These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

So I've discovered a few things lately that have definitely put a smile on my face and thought I would share a few of my recent favorite things with you all.

The Magic Bullet. Yes, there's a reason it's called the MAGIC bullet.

Costco Truffles. AMAZING!!! If you haven't blessed yourself with this little indulgence, you are missing out! Just under $12 for a box of 4 bags!!!

Jon & Kate Plus 8. This is my hour of smiles on Monday night. It really is one of the greatest shows on tv.

Stir Fry. After the incident with my gall bladder and the limited diet that resulted, I have rediscovered a love of stir fry. Yummy and healthy! Can't get better than that right?

The Last of the Mohicans soundtrack. This was one of the purchases I made with the iTunes gift card Gordon gave me for Christmas. After listening I remembered why it's one of the greatest soundtracks ever!

Brent Brown Toyota. Thank you for getting the dent I put in the 4Runner out so beautifully! It looks amazing and you definitely saved my bacon with Gordon!!

Appliances that work! I seriously underestimated how much we use the microwave until it broke and it's awesome to have a working one again. I unthawed my ground beef with a smile on my face tonight!!

So what are some of your favorite things?

My First Christmas

Updates

We survived surgery! Last Monday I had my gall bladder removed in a surgery that lasted an amazing 45 min! It's truly incredible what modern medicine is capable of these days. We were at the hospital for a total of 4 hours and were able to go home the same day. Recovery has been going well and I think we're getting close to being back to normal...almost.

In addition to my body breaking down, we've also suffered several household casualties including our stove, our microwave and our vacuum. It seems our 12-year-old appliances have finally decided to act their age.

Tyler had his 2 month check up and now weighs 14 lbs. He's healthy as can be and is such fun to have around. He's been full of smiles lately and loves to stair at his fist raised in the air. (We'll have to post a pic of that. It's absolutely hilarious and he finds it totally fascinating!)

Gordon made it through finals inspite of all of the distractions my surgery provided. He's all set for another semester and wishes it was his last but we only have 2 more to go! Hooray!

Christmas was a blast! We spent Christmas Eve and part of Christmas Day over at my parents. We had our annual Jerusalem dinner which is always a highlight and played our traditional Christmas Eve games. Thanks mom for all of the yummy food, fun, and the cute nativity! This year we played our nativity game a little different. For those who don't know, every year my mom collects nativities to give to us girls to add to our collections and on Christmas Eve we play a game to determine who gets which one. This year, she wrapped each one in several layers of wrapping paper and then we passed them around and whoever opened the last layer of wrapping paper got to keep it. We had a lot of fun playing and really appreciate all of the effort mom puts in to making our holidays so much fun.

Well, that's about all that's been going on with us! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have survived the crazy weather!

A Holiday Diet...Sort of

This last week I got the unhappy and unwelcome news that I have to have my gall bladder out. Woo Hoo! The only plus side? A holiday diet. For those who don't know (and I didn't before this "little" diagnosis) your gall bladder passes the bile that helps you digest fatty foods. In some cases, the opening can get blocked causing severe abdominal pain and then has to be removed to fix the problem. From what I've read there aren't any side-effects of having it removed. I don't think it's quite like your wisdom teeth in the fact that they are a totally useless thing left over from evolution but your body is still able to pass the bile for digestion to the right spot without the gall bladder. So, as a result, I have seriously limited my intake of all of the fun holiday foods I've previously enjoyed to avoid said abdonimal pain. The only perk has been a little weight loss. I still have not learned what causes the blockage but have heard that it's a pretty common thing for women who have had babies to experience. Great! I suppose the best thing to do is just take advantage of this unexpected holiday diet! Farewell fun yummy holiday desserts! I'll miss you!

A Great Day

Today was Tyler's blessing day. Together with family and friends, Gordon blessed Tyler with a beautiful blessing. It's truly amazing how such a little person can have such a big impact on our lives. We have been so grateful for him and for all of the wonderful family and friends that continually support us and to our Heavenly Father for this new little family we've started. It was fun to see Gordon's dad, step-mom and sister who flew in from Washington as well as all of the other family who came to support us. We definitely missed those that are far away and weren't able to come but we love you and hope we'll see you soon! We love and thank you all for helping make this a special day for our family.









We were able to take some photos with the Manning side of the family after the blessing taken with a different camera. Hopefully those will be coming soon.

Growing bigger and bigger!

It's pretty amazing how time flies! Tyler is officially now 6 weeks old and is growing and changing everyday. The last time we had him weighed (two weeks ago) he weighed over 11 pounds and has definitely grown since then. Let's just say that this little guy is helping me work off some of my pregnancy weight! It's been amazing to see his little personality coming through already. He's started to smile and interact a lot more and has started to get bored of just looking at the ceiling. He loves walking around our thoroughly exciting house looking at lights and anything else that happens to catch his attention. I'm not exactly sure how far away he can focus at this point but it has been fun to feel like he recognizes us. He is getting to be more and more fun every day if that's possible! We've been trying to get a photo of his cute little smile. So far this is as close as we've come...

A Photo Shoot With Grandpa

A couple of weeks ago we took Tyler over to my parent's house for a little photo shoot with my dad. We ended up with some great pics thanks to my dad's excellent camera work and have been able to use them in some fun places. We no longer have empty picture frames hanging on the wall and the ballet shoes in the frames in Tyler's bedroom have been replaced with something a little more "manly"! Thanks for being willing to photograph your grandson, dad!

Tagged...Awhile ago.

So I noticed I was tagged quite some time ago so I thought I would finally fill it out. Here goes:

8 Favorite TV Shows:
1. Prison Break
2. Designed To Sell
3. Divine Design
4. Fringe
5. Heroes
6. Jon & Kate + 8
7. Cosby (Yes, I still watch it and LOVE it!)
8. Crusoe (Still testing the waters on this one...)

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Panera Bread (Oh how I miss you and your potato chips!!)
2. Cafe Rio
3. Chilis
4. Olive Garden
5. Panda Express
6. Lonestar Steak House
7. Wendy's
8. Sonic

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1. I fed Tyler
2. I put Tyler to sleep
3. I changed Tyler's diaper
4. I fed Tyler
5. I put Tyler to sleep
6. I changed Tyler's diaper
7. I finished Tyler's baby announcement (Thanks Lianne and Dad!)
8. I fed Tyler...

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Christmas and the Holiday Season (Bring on the Christmas carols!!)
2. Establishing a routine
3. Watching Tyler continue to grow, change and develop
4. The day Gordon graduates
5. Tyler's baby blessing
6. My 6 week appointment and being completely healed from surgery
7. Twilight- the movie!!!
8. Sleep

8 Things I Love About Fall:
1. The leaves changing color
2. Cooler sweater weather
3. Thanksgiving
4. Christmas music starting to play
5. Hot Cocoa
6. Family gatherings
7. The first snow
8. Holiday movies

8 Things On My Wish List:
1. A completed food storage
2. New kitchen appliances
3. Refinished kitchen cabinets
4. Clothes that are not maternity
5. Living room drapes
6. Family photos for 2008
7. A piano
8. Panera Bread potato chips

8 People I Tag:
1. Anyone reading this
2. Anyone reading this
3. Anyone reading this
4. Anyone reading this...
You get the idea.

Our First Week As Parents

Well, we've officially survived our first week as parents and are absolutely in love with this adorable baby. It seems he has changed so much already! At his weight check on Monday he had already broken 8 lbs! I guess we've got a hungry hippo in the family! We feel so blessed to have him in our home and, as any proud parents, of course have gotten a little camera happy. So, here are some moments from the last week and a half:

Announcing Tyler Matthew

Well, he's finally here!! Our little bundle of joy was born yesterday at exactly 2:00pm. After a little stress and concern, Tyler Matthew was delivered via c-section at 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 20 in and we couldn't be more excited about this beautiful baby boy that has joined our family! We just wanted to share a few choice pics from our little guys first day for those who are too far to come meet him in person. We miss and love you all!

A Great Find

What $20 at DI, a can of spray paint, and a brilliant mother will get you:

I've mentioned before that I'm a project junky so I thought I'd share one of the projects I've finished lately. My mom spotted this great little sewing table at DI that fits perfectly in our office now that it's all refinished. It's truly amazing what a can of spray paint and a little elbow grease can do! It's definitely one of the things I'm grateful we kids learned from my mom and one of the things I'm grateful she's willing to help us do. (Just to give you an idea of how thrilled I was, the other option I had been eyeing was a $150 laptop table at IKEA. Now that's a savings I can handle!!)

Look Who's Back From the Dead!!

Hello everyone! I know I've been a total slacker in the blogging world for...well, for forever! So, I just thought I'd post and let everyone know what's been going on around here since we headed back from OH.

- For all those still wondering, we have not had the baby yet. He was due this last Sunday, Sept. 28th, but he apparently has decided he's not quite ready to come yet. We have an inducement scheduled for Oct. 8th so that's the very latest he'll be here. We'll for sure keep everyone posted on any breaking news though!

- We finished the nursery! Well, almost. We just have to slip cover a chair and then we're all done! I'll post some pics when we get the chair back in there.

- Gordon and I have cleaned the house about a million times since we got home. I was calling him my slave driver there for a little while but we have officially organized, cleaned out, and put away almost everything that was out of sorts from moving every summer. The last item of business: food storage. But, that will have to wait until the baby comes.

- New light fixtures! This is one thing both Gordon and I HATE to do and he's been a good sport putting new light fixtures in both our bathrooms and hanging 2 new ceiling fans. A HUGE thanks to dad and Mark for your help with that! It definitely saved us from insanity! :)

- Catching up with family and friends. This is our most favorite thing to do and we have loved getting together with family and friends again. Our absence every summer definitely makes us appreciate the wonderful family and friends that we have and we're so grateful for all they do to help us.

- Baby Showers. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful baby showers! I didn't get pics posted but if you want to see all the fun we had on the Manning side, check out the Drury's blog. Nancy, Mom, and everyone threw us a wonderful shower where we played a couple of games, ate yummy food, caught up with friends and family, and received some adorable gifts. The Richards side of the family surprised us with a shower shortly after we got back and we had a blast opening presents and playing games and bbq-ing some yummy food. Thanks again to everyone for the wonderful gifts, food, games and fun. We truly appreciate it!

Well, those are some of the highlights of our time since we've been back. Now we're just occupied with waiting fort his little guy to come! I keep thinking any day now, but he'll come when he's ready I suppose. We couldn't be more excited and that makes waiting all the more unbearable. Hope you all are doing well and hopefully the next time you visit our blog, we'll be announcing the arrival of a beautiful baby boy!

Randomness from the last couple of weeks...

Breaking Dawn: Loved, loved, loved it!! For all of you fans out there, Stephenie Meyer gets two thumbs way up for the last book in this wonderful series!! For all of you who have yet to be converted to the Twilight/Edward craze, you have my sympathies that you haven't yet experienced the wonders of Forks, WA... You'll all have to work on changing that! Definitely one of the highlights of the summer for me. Judge that any way you want. And yes, my life really is that boring right now! :)

SYTYCD: Way to pull out a mediocre season with a great finale! After losing all of my favorites prematurely, I was definitely pleased to see that the finale was definitely still worth watching. All I can say is "HOORAY FOR THE RETURN OF WADE!!" Lianne and I decided that his absence was what made for a less-than-fantastic season but I was so pleased to see his awesome work in the finale. Gordon and I will be planning a trip to Vegas to see more of your amazing stuff!

Projects, projects and more projects: So it's been my goal to start and FINISH projects this summer. And I'm happy to report I've done pretty well. Projects are seriously my summer lifesaver! They save from boring days, rainy days, too hot days, and every other day in between. Everyone should be on the project train!

The Olympics: Way psyched about this! As others have said, the olympics truly are amazing! I love the spirit of our crazy messed up world coming together. It makes me feel connected to so many other places in the world. A little like I'm not so isolated in my own little life for a few weeks. Can't wait to watch more!

Pregnancy Update: We're now nearing week 33 and are getting psyched for our new little addition! It's crazy to think that the baby is due next month! The doctor says everything is looking good and we've got an active little guy in there- which I can definitely attest to. On a side note, a cry for help to all of you who have experienced the wonderful last trimester of pregnancy: Any recommendations on how to keep your tummy from itching?? It's driving me CRAZY and I can't seem to find anything that eases the itchiness. Any suggestions?

Funny Stuff

I had seen this version of a Japanese candid camera type show awhile back and then Gordon got it in an email from his brother. Just thought I'd share it with you all. Hope it puts a smile on your face!

I've Got the Blues...

The Utah blues that is. Today I've been thinking about how the drive home is right around the corner and here in not too long I'll be packing boxes and getting ready to head back to our favorite place in the world. HOME!! This summer has been pretty good- all things considered- and I feel like I've done a good job of not getting too home sick. We have so much to be grateful for and have received so many blessings, but, as the time winds down, the more I get excited to be done. So, I decided I'd post a list of all the things I've been really missing lately... a top 10 list of sorts. (And for any of you who aren't big Utah fans, just remember that you don't truely appreciate what you have until you move somewhere else. So live it up for all of us who aren't there to enjoy!)

10. Knowing where I'm going without having to use mapquest. I miss just hopping in the car and thinking, "Ok, this is what I need and I know exactly how to get there."

9. Cafe Rio and Iceburg. Sounds crazy but I miss being right across the street from one of our favorite restaraunts and right around the corner from great fries and shakes.

8. The mountains! I miss those big beautiful rockies that surround us everywhere you look. I can't tell east from west without them now and definitely miss that beautiful backdrop.

7. Camping. I don't remember the last time we were able to go but have been craving dutch oven cooking and sitting around the campfire with dad and his guitar. One of these days...

6. Crazy as it may sound, I miss Utah grass and Utah trees. There just different there somehow. Even if they are a little on the dry side...

5. Normal life. If you've never done summer sales then you may not quite understand but we always say it will be nice to get back to "normal life". As if our life here is somehow abnormal. Nevertheless, it's that normal life I miss.

4. Being in a ward we can call home. It's no fun feeling transient. I miss the premanence of home.

3. Home sweet home! I can't say it enough. I'm so looking forward to being back in our own little townhouse in our little neighborhood. I miss our ward and friends and just sitting on the couch enjoying a Friday night together in our own living room.

2. Family, family, and more family! We can't wait to back!!

1. Seeing my hubby. The 2 hours a day we get right now just aren't cuttin' it!! There will definitely be some leisurely walks and date nights when we get home!

Gettin' Prepared

Last week I headed back to UT to get a few things ready for our little bundle of joy. I had a doctor's appointment I had to go to and figured while I was in town I may as well get as much done as possible in our nursery. (When we head home at the end of the summer I'll be 8 months pregnant and probably not the most mobile hippo in the bunch...) It was so exciting getting things ready! My mom and I worked and worked on lots of cute things and I'm so grateful for all of her know-how and willingness to help her sometimes "challenged" daughter figure things out. Thanks mom! You're amazing! So, my week in UT consisted of painting the baby's room, purchasing and putting together the crib, hanging curtain rods, picking up a few accessories to go around the room, and sewing, sewing and more sewing! To the surprise of all- mostly myself- I actually sewed 4 receiving blankents, 2 pillows, and the curtains you see hanging below. (As I've mentioned to my sewing cousins, my sewing ability consists of anything in the shape of a square.) Everything turned out really cute I thought and that is mostly thanks to the expert sewing skills/advice of my mom. We still have a long way to go to get everything done, however. I wanted Gordon to be a part of putting the whole room together and there is still a lot to be done but we got a good start on it all. It was exciting for me to feel like I'm able to prepare in some way this summer. As mom would say, becoming a "domestic goddess". :)

For those of you who know Gordon, you won't be surprised to see that there will be lots of sports in this little guy's room, but we've come up with a compromise. I told him I'd do a sports theme if we could have some more geometric, simple prints to tone down the sports. Hence, the bedding you see below. I was so excited when I found this striped bedding that I think can tie in with all of the sports without being sports. Hopefully I'm not too far off the mark. There will be more pics to come when I'm able to get more done back in UT, but for now, here's a sneak peak of what things are looking like:






A HUGE special thanks to my helping-hands: Mom, Dad, and Kara. You guys were so awesome with all of your help! I totally appreciate everything you guys did and always do for us. It would have been slow-going without you!

The Greatest Songs of All Time

Surfing the web today, I came across a list of Rolling Stones 100 greatest songs of all time, and it got me thinking, what would I consider the "greatest songs of all time"? It's really a tough choice judging from all of the music I consider great. I'm kind of an eclectic listener. So, I pose the same question to anyone reading this: Which would you consider the greatest songs of all time? You know, the kind of song that you could listen to year after year and it never gets old and always makes you stop and think "Man, this is a great song"? I'm curious what all of your favorites are so let me know. Some of the ones I love are listed on RS' 100 greatest and some aren't but I thought it might be kind of fun to hear what songs you all would put on that list. Here are some I came up with in no particular order:

- Fire and Rain by James Taylor
- Something in the Way She Moves by James Taylor
- You Can Close Your Eyes by James Taylor
- Carolina On My Mind by James Taylor...virtually any song by James Taylor
- Blackbird by Sarah McLachlan
- Singin' in the Rain by Gene Kelly
- Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
- Collide by Howie Day
- One Fine Day by Natalie Merchant
- Mack The Knife by Michael Buble (and a variety of other artists)
- Home by Michael Buble
- A Long December by Counting Crows
- Let It Be by The Beatles
- Motorcycle Driveby by Third Eye Blind
- Rainy Days and Mondays by The Carpenters- don't we all secretly just love The Carpenters?

I know some of those still have yet to really stand the test of time, but hopefully that gets you all thinking.

Celebrating an Amazing Woman

To get everyone up to speed on what has been going on in the Richards family, last week Gordon and I travelled back to UT for the funeral of his mom, Charlotte Richards. She passed away after a long battle with cancer. We were able to spend a few days back with all of his family. All of the services were really beautiful and it was a great opportunity to reflect on what a truly incredible person she was. We were so fortunate to have such a wonderful, caring woman in our lives and are grateful for the time we had with her. She was such an example of love, sacrifice, and faith and we were grateful for the opportunity to return home to celebrate her wonderful life and achievements. We have been so grateful for the knowledge we have of Heavenly Father's plan for us through all of this. It has reinforced even more clearly the importance of family and we are so grateful for the ones we have been blessed with. A big thanks to all who have expressed their love and concern.

What a fun trip!

Needless to say, it was a blast visiting the Gardners. We so miss having them close by! We had so much fun hanging out, celebrating Brinley's birthday, and touring the sites of PA. The girls are growing up so fast and it was fun to spend a good amount of time with them. A big thanks to Annette and Ron for all of their hospitality and all of the fun things they had planned for our trip out. We were definitely spoiled! We love and miss you guys already!

Valley Forge

Sunday after church we all took a trip out to drive around Valley Forge. Talk about beautiful!! It definitely made me wish I lived down the street. We did arrive after all of the tours were closed, but it was still fun to drive around and see the replicas of the cabins where the soldiers stayed during their six months at Valley Forge, Washington's Headquarters and the Memorial Arch for the sacrifices made there. Top it all off with beautiful Pennsylvania countryside and it was a pretty neat trip. Take the time to visit if you're ever in that neck of the woods. You won't be dissapointed!

A Day in Philadelphia

Our second trip out in PA was to Philadelphia. We were able to tour Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Liberty Bell, and the Benjamin Franklin museum. A few highlights for me:

- Learning more about our nation's history and being in the places where it actually happened.
- Seeing the very chair George Washington sat in when they formed the Declaration of Independence.
- Driving through a big city without having a panic attack...
- Walking around Phili with family. It was so fun being with all the Gardners and Manning sisters and Mom and seeing new things and new places together.

A Day With the Amish

After arriving in PA to visit the Gardners, we all decided it would be fun to take a trip out to visit Lancaster to visit the Amish. It was definitely an eye-opening trip to see how the Amish live and work. A few highlights of the trip for me:

- Seeing all of the ingenious ways they do without modern technology.
- Learning about the Amish religion and philosophy. (I knew zip about it before we went!)
- Seeing the "interesting" ways they name towns in PA. (See Annette's blog for the evidence.)
- Chris the woodcarver and his pumpkin launcher. Seriously one of the funniest things I've ever seen. He truly had Brinley convinced to let him launch her over the barn on the farm, over a tree and into a pile of sheep poop. Her only complaint: "But I don't want to get messy!" Hilarious!

A Day in Kirtland

I'm sure most of you have already seen all of the pictures on other people's blogs, but I thought I'd finally get mine posted from the fun last couple of weeks that we've had. These are from our day in Kirtland. My Mom and Kara flew in to visit and we took advantage of the day we spent here in OH before heading to Annette's in PA by making a trip out to Kirtland. It was AWESOME! Definitely worth every minute. A few highlights of our visit for me:

- Learning more about the history of Kirtland and the history of the Church in general.
- Learning more about the Kirtland temple and the sacrifices made to build it.
- Walking where Joseph Smith and so many of the those prominent first members walked.
- Seeing the actual table Joseph Smith sat at while receiving many revelations.
- Being in the room where they held the School of the Prophets above the Newel K. Whitney store.
- Having my testimony strengthened of the truthfulness of the Gospel.

There was such a wonderful spirit in Kirtland and no denying that it truly is an incredible place. If you ever have a chance to make it out there, TAKE IT! You definitely won't be disappointed.