair. It took about two hours to get my hair straight and in the end I think I really decided that I should have left it curly. Either way, I have only a few pictures of the wedding.

Saturday night Stephen and I drove up to the north part of Phoenix for a fun game night with Craig and Blair. For the first time in our gaming history, Stephen won BOTH games we played (I think it was the diet pepsi max). I guess we were all too tired to pay attention to the game. I took some pictures so Stephen could remember what it felt like to win two games in a row!
Enjoy! AND I miss you, Arizona!

President....

At one point we all loved George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George Bush. As one rises, one shall fall....

Arizona, have you ever seen Fall?

The answer to that question is, "NO"! It has been a very long time since I have seen leaves change color and the cool weather come in so quickly. I wake up each morning and it feels like it is 10 degrees. When in actuality it is almost 40 degrees!! For me, a native Arizona girl, it is quite a treat to feel cool weather in the morning and look at the trees as they slowly change their color. In Arizona, the leaves just fall off in one day without reason. So I took a few pictures to share with those who reside it wonderful Arizona. This is what Fall looks like!

Stephen and I love Halloween and we decided to spend the night carving a pumpkin. I doubt we will get trick-o-treaters but we are sort of in the holiday spirit with our little pumpkin.

Happy Halloween!

Quick post

Had an ultrasound today... got a great picture! Hard to see, but the baby is rubbing his little eyes. HOW CUTE! I love him already! Also, read the post below...

Tent Rock National Monument

Stephen and I had the chance to hike with an ABQ hiking group over the weekend. We drove about 50 miles north of town to the Indian Reservation. As we drove on the dirt road to the hiking area we started seeing some funny shaped rocks. They looked exactly like little Teepee's. We arrived at our destination at about 9:00 AM to see some of the most amazing rock formations. Supposedly, these Tent Rocks are made from sandstone and can only be seen in New Mexico and China (or Turkey). We hiked the 3 miles through a tiny cavern and then up a steep hill to get a nice view from the top. New Mexico is beautiful and I would love to take each of you on this little hike so you can view the Tent Rocks for yourself. Enjoy!

20 weeks with 20 more to GROW!

Just some pregnancy pictures... enjoy!