Emma's First Birthday

Here are some photos for those who do not have Facebook.

Third Trimester Letter to Emma

Dear Emma,
I am 37 weeks today, so you are considered full term and can come at any time! I am excited about being full term. Life has been crazy and the third trimester has been a tough one for me! I have had a number of things come up. Let’s review my experience, because I am sure in 25 years, this information might come in handy for you (I am glad I know what my Mom and Aunt Kath went through, I do wish I knew what my other Aunts and Grandma’s experiences have been being pregnant). So let’s not look at it as a complaining review, but as an opportunity for you to be more prepared for pregnancy then I have been and realistic about the symptoms you might go through I will even throw in what I have learned so you don’t have to go through so much.
I will say your privacy goes out the window when you are pregnant! I am starting to get a little more used to it, but I still hate it.
Since the end of May, I have had swelling all over my body, but mainly in my hands, feet, legs and face. I have not been able to wear my wedding ring or any shoes (none of them fit, except one pair of flip flops that I have worn everyday for the last 5 months) since June and that has been something that has bugged me the most! And for good reason, I have been mistaken for a teenager four times in the last 4 months and I am looking at it like it’s a blessing. But, I want my ring on, so I won’t get peoples dirty looks!
Third Trimester Updates….
· I have been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism, I find out in December if this is a permanent life sentence or just a pregnancy thing, since it developed during pregnancy.
· I have developed fluctuating high blood pressure, so for the past two Doctor’s visits I have been sent to the hospital for further monitoring. The first time was scary, they checked out my legs to see if there were any blood clots and luckily there was not! I also got to hear your heartbeat for a good thirty minutes and I loved that part. They monitored my heart pressure every ten minutes and I was back to normal eventually. I also had to get blood drawn both times as well. The second visit was more enjoyable, because my Mom was there to keep me company, the visit was two hours and I did not have to get checked for blood clots. I really loved resting and listening to your heartbeat. The nurses at the hospital are amazing and I learned great information. I now know when my blood pressure is high through symptoms. And here it is for you (at least my symptoms): You have a bad headache and it does not go away with Tylenol, you see specks of lights, get dizzy when you stand up (also symptoms of anemia) and you should tell your doctor right away.
· Then I had to do a kidney test and collect all my urine for 24 hours to test for preeclampsia and I just got the results back and the results said I am good. If it had not come back good, I would have been induced this weekend, because apparently your organs can start to shut down.
· I did learn that I am anemic now and have to take iron supplements (which also explains why I am so tired and have such shortness of breath)
· I am sick with an earache, cough and sore throat
· I still have pelvic pain, but it is easing
· My skin is itching like crazy, because I think you are growing more right now
· Getting your cervix checked is painful!
Okay, so now that all the bad stuff has been written about, let’s get to the best things that have happened in the third trimester.

Our baby showers were awesome; we are so loved and blessed. On November 5th, we had a baby shower at work and it was for both your Dad and me since we both work there. We work with the most amazing people.

Natanya O'Donnell is one of my close friends at work and she planned everything around your bedroom’s theme of hot pink and key lime green. My manager and friend Dezi also helped put everything together. They decorated everything so endearing and had a clothesline full of cute clothes. We were spoiled by everyone; you are going to be the best dressed baby ever and the cleanest! We got the cutest towel outfits to put you in. I love looking at all the outfits and supplies and thinking of all the generosity of everyone who came and were not able to come. We played fun games, for example, we played a game where you had to guess the celebrity baby, I did terrible, but it was fun! Then we played another game where everyone had to list as many baby supplies as possible. I did really good, but still did not win!

My favorite game was the waddle game. My bladder sends me to the bathroom at least twenty times a day and getting there has been often uncomfortable as I have grown bigger in my stomach. Whenever I sit and stand up to go to the bathroom I am in pain at first and have to hold on to a wall or someone to make it there. I am now waddling to the bathroom. So Natanya found this great game and split everyone into two teams; she gave them quarters to put between their knees and they had to waddle to the bucket and drop the quarters in! The first group to successfully drop them in won (the group that won were all women). I did not have to do this game, but I sure loved watching everyone else and found it so funny since I have gotten many smiles as I go to the bathroom on a daily basis! Kim Pickering made your cake and it was yellow and delicious! I love the color yellow; we had pink lemonade, Sam’s yummy meatballs, fruit, crackers and cheese. We went home feeling so loved by everyone we work with and a lot of people came. I just wish I had gotten a group shot.

November 13, 2010 Shower

Second shower was given by Aunt Lindsay, Daisy Commander and Amyee Williams. Alison Kadaz, Sheila Robinson, and Tammy Allison also brought yummy food and helped with the shower. Again, we are so loved and spoiled. You are going to adore all these wonderful women when you come! I sure do! J We had a great turnout of family and friends from church. One of my close friends Faith Doubleday (who I have known for 14 years, we met Freshman year of High School), drove three hours down to spend the night and go to the shower!

We had so much fun together catching up and talking about pregnancy, children and marriage, I love that she understands my frustrations of pregnancy, but we both see the good in everything and still see our blessings. We were talking about the times we have thrown up so bad and been blessed because our husbands are there for us throughout the challenges and blessings of being pregnant. Faith is also pregnant right now, but with her fourth child. We find out next week what she is having; I am hoping it’s a little girl so you two can play together when we go up to visit Faith and Daniel. Grandma Thomas has flown in from Knoxville, TN just in time for the shower and to help all of us, but especially me during the next two months (Again I am so blessed and thankful Grandma is here to help me and your Dad, she will also be with us during labor and delivery)!

You again received beautiful gifts from women who are so excited about your upcoming birth. I felt so pretty and loved and the games were fun, we played two games. One was guessing what was in the bag game; the second was listing baby items. The decorations were stunning and I love hot pink! So Aunt Lindsey created a vintage glam shower theme! It was perfect and made me feel so special! She spent hours on your invitation, designing it, and they turned out so beautiful. The colors were black, hot pink and white.

She found the cutest decorations and put pictures of me when I was a baby on the table. That made me smile! I can be a little vain at times and I think I was a pretty cute baby. The cake was yummy and matched the invitations (loved the hot pink chandelier mobile above the crib, I am dying to replicate it in real life)! You got such special gifts from everyone and the food was fantastic! Seriously, oh so yummy! My favorite chicken croissant sandwiches, fruit salad, chips, pasta salad, appetizers, cheesecake squares, meatballs, veggie tray, pita chips and dip! Seriously I loved eating and I got to take home two chicken croissant sandwiches. I shared one with your Dad out of love (because I love him more than anything, even my favorite sandwiches!)

Other news…

The house is moving along and so I am feeling more relieved with this whole process, we are still cutting everything close. And the biggest blessings of the third trimester is how wonderful everyone is and helpful. From family to our co-workers (who are also now friends), to our church friends and friends we have known for years, everyone is super supportive and helps me to focus on my blessings. I am a stinker some days and only focus on the discomfort and pain I am in and forget that at the end of this experience I am being blessed with a beautiful daughter who I will get to watch grow up and become the woman the Lord wants you to become. All I pray for is that you will see yourself the way he does and the way we will as your parents as a beautiful daughter of God, full of potential and goodness and love for others and yourself. I love to think about all the things I want to teach you and I am excited to watch you play with all the toys I played with when I was a little girl! Oh and I am thrilled you have Cameron and Alyssa for cousins! You three are going to be best of friends!

I love you Emma!

Mommy

Your next letter will be when you are born and the story about your delivery. Let’s pray for an easy one and an easy labor, what do you say? Oh and I would also like to pray for an easy time breastfeeding and an easy recovery! LOL That is my grownup Christmas list for this year :)

Love you now and forever!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

So, my favorite thing to do on my birthday is to think about everything that happened in the year previous. So here is my recap! Enjoy :) Below are my goals for 2010!


27th Birthday Year
Sport performances
Dallas Mavericks vs. Chicago Bulls Basketball game (Honeymoon, so much fun)

Dance performances
Dominic Walsh Dance Co. (Honeymoon)

Musical performances
High School Musical Alhambra Theatre (Dinner and Show for Valentine’s Day)


Other fun things…
Disneyland trip with Tara Nielson, October 2009
Tara’s October Trip to see me J
Disneyland trips with Emily Schmutz, October –November 2009
Planned California Wedding Reception
Moved out of my apartment in Santa Ana, CA
November 2009, Moved to Jacksonville, FL
November 2009, Called to be the Second Counselor in the Young Women Presidency, over the Beehives
Lived with John, Lindsay and Cameron till my wedding in March
Started new position at University of Phoenix as Student Support Specialist in November 2009
Became an Aunt to my niece Alyssa and Katie (The day I arrived in Jacksonville) November 15, 2010
Became a homeowner in January 2010
Employee of the Month, February 2010
Disneyland Trip with Jeff, March 2010
WB Tour with Jeff, March 2010
First time to LA Temple March 2010 with Jeff
Married my eternal companion and love Jeff on Friday, March 12, 2010
Honeymooned in Orange County, California and Dallas, TX
Found out I was pregnant, April 6th, 2010
Got nominated into a Work Leadership Program (8 weeks)
July 2010: Found out we were having a girl, Emma Riley
July 2010 Graduated from the Work Leadership Program
September 2010 Finished the Human Resource Certificate Program

Trips
October 2009, Florida Vacation to Jacksonville
November 2009, Moved to Jacksonville, FL
November 2009, Thanksgiving with the Honeycutt’s in Dallas, TX
March 2010, Trip to Ontario and Orange County, CA to get married in the Newport Beach Temple
March 2010, Trip to Dallas, TX for Honeymoon and Dallas Reception
May 2010, Trip to Knoxville, TN for Knoxville, TN reception
July 2010, Trip to Niceville, FL (near Destin) Niece Katie’s Blessing
August 2010, Trip to Orlando, Florida Youth Temple Trip (Chaperone)
August 2010, Trip to St. Augustine, FL with John, Lindsay and Cameron

New favorite TV show:Bones and Veronica Mars
Some of the books I have read:
The Help, Kathryn Stockett
The Giver, Lois Lowry
Plain Truth, by Jodi Picoult
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
The last song, Nicholas Sparks
Dear John, Nicholas Sparks
The Lightening Thief, Rick Riordan
The last Olympian, Rick Riordan
The sea of monsters, Rick Riordan
The Titan's curse, Rick Riordan
The battle of the Labyrinth, Rick Riordan
The hope chest,Karen Schwabach
No Impact Man, by Collin Beavan

So far favorite movies of 2010
“Dear John”, “Percy Jackson”, “Last Song”, “Letters to Juliet”, “Twilight 3 Eclipse”, “Ramona and Beezus”

New Hobbies
Cooking and Baking!

2010 Goals

• Read my scriptures everyday
• Exercise 5 times a week for at least an hour (this is once Emma comes out (and I get clearance from doctor) the swelling is gone and I can walk again without the accompanying constant pain in my legs and feet I have been experiencing this last month)
• Spend time with Jeff and continue to put him first and our relationship
• Learn how to be a great Mom to Emma and spend quality time with her
• Continue to learn everything I can about baking and cooking
• Pace myself and live a simplified lifestyle (stop trying to do so much)

Here is to another great year, I am excited to see what 28 holds for me!

Thanks for being my friend and loving me despite my imperfections and faults! I sure love all of you :)

September in a Recap

The men at Alyssa's Blessing Day

Our Happy Alyssa, She is too cute for words!

Such a cute picture of my Mom with her grandbabies!

Cameron kissing his Cousin Alyssa and Alyssa holding the baby doll

Cameron playing with the Jack in the Box

September Recap

Alyssa’s Blessing Day: September 5, 2010
Alyssa was blessed at church and was a very sweet experience, she is such a little doll and just smiling at everyone, her dress was so beautiful, my Mom found it in California. We had family over at house to celebrate her blessing. Robert and Amanda got her the cutest cake and provided a great meal for everyone.

Labor Day
Then on Labor Day, we went to Lindsay’s Aunt Sheila and Uncle Joe’s house (who we have adopted as our Aunt and Uncle) and had a party with the family. The food was incredible as always! We had fun seeing everyone again and Cameron was a big hit with devouring a cupcake and Alyssa also got into the action with her own and they both seemed to enjoy the treat!

My Parents Visit
My parents drove down to see all of us and we had asked for my Mom’s help with our house, so we could make some progress. We could not have workers in our house without us being there and since we both work full time and with our church callings nothing was really getting done. So my Dad came with my Mom and they had fun playing with their two grandbabies! My Dad bought Alyssa her first doll and Cameron a Jack in the box (both toys were just perfect for them and loved by both of the kids).

On Saturday, my Dad had plans with John and Jeff and I wanted to go to Denny’s, so we invited my Mom to come so we could treat her, but she really wanted to get the house ready for the family gathering on Sunday after the blessing, so we went alone. Well, we ordered our breakfast, when John and my Dad came walking right past us and did not even notice we were sitting right there. They were in a good line of vision from us, so we called them to ask them some fun questions and then we finally told them we were there, John started looking everywhere and finally spotted us. He came over and we were all talking and then my Dad came over. We ended up eating our breakfast, then going to their table while they ate and we checked out some deals at this renovation surplus store (had nothing we needed) and went home!

My Mom’s Extended Stay
With my Mom being here, we accomplished a lot! We hired a drywall crew to come in and drywall the dining room, side family room and study, it has made a HUGE difference! Then those rooms got painted and Dean (our handyman) put in all the lights, baseboards, door, window in the study and it looks AMAZING! We just need to spend hours cleaning up all the construction debris and then clean the floors and we are going to set up the family room. Once we get the carpet in the study installed, we plan on moving our bed in there and setting up the office and then we can move everything out of the other side of the house and finish all the work that has not been done yet.
My Mom was quite the big help and I had bought all these fabric and decided to use it for the guest bedroom, she made my curtains for me and two pillows for the bed and this blanket that goes over the bed at the end. We had so much fun collaborating on it. We also found the perfect sheer curtains to go underneath the other curtains. We bought paint and my Mom painted these two wall hangings I was given. The results are so beautiful! As soon as I get everything put back together I will take pictures and post them on here. My Mom is the best and my love for her has increased even more since becoming pregnant and learning a bit about what my Mom has done for me. She bought Emma some really cute clothes.
We watched a great movie called Ballet Shoes and really enjoyed it.

HRM Certificate
I finished my Human Resource Management Certificate program! 18 credits total and I was really ready for it to be done. I was so exhausted from trying to balance so much and to have this completed means so much to me. I can never quit something I invest in and I was not about to quit my program just because it did not coincide well with pregnancy! I should find out my grade tomorrow and then I can order my certificate. The last class took everything I had because of all the work that needed to be accomplished!

Emma Update
Went to the Doctor this month, passed the glucose test with flying colors! I have gained 28 pounds total, I am in my third trimester now and Emma’s heart is good, her heartbeat is strong and compared to the average height for children her age she is in the 71 percentile. She is moving more than ever and I love feeling her move and on Sunday, September 26, 2010 Jeff finally felt our daughter moving! I was so happy he finally got to feel her moving J we love our little girl and are excited for Emma’s arrival (we are just praying she comes on time, so we can get everything accomplished). We expect her to be here sometime during December 5th through December 10th!

And in closing….
I also got to go to a Girls night out with ladies from church to the Cheesecake factory for dinner and even though the wait was too long, we still had a great time and yummy food! I really enjoyed spending time with everyone and we celebrated Daisy and Amyee’s birthdays!
Everything else this month has been about survival and getting through school, Jeff teaching Seminary, work (which we both love), cleaning, cooking, laundry and trying to work on our house when we have a moment!


Pictures taken from my Mom's Camera

Cute Photos.....

I finally ordered a new power cord for my laptop, so now if I could just find the camera battery charger, I will be back in business :)

Here are adorable pictures of my two little loves: Cameron, my nephew and my niece Alyssa! They are so endearing, loving, beautiful little people! I love their smiles, their hugs, the light they radiate. These are old pictures, Alyssa has grown more, Cameron is walking and constantly on the go and both of them have great personalities!

They make me excited to see my daughter in 15 weeks! :) But I am really enjoying my last 15 weeks of freedom, once a parent, always a parent. So I am enjoying sleep, listening to my music, watching what I want too, well and what Jeff likes to listen and watch as well!

I will post her new pictures soon, she looks like a baby now :) So adorable and makes me ache to hold her. It is difficult to believe she is within me sometimes, because she is not a mover and I can hardly feel her half the time. On the ultrasound she was not real active, just kicking back! But her heartbeat is strong, she is measuring tall, I love her little profile. This has really made me appreciate my parents, but especially my Mom for going through pregnancy to bring me into this world and then for her constant love and support. I am so blessed to have her in my life. She is coming to help Jeff and I for two weeks, so we can have workers at the house to finish some important projects: Drywall, master bathroom, carpeting in the bedrooms and study, etc... I am so excited!!!

My dear sweet....

My dear sweet Emma,

Today I found out our baby is you; a little girl. I am beyond thrilled at your coming, I am so happy you will be the oldest of our children. I spent the entire first and most of the second trimesters thinking you were a boy so I am thrilled I am getting a little girl. I felt closeness to the spirit after learning your gender, it was the sweetest thing, just overcoming me at my joy of learning for sure we were having our Emma. (We cheated a few weeks ago and had your Uncle Dave, take a sneak peak for us to see your gender when we were visiting him and Aunt April over Fourth of July weekend.He was only 70 percent sure you were a girl because of your modesty at not showing us your gender, so now we know for sure!).

So I am now going to write you this letter and let you in on the details of this pregnancy that I am having with you. You were a complete surprise in one sense. Your Father (who is also beyond excited about you coming and being a girl) and I were married in the Newport Beach temple. We both felt very strongly about being married in the temple. Mainly because we believe in eternal families and we want to progress and be with Heavenly Father again as a family. You were born under the covenant of our marriage.

Meaning you receive all the blessings we receive because of the choices your father and I have made so far. We still have work at keeping them strong and being the best we can be to keep our covenant active. In our dating courtship, we very carefully kept the sacred covenants we had made prior in the temple and knew in order to be married in the temple we needed to be our best. We did keep our covenants and the spirit was very strong in the sealing room when we were married.

One part of our temple experience was looking into the mirrors and symbolically seeing the future generations as much as the past generations in the mirrors behind us. I think that moment made me want to cry the most, thinking about my children being there with us in the temple from heaven looking down at the blessings we had all just received.

Another experience I had was when your father proposed to me, I was telling Katie about it and she said something like, “just think your children must be so excited at the thought that you both are engaged and were there watching you!” That is when I started to cry just thinking about you all up there and it made it so real for me.

Your daddy and I talked a lot during our courtship about being parents and what kind of parents we aspire to be and how to best protect you and teach you the gospel and how to live life. This is one if the reasons I fell so deeply in love with your father. He is so great with all children and also because of how he treats me and cares for me. We chose your name during our courtship along with three others for our other children we also hope to have.

Your name is Emma; you were named after quite a few great women. One being myself! I know a little vain, but this name is really special to me and inspires me to be the best namesake ever for you. Then you are named after one of our ancestors that I was named after. Her name was Emily, but she went by Emma since they are so similar.

Your name is old fashioned to symbolize traits and characteristics of the past. Your middle name Riley is a modern name and so you are a perfect blend of the beautiful things of the past and all the greatness of the things to come. I am going to decorate your room as vintage with a modern twist. Your Aunt Lindsay loves the theme as much as I do and is helping me with ideas!

Emma Riley Honeycutt has such a beautiful sound and I hope you love your name as much as we do.

Now on to the discovery of your existence. We were married on Friday March 12, 2010, we had our reception on March 13th on Saturday and we believe you were conceived on either the 13th or the 14th. Those are the only two days for the rest of our honeymoon were not so careful since we did not think I needed to be. I had just completed my womanly time table on the day I was married and according to what I had heard there was no way I would get pregnant. I heard wrong and you my dear girl were conceived. We had planned on expanding our family after October of this year, after we had settled more into marriage and fixing up our home. We had no idea we both were that fertile!

Fast forward five weeks later, a few days after Easter, I came home from work excited to see your daddy and give him a kiss when low and behold, it repulsed me. Because he had just eaten a Reese peanut butter cup and it smelled terrible to me! Your Dad jokingly said I should take a pregnancy test. So I took up the challenge and imagine my complete shock to learn I was pregnant. We took a second one just in case.

Your father was BEAMING the minute he found out. I was in shock and it took me a couple of days for the reality to sink in. I was excited, just worried about the timing and how we were going to get the house done in time and then worried about your health since the house needed so much work done to it and I could not be around the chemicals and stuff.

You’re Uncle John and Aunt Lindsay invited us to stay with them while we worked on the home. We stayed for about a month. We still have lots to do on the house, but we did finish the hall bathroom and kitchen and have moved back in along with plumbing the entire house and demo work through out. This is not the ideal situation and so that has been hard.

I have had an interesting pregnancy so far in my first trimester, I threw up really bad in public at a hotel after eating some breakfast it was bad and completely embarrassing. I dry heaved a lot; my chest was so tender it ached all the time. I gained weight quickly at first (all the weight I had lost in the last few months), but it slowed way down quickly and so I am measuring at the right weight for pregnancy gain.

I felt starving sensations so strong in the first trimester I could hardly stand it. And sometimes I had just eaten an hour before. Your sonogram at week 12, is when you felt more real too me. I loved looking at your growing body and being thrilled at your development. You were so cute all curled up trying to sleep. You like sleeping on your stomach. You had your hand over your eye at one point and you love moving your little legs.

Second trimester has actually been tougher for me, overall I have been tired, but I think that is because I take on too much and then wear myself out. So I am working on balance and trying to not over do it. Your sonogram today, has you measuring healthy. You weigh 11 ounces. You moved around a lot and you seem to love to be across my stomach, but at one point you were straight up and down with your leg at my belly button. You were on your stomach again and so cute. I have heartburn more frequently and hardly any energy. Now at 19 weeks I have thrown up twice so bad that I broke all the blood vessels in my face and neck. This last time also resulted in giving me popped blood vessels in my eyes, currently I look terrible!

I was also so emotional yesterday, I could not stop crying and I had nothing to cry about. Everyone at work was so sweet to me. I also lightly sprained my right foot after losing my balance at Target then got caught in a downpour of rain and was soaking wet. My manager Dezi sent me home at 4:00pm and I am so glad, I needed to rest.

This is really gross to write about, but I think you should know just what a huge blessing you are receiving. The morning after I had thrown up really bad, your dad was sleeping when the whole thing happened. I told him in the morning before falling back asleep, that it happened in the bathroom sink since I was going to the bathroom when it came up. And I had hoped the throw up had finally drained. Well it turns out it did not drain.

Your Dad loved me enough to scoop out all of the mess and put it in the trash and then clean the sink three times while I slept. Emma, that’s a real man! I love your father more than I could ever express in words. He is so good to me and shows he cares everyday. We are so blessed to have him as our protector and spiritual leader in the home, he loves and respects women and he understands the gospel and loves us so much.

Until my next letter, know you are loved and cherished. Everyone is so excited to meet you. I have never been so eager for it to be December because I am so thrilled at the thought of holding you in my arms and being your mother. This is saying a lot because I LOVE this time of year and always look forward to Christmas, but with you coming I am even more ecstatic.

Love you with all my heart,
Mommy

Tennessee Reception (Our Pictures...)

Socially Speaking...

We have loved living near my brothers and their families. We get together at least a few times a month. We recently went to the beach for Lindsay’s birthday. Lindsay and John had everyone over for dinner on Sunday. We also got together one night to watch a movie.

We always have fun together, even if I have now become the target for teasing from not only my brothers, but my husband as well. I am such an easy target and I need to figure out how to beat them at this never ending tease feast. We also love spending time with our niece and nephew. I love observing their cute personalities and interest in each other. Cameron loves to touch faces and he was so determined to try and touch Alyssa’s face!

Jeff and I have not been able to have anyone over (because of our house), so making friends has come very slowly and if I am honest hardly at all. We have not had lots of time because of the house and work. Since I have been here, I have gone to two book club meetings, two baby showers, Easter at Aunt Sheila’s and Christmas since November.

On Saturday, when Jeff and I were at Wal-Mart, we fantasized about what would have happened if the Lord has sent us to Tennessee instead of Florida socially wise. Because I have such a wealth of couple friends and single friends there to spend time with and Jeff thought everyone was great who came to the wedding reception and all the support. We also talked about how we missed our friends in California and all the get together's we used to have and the double dates with our good friends Emily and David.

Well we had to eat our words on Sunday, because we got invited to our first non-family invite this past Monday to spend time with the Carvers, Jill and Jared for a family home evening night. They also invited John, Lindsay and Cameron and Daisy and her daughter Romey (her husband was out of town). We had so much fun! (We do LOVE living here and We do LOVE spending time with family, don’t get me wrong, I am just saying its nice to have additional friends to invite over as well)

They made everyone dinner, the most amazing and deluxe meal ever, seriously it was gourmet, my favorite was the chicken (Best I have ever had), the sauce that went over everything (again nothing like I had ever tasted, I wanted to cover it in everything), rice pilaf and the salad were my favorites. The bread was also really good and the french onion soup! See how spoiled we were!

I got asked to teach the lesson and Lindsay and John brought dessert. It was such a fun night and I am so happy we were invited. Jill is having a girl in November, so our baby and her’s will be close in age! They also have two boys that are really cute.

P.S. This is not a plea to get invited over more, even though I welcome invitations! I just want to remember this because it meant so much. When you move, it is easy for it to take years to build strong friendships with other families and to not have to make the first move to invite since our house is not suitable for guests yet. Once we can invite people over, then I can take more responsibility to make sure we have more friends in the area. I also have a night out with the girls to watch New Moon before Eclipse comes out at the end of the month.

Work....

Jeff:
· Went to Atlanta, GA for training, one week there, one week back, one week there and now home!
· He got a student who wants to come to school while in training and on the phone!
· Ben, his trainer, told me that he has never seen anyone so determined to succeed in Enrollment and so determined to support his wife and baby! He said he is so impressed by Jeff and what he is capable of! I agreed with him of course.
· Even with everything going great so far, pray for Jeff in his new position, he has one of the toughest positions at work and it takes a lot of effort and prayers to meet all of his goals and help students start school that are ready.

Specifically, if you want to know what to pray about, here is my suggestion: pray that potential students will answer the phone so Jeff can work with them in determining if they are ready for school and if this is the right school for them.

Emily:
Work has never been so wonderful and I love my position so much. I help new students all day in skills to help them succeed in school and understand what is expected of them. So don’t read this section if you don’t want to hear me bragging, cause I am finally sharing all my work achievements over the last seven months!

When I started this role, I was the only one in the entire University that spans North America and the world that did this role. There are other similar versions, but nothing quite what I offer to students. When I got into the role, everything was not well defined because it was newer and only one other person before me did it. So I got a lot of flexibility to design it the way I want. I got approval to meet with students and teach them how to study, use the computer and software like PowerPoint and Word.


In an employee meeting, with the Vice President of the Region, my financial counterpart and myself presented in front of our departments what we have done with my role and finances role and how it is impacting students and helping them succeed in school.

He liked it so much, he asked us to present in front of all the Directors of our region at their meeting in March on the 12th. Since the day of our presentation was our wedding day I could not be there to present. I was so disappointed. I created all the material and the PowerPoint and my partner at work presented it to all to them. She did a great job. We soon heard back and found out they were rolling our position all across Florida. I got to train 3 people for my position elsewhere in Florida and one Finance Counselor. And they have enrolled three finance counselors to do my counterparts role as well.


This caught the attention of the Vice President of all of the University in Student Services and she came to Florida and quizzed my VP about what we were doing and how it was going. She ended up meeting me and asked me more about what I am doing and the material I developed! She is impressed with the work we are doing and they are observing our student retention.

Then I was nominated from another manager not in my department to be apart of a leadership training program, there are only nine people in this program and we have been told we are identified as the future leaders of our campus and this is a training to help prepare us for management.

The program is for the next 8 weeks and this program will only happen once a year. I was so excited!

Then within my team from the leadership program, I was nominated to lead the group project over the next 8 weeks. They also chose my idea as the one we would do for the project and the Directors seemed excited about our idea.

I also got employee of the month in February for showing heart in how I service my students and going above and beyond in helping them with their issues.

And today, I just got my six month review and got consistency exceeds expectations (highest you can get)!

Work has me floating on cloud nine and I am loving everything about my position and everyone I work with.

Our House Progress....

We get asked frequently about the progress on our house, so here it is compiled neatly in one place.

This is a never ending project and we are not projected to be done till Thanksgiving since Jeff will be doing all of the work himself after Sunday, unless we get free volunteers to help with labor. On the brightside at least it will be done by the time the baby comes.

We are moving out of John and Lindsay’s house by Sunday night. So at least the hall bathroom will be completed (except the tub will not be glazed white and will still be teal) and the kitchen will be installed where we can use it. So the most important things are finished where we can move back in by Sunday night.

From now until Sunday what needs to get done:
-Grout and seal the travertine in the kitchen
-Install the stove, dishwasher, fridge, sink, facuet, pantry door and lights in the kitchen, remove all construction debri in the kitchen, living room and back rooms, grout and seal the bathroom travertine walls in the shower, paint the walls, fix the ceiling, Install the toliet, cabinet, mirror, sink and lights and door and move everything out of the living room.

Things that need to be completed after we move in:
-Paint the living room (including fireplace and high beams, will be white)
-Paint the hallway
-Install the ceiling fans in the living room, side family room, study
-Install the lights in the dining room, kitchen, bathrooms, master bedroom, hallway
-Replace all the electrical outlets and the covers in the house
-Drywall, mud and paint the dining room, the study, side living room
-Build the closet in the study and install the window on the side of the house
-Install all the doors in the house
-Replace the mailbox
-Finish the floor in the master bathroom (even it out and travertine it)
-Get the septic tank cleaned out
-Get the house sprayed for bugs
-Carpet the master bedroom, guest room, baby’s room and study (we will hire home depot to do this project)
-Replace the front doors
-Replace the front porch with slate
-Paint the outside of the house

What we have already completed
-Stripped for HOURS and DAYs all the wallpaper in this house (Emily and Jeff)
-Srubbed and cleaned the entire house (Emily, Jeff and Trinia)
-Papered all the nice floors in the house to protect it from debri and paint (took a full day, that is why I am including this!)
-Removed the top of the bookshelves in the side living room (my Dad)
-Sprayed the entire house with white paint, to get rid of the smell in the house and it did not work as well, that is when we ripped out walls and it got better and now just smells like construction (Dean)
-Replaced the laundry room floor (Jeff and John (my brother))
-Replaced the wood rot in parts of the outside house (Jeff and Dean)
-Replaced the side door from the garage (Jeff and Dean)
-Fixed the air conditioner, so it works (Hired someone)
-Painted the guest room and baby’s room (Jeff and Emily, pre-wedding)
-Replaced the ceiling fans in the guest bedroom and baby’s room (Emily and Dean, pre-wedding)
-Removed two years worth of leaves from the front yard (Dean, Jeff and Emily)
-Demo’ed the walls in the dining room, study, side living room (Jeff, Dean and another guy)
-Gutted both bathrooms including walls (found wood rot in the shower) (Jeff, Dean and another guy)
-Re-plumbed the entire house (the pipes were so nasty!) (Jeff and Dean)

-Re-did some of the drywall in the kitchen and mudded it and sanded it (Jeff and my manager Dezi)

-Mudded the walls in the master bedroom and sanded it down (Jeff)

-Fixed the Electric in the kitchen (Jeff and Dean)
-Replaced the cabinets and countertops in the kitchen (Looks so beautiful) (Hired Oxley Cabinets to do it)
-Replaced the floors in the hall bathroom and the kitchen (Dean)
-Drywalled hall bathroom and replaced shower walls (Dean)
-Built the Shower pan in the Master Bathroom to be even (hired help)
-Went to home depot and lowes, Floor and Décor countless times for supplies….

***Dean has helped us with the house, he is one of John’s guys that has helped remoldel all of his Flips and rental properties.

As you can see when we are done we will have a new house and just be over $100,000 dollars for our home. By January 2011, we will have paid out this year $29,000 dollars in cash for this house to fix it up, paid the down payment and all the fees with purchasing a house (we had to pay closing costs for us and the bank around $8,000 dollars) and now you know why we are broke on two incomes (LOL)! This is what our second income is paying for (all the debt we have incurred on cards) until the baby comes.

We don’t have the money to pay for anyone to help us with the list of things that have yet to be finished, so Jeff will be handling all those repairs and why it will take us so long since he is also working full time and going to school full time. He is AMAZING and I can’t believe how blessed I am to have him.

If I were not pregnant, I would be assisting him more and I HATE that I can’t help him. So any volunteers over the next year would be wonderful! Let us know.... My young women and a few of the young men in the ward have volunteered to help us, which is so sweet. As soon as we get to a point where we can take advantage of this offer we will.

Current Honeycutt Happenings...

This week is all about catching up in all areas of our lives, since I am so sporadic on this blog! My laptop is currently out of commission until we can replace the cord, which is why you all have not gotten to hear about our CA Temple wedding, honeymoon and time spent in TX and CA because I want you to see all the cute pictures.


Our Relationship…

We have enjoyed the moments when we do get to be together. We go on dates every week and we go grocery shopping together and plan dinner together for the week. Normally when we are shopping! LOL. We also eat lunch together and commute together since we work at the same building, different areas though.

We have seen some great movies lately, I have discovered a great money saving resource. We can get new releases from the library, I created a hold list before the movies were out at the library, when they came out we got to borrow it for free for a week! We have seen Avatar, Where the Wild Things Are, Dear John so far. We have to wait a little bit, but it is totally worth it.

We normally have our meals together which is so nice. I love being married and that is because of being married to Jeff! He is AWESOME and he shows me he loves me through his words and actions everyday. He is so good at helping me and it makes me want to serve him as well all the time. I am always thinking about what I can do to make him happy. I feel so blessed and he was worth all the years I spent single, because I appreciate him and I don’t take him for granted as I might have had we married earlier in our twenties.

Spiritually/Church Related

We are both being so blessed in this area. Jeff got called to be over the youth as a seminary teacher for two wards. He LOVES it and he is perfect for this calling, because he loves working with the youth, likes getting up early, going to bed early, studying the scriptures and teaching. He takes his calling seriously and wants to make the scriptures understandable to the youth. It does come with challenges, he has many people to make happy and everyone has opinions about attendance policies. Jeff is trying to do what his leaders are telling him that are over the program even though its making others annoyed! Seminary is out for the summer, so Jeff is preparing for next year and we are going to Orlando on Saturday for more training.

I LOVE my calling, I am serving as second counselor in the young women's presidency so I get have our beehive girls. Each one of them is so amazing and I love them dearly. They are such great examples of keeping the standards of the church with modesty and being kind to others. I really love our discussions in our beehive class and Jenna who teaches Beehives is great, she is so reliable and fun. She loves and cares for the young women as well and she teaches with the spirit.

I love Sharra Dains who is over our personal progress nights once a month. She is so creative and all the girls love her and her lessons. She taught us how to make bracelets on Tuesday to remember our Integrity no matter where we are.

I love and am so blessed to work with Lindsay, Lisa, Amyee, Jenna, Daisy and Allison. We have great leaders and wonderful girls, so I am glad the Lord wanted me in this divine program. The interesting thing is back in January 2009- on I had impressions I would serve in the young women's and even had a few dreams about it.

I did not know at the time if it was just a desire or if it was really something that was going to happen, but I feel and now know the Lord was preparing me for this calling. I always get choked up when we are in the temple and we pray over the youth and what they will face. I have been that way since I started going to the temple four years ago come December. I think about everything they are facing and are going to face and I just want them to be safe and protected spiritually and physically.

I am so blessed to have had great young women leaders throughout my program as a teenager that helped me prepare for the future, I want to provide the same experiences to our girls. I know the reason I was so chaste during my single years and able to marry in the temple was because of my parents and the lessons and examples that were taught to me in Young Women's.

Education

Just finished another HR class about employee benefits, health and safety for my certificate program. I should be finished September 19th with the certificate! Jeff also just started school and is crazy busy with that as well. He is studying Business and Finance for his undergrad degree. After that he will wants to work on a Masters in Business Administration and a financial planning masters (I can't remember the name of the program)at a sister school. So I plan on him being in school for the next 5 years! Good thing he loves where he works and receives tuition benefits!

The Comparison Game

I really miss California food places. Corner Bakery, Jamba Juice, Lazy Dog Café, El Pollo Loco, Café Rio, Jade’s Palace, In and Out, Pinkberry, this Huntington beach yogurt place, Trader Joes even though its not technically a food place. This has been the hardest adjustment besides leaving family and friends behind. And the funny thing is I hardly ate out while I lived there, and I don’t eat out much here. But when I do, I want to go to my favorite places.

So I did what any girl would do after moving to a new city that lacks all those favorite places above and I am looking for substitute places, where food might be similar even though it’s not the same. Jacksonville does have a Mimi’s, Auntie Anne’s and Cheesecake factory. So I thought I would blog about the journey when I can actually do a comparison (when I have a few dollars to splurge of course, so this is very random).

So today’s comparison is based on, “The Corner Bakery D.C. Chicken Salad on Steakhouse Rye.” This sandwich is made with roasted chicken, crisp green apples, currants, red onions, celery, mayonnaise, and toasted almonds. The sandwich also has lettuce and tomatoes. The bread has nuts in it giving the sandwich the perfect blend. Chips and a pickle come with this meal. Its heaven to eat and I crave it with no satisfaction in sight because there is no Corner Bakery in Jacksonville, FL.

The contender is Panera Bread’s Napa Almond Chicken Salad; this is made with all-natural pepper-mustard chicken, diced celery, seedless grapes, almonds & our special dressing. Served with lettuce & tomato, on Sesame Semolina bread. Also includes chips and a pickle. To make it fair I did ask them to add red onion to my Panera sandwich to lessen one more ingredient that is missing from the DC chicken salad.

My Impressions….
Corner Bakery gives you a greater portion of the extras in the chicken salad, more flavor, its chunkier and what I learned is chicken, apples, currants and bread do make a big difference in taste!. What a difference roasted chicken makes in the taste of chicken, they had regular chicken at Panera and while I appreciate it is antibiotic free, there was no flavor! The bread was good, but wrong for the sandwich, I think the rye works better from Corner Bakery because it has the nuts and holds the sandwich flavor better.

I seriously could have made a better sandwich myself. The few grapes were squished and did not add any flavor, the chicken salad was sparse (the amount is comparable to the chicken salad you might find in a plastic container from the gas station. I could not taste or feel the crunch of the celery or the almonds in the chicken salad. The only thing I could taste was the red onion I had them add, the lettuce and tomato and the bread tasted good, even though I did not like the combo of the sandwich. I was disappointed, but relieved to know the truth because now I will never eat there for their chicken salad.

The chips were about equal, except Corner Bakery gives you more! And the pickle I got from Panera was pathetic and looked limp, but tasted fine. I could have fared better at Arby’s eating their chicken salad than I did today at Panera Bread.

I also love the décor of Corner Bakery; it’s relaxing and is designed really well.

Panera has a hip feel that is fine. Their plates are to big making you feel like you are not getting as much food.

My closest Corner Bakery is in Atlanta GA and eventually they are putting them in South Florida by 2012 (14 to be exact) and of course it is 5 ½ hours away, meanwhile I suffer with pregnancy cravings for a sandwich that is nowhere near me. If anyone comes across the actual recipe will you send it to me? I found a few online I am going to try.

Panera’s saving grace is their delicious bagels and their bakery; I love the Cinnamon Crunch Bagel with Honey Walnut Cream Cheese. This bagel tastes like heaven and brings me so much joy and happiness. I am dying to buy their Bagel pack (13 bagels and two tubs of cream cheese for $14 dollars) and fill it with Cinnamon Crunch bagels and two containers of Honey Walnut Cream Cheese and not share it with anyone (Would be eaten slowly over two weeks to savor and enjoy)!

I told Jeff that is what I want for my birthday. He laughed and said okay! He is great at remembering things I want so I trust this is one gift I will receive for my birthday!

Next Contenders...
Eventually I am going to compare my favorite Jamba Juice to Tropical Planet Smoothie. My sister-in-law Lindsay said it tastes good and is natural, so I am going to compare the two. I LOVE Jamba Juice so we will see. The sad thing is Jamba Juice used to be in Jacksonville and both places were shut down due to the economy. I was so devastated to find that out. Until I try the tropical smoothie place, I am enjoying Sonic drinks during this hot and humid weather. Jeff and I love going during happy hour when the drinks are half off. They also have great strawberry shakes (buy one get one free)!

Can you tell I am pregnant and thinking of food! Don’t worry, I do not indulge in my bagel fantasies (meaning one bagel and some cream cheese) often just on occasion and sonic is pretty inconsistent as well, it depends on how many quarters we can find! LOL

Images Supplied by www.google.com/images

An important poem to read! :) Written by Emily Honeycutt

There once was a man named Jeffrey,

Who loved a woman named Emily.

They married in March,

In Gods Holy House.

Being such planners,

They had it all figured,

Remodel the house,

With zeal and with zest.

Taking time to enjoy

Life's married quest.

Then one evening,

In early April while Jeff and Emily were kissing,

Emily soon was expressing disgust!

"Is that peanut butter on your breath?"

I think I might be sick!

So out came a test,

With shock came an answer,

They were not expecting,

A honeymoon baby

Would soon be appearing

Life quickly changing,

Plans rearranging

Early December

They will be blessed

With a little one to love and to kiss,

Overall pregnancy has been great,

Only few discomforts to relate,

Larger chest, more discomfort,

Throwing up once in public,

Dry heaving four times

When hunger smell or emotion strikes

but joy in this little one,

Always abounds!

Our new addition to our family at 12 weeks and 4 days old!

Baby Honeycutt

We find out the gender on July 21, 2010,

so leave us a comment with what you think our baby will be!

The baby is curled up with the head down sleeping on their stomach!

I love how you can see the spine of our cutie pie!

This is my favorite shot, because the baby has the hand over their face and my niece and nephew did this a lot as newborns! So this melted my heart. The heartbeat is really strong too!

Looking a little scary in this shot, but great view of skull

so we know that has developed normally!

One of our baby's feet!

Side profile, Lindsay thinks the baby is sucking their thumb, I think the baby is sticking out his/her tonuge! LOL


Going today made everything so special, Jeff's favorite part was seeing the movement of our baby and how it would turn around to his/her belly and not budge for us to get the right shot!

I loved how much our baby moved their arms! It was adorable and made me just fall in love already.

The start of many posts....

We have been married for over one month and it is wonderful! I love Jeff so much and we have not had a difficult transition into living together (maybe because we are older, dated along time, have both lived with difficult personalities throughout the years and the result is living together has so far been pretty easy!) so this is a huge blessing!

That is not to say life is just peaceful bliss and we are floating on a cloud of heaven everyday! We are overwhelmed with a lot of things and changes, between working, remodeling our house every weekend, church, church callings and a few other surprises we have encountered, we feel we are just surviving through everyday while holding on to each other for dear life!

We have great family and friends helping us through everything and have some ideas for getting our house done sooner so we can enjoy having a normal life routine! Don't take your nice homes or apartments for granted, enjoy your carpet, your kitchen and having the option of making dinner easily from a full functioning kitchen everynight. I hope to say in a month I can make dinner easily in a kitchen with a stove! I don't feel bad for myself, because I chose this, we decided we would save money on purchasing a house that needed remolding so it was my decision to live this way for a short period of time. I did not realize how difficult it would be, but I have hope we can get it done sooner than later. I just want everyone to feel gratitude for the things I used to take for granted!

As a side note, I am working on writing all of the Thank You cards from the wedding for all the people who helped us and all the gifts we have received and beautiful cards sent to us. They made us feel very loved and special and we really appreciated everything. So don't give up on getting one yet or wonder why it has not come, I am just working on each one in my spare time and once I am done will take them all to the post office to be sent with love to all those who have given so much to us, we appreciate it! I am only writing about this because it weighs heavily on my mind everyday and I have a strong desire to send them out and there are many to write and so much in my heart that I want to say and so the process is longer than I anticipated.

Now that I have gotten it off my chest I can breathe a little easier! I am getting ahead of myself though, lets start from a week before the wedding....

Preview before the wedding….
Our wedding week! We arrived in California on March 5, 2010 and I just felt at home again. I knew where I was going, I was thrilled that I was going to see everyone again and I will admit that I could not wait to visit my favorite food places out there.

So we stayed the first two nights at my Aunt Kath’s house. Friday night, Jeff and I flew in, rented our car (I loved this car and felt on top of the world driving such a new shiny car, Jeff let me pick the rental car out and let me drive it first and I hate driving so that said something about this car) and we headed to Lucille’s BBQ Restaurant.

We waited for an hour to be seated and sitting next to us was a teen couple who were expecting a baby. I became a little annoyed when another teenager, came up to them and congratulated her on getting pregnant! I was thinking are you serious?

I would never congratulate a teen for getting pregnant! I would tell them how wise they are if they give their baby up for adoption so the baby would have a stable home environment. So maybe this is judgemental of me to think and I try not to be, but I just feel bad they got themselves into being parents at such a young age (they looked like 15 year olds).

So anyways, we get seated and we are eating great food, when Jeff pulls out a hair from his food and right then our waitress walked by and we showed her Jeff's discovery.

She took the plate back, got Jeff new food and the manager came by and apologized and said his meal was covered! We were excited about that, what impressed me about Jeff is how he handled everything. When the waitress came over, he just showed the hair to her, he did not make it a big deal at all. When the manager came over, Jeff was not rude, but kept telling the manager, it was okay, reasurring him he understood things happen. The manager looked shocked that Jeff was so nice, calm and pleasant that he looked taken back. I was so impressed with my man!

(This story will be done in several posts, I want to wait till I have all the pictures and so it might take a few days in between to post the whole story, we still have no Internet at home and I can't check my Facebook very easily! But don't give up on me!)