A New Journey

Last summer I went to Seattle, WA to visit my Sister-in-Law Angela, her husband Shane, and their cute baby Wesley. I went to go get to know them better, but also to see if I really wanted to be a parent sometime soon. I had two options for myself. 1. Save up for a European Vacation with Brad. 2. Try to have a baby. After my wonderful experience feeding Wesley, watching him, reading to him, I knew what I wanted! Now, how would I convince Brad to want the same thing?

Well, it didn't take much convincing. We started trying to have a a baby on our 2 year anniversary on November 30th. I tried hard not to be disappointed when I found out two weeks later that I was not pregnant. I knew the statistics and that it took healthy couples up to a year to get pregnant.

A week after finals started, we were on the plane to enjoy and much needed Christmas vacation with family and friends. I had not seen Brad so relaxed in such a long time- it was wonderful. We came home Jan. 4th, back to school, back to Provo, back to the "real world." The 15th of January came and I was showering before school. I went to go wash my belly and it felt differently. It was kinda hard in the middle of my lower abdomen. I didn't really think much of it, but decided- since I had a pregnancy test in my vanity drawer, I would just take it and see. To my sheer surprise and delight I got a blue + sign. What? A plus sign!? I'm pregnant!!! I didn't know what to do. I paced the floors then got on my knees to thank God for blessing us with a baby so soon!

Much to my dismay I lost my phone. I couldn't call Brad to tell him the amazing news!! So, I got on g-chat and the first person there was Angela. I was so excited that I spilled the beans. I quickly got dressed after chatting with her and walked to school to see if my phone was there because I wanted to tell Brad so badly what happened.

I found my phone, and water bottle in the Y-Be-Fit office. YAY!!! I immediately dialed Brad and said, "Guess what" You are not going to believe this!" and he answered, "What?" "I'm pregnant," I said with bright enthusiasm. "Really!" Brad replied. Then he said, we need to go to the doctors to make this official. So, he called the midwife to ask about the pee tests.

A few moments later, he picked me up from home while I was telling my Mom and Dad the exciting news. We went into the midwife clinic in Orem and I had to pee so bad I could barely stand it. The secretary there made me fill out an info chart and all I wanted to do was pee!!!! Finally they called me back, I went, put the cup in the little box carved out of the wall, and waited.

Kim, said, "Leslie, you can come on back." We walked it with eagerness. "Well, Congrats you're pregnant! Your due date is Sept. 22." I got a little teary-eyed, but I was mostly ecstatic. I went to target right away to get a journal to document this journey while Brad called his family to tell them the good news.

I kept thinking, wow! you're really pregnant! You did it! I couldn't go to school that day, I was too excited. Besides, I wanted to see my dad who happened to fly in that day.

Fast forward two long weeks later. Everything is so hard to do. Transitioning from the bed to the bathroom is a chore. I was never picky before- now I am super picky. These are the foods I've lived off of for the past week (which has seemed like an eternity):

• 1% Chocolate milk
• Special K cereal with strawberries in it
• Bananas
• Soda Crackers
• water
• toast

I get heartburn sometimes and I get nauseous if I don't eat frequently. Today I woke up, went in the kitchened, and gagged because it smelled so bad. I'm really sensitive to smells. I was fine with our tap water before, now I cant' stand the taste. Brad cleaned the whole house this morning while I fell back asleep. What a good man!

Right now, I'm trying to stay afloat in all my classes, and trying to get better from a virus that I caught over a week ago. Anyway, I know that I'm only 6 weeks and that this was a super long blog post, but family only reads this anyway, and I just thought I'd tell you a little about what has been happening.

Thanks again to the Gottula's for my much needed care package! You guys rock!

Re-take

I failed Math 119 my first semester at BYU. It was very devastating. I go from being a 4.0 student to completely failing a class. I took the class is the Jesse Knight Building on campus- a seemingly heartless place that is very difficult to navigate. The professor, who's name I purposefully forgot a long time ago I still can't remember, and would rather not. He was a cold and stern old man who had a gut and a thick mustache. He made students cry on several occasions because of his belittling tactics and was always a master at making himself appear much smarter and better than all of his impotent students.

Two years later, I'm back in the same room of the same building I had it to begin with. I start to get nauseous as I climb the stairs up to the classroom. I sit down to discover a long lost friend is in the class with me. I was thrilled! I don't have to be here alone, and she can help distract me from the painful memories of the class.

My teacher walks in. She is a sweet southern lady who is very beautiful and tall. She could have been a basketball player in her earlier years. As the class went on, I felt like most of the material clicked in my head. I understood her teaching- for the first time in my life from a math teacher!!!

Needless to say, I am so thrilled and thankful that I am retaking calculus from such an awesome teacher!!! Maybe I can pull a C?