Thanksgiving and 28 Week Photo

I am a little behind on blogging since we don't have the internet and I have started working full-time until the baby comes! We spent Thanksgiving with my Family over at my brothers home. So much fun to be around family and see those we haven't for so long (both mine and Burke's family)! We also had a great time ringing in the Christmas Season with a Christmas Kickoff with Burke's family including good food and a classic Christmas movie (don't have any pictures to share of that). Here are just a few photos from Thanksgiving--

We spent some time outside with the grandkids...Burke was awesome to help them build a big leaf pile!

They all have their own little personalities...We can't wait to see what kind of personality Hinckley adds to the mix!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here I am at 28 weeks. Today I am 30 weeks and 4 days so this picture is a little old. I can hardly believe how close we are getting to having him here! Life is going good...I am getting used to the diabetes, there really isn't much change except for not eating very many sweets. Not hard at all at this time of year ;). Burke is just finishing up with his finals and then he will be home free for the Holiday Season! We are so excited to be able to spend some more time with family and the time is going to fly!

Today I am Thankful

-This time of year just helps us to remember that-

Last night we watched the movie "We are Marshall." Have you ever seen it? Definitely a must see in my opinion. It is an emotional film but one that helps you remember the loved ones in your life who you should be thankful for.

1: Thankful for my Husband, Burke. He is so amazing and most perfect for me. Going through this emotional ride of me being pregnant and just dealing with it, I'm sure isn't easy. He reminds me of the good things in life and that everything will be okay through the little things he does everyday. Without him I would be even more of an emotional wreck! The best decision I ever made was on October 13th, 2007, when I said YES! LOVE YOU BABE

2. Baby Hinckley. So thankful to have this little guy inside of me and having the privileged of feeling life everyday. His POWERFUL movements remind me several times a day of the great miracle/gift we are given to create life. I am extremely thankful that we are being trusted by our Heavenly Father to raise this little guy and can't wait to meet him on his BIRTHday! Our love for him grows deeper everyday!

3. My Family. My family is incredible. Of course we have our little corks like everyone else but they accept me for me! Now that we are older and each starting our own families it is so much fun to get together and reminisce about how truly grateful we are for our immediate family and amazing parents who raised us and provided us with a great lifestyle. THANKS!

4. My in-laws. I could have not asked for a better family to marry into. I truly feel like I am PART of the family. I BELONG. It is so nice to marry into a family who has the same beliefs and standards that I am used to, raised a son into an amazing man, and now treat me as one of their daughters! THANKS!

The Ability to LOVE is amazing...we once had a speaker in Church talk about how he learned to love. It took him until his mission to actually know what it feels like. He would always have his companions telling him that they loved him, but he could never tell them back. He had the hardest time expressing love. Today I am most grateful that I can look Burke in the face and tell him I love him and he can say he loves me to...I am excited to be able to tell my son how much I love him and for him to one day say he love me too!

Showered with Love

Moving from Provo has made me a little homesick for it and all my friends up there. My Sister Holly and long life friend Becky are amazing and gave me a shower for our little guy! It was such a blast to see everyone and spend time with family and friends we have missed. I spaced it and forgot my camera so here are a few I got from Becky's blog!

Thanks everyone for such a fun weekend...our boy will be decked out!!
(sorry the pics are a little small)

-LOVE THESE TWO GIRLS-The food was absolutely delicious! I could have a few of those desserts right about now!-Some of the people that came! So much fun to see everyone!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE

So the other week I had to do that fun Glucose test that every Pregnant women has the privilege of doing. It consists of drinking a sugar drink and then waiting an hour at the hospital and then getting your blood drawn. Not fun but I made it through in high hopes that I would pass.

The next day I found out I did not pass and would have to do another test that takes 3 hours. This time I had to fast for about 10-12 hours. I then had to go in and get my blood drawn to make sure it had been long enough. After that I had to drink another sugar drink with twice the amount of sugar then the last one. I wish they would have only had to take my blood one more time but no it was three more, every hour on the hour! Not fun but again I left hoping I had past.

The next day I received a call from the doctors office and they informed me that I had failed the test once again and now have GESTATIONAL DIABETES! Great just in time for the holidays. FUN FOR ME...not so much!

I will be meeting with a Dietitian on Monday but until then I am supposed to watch my carbs and stay within 30-45 a day. I have come to realized that that is not very much and I hope she changes it for my real diet! Pregnant women usually eat a lot you know :)!

Vanilla Mint

I got new chap stick, Vanilla Mint Chap Stick
I put it on more often then not because of the delicious smell.

The smell under my nose reminds me of the Holidays approaching
The food (love the food), weather, colors, clothes

Excited to smell my favorite, pumpkin pie
And listen to the dancing jingles in Christmas Music
But most of all, excited to see family members that miles of road separate.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We went to my 26 week appointment yesterday for Baby Bess. We can not believe how fast the time is flying by. 3 weeks is Thanksgiving, then about 4 til Christmas, then six more and he could be here! CRAZY.

Everything is going great. Heard the heart beat which is always re-assuring. On track with weight...4 more pounds can be added for a total of 21!

I had to take the fun Glucose test yesterday...not as bad as I thought but not a fun test either. Just wanted to get it over with and hope I don't have to do it again. Blood work is honestly the worst part of pregnancy so far. We also noticed for the first time last night that my ankles are slowly swelling. Do not want that but bound to happen.

Pregnancy is an experience all in its own. I have grown to really appreciate and have great respect for mothers. I am enjoying every minute of it although my attitude may show differently at times. Everyday our love for this little miracle growing inside of me is growing!

Things That Change

I received an e-mail today that contained a few things of what changes when you have a baby. I feel like a few of them can also apply to when I got married which makes life so much better. I can't wait to feel them even more when our baby arrives!!

1.You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.
2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.
3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.
4. You respect your body ... finally.
5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.
6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.
7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.
8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.
9. Your heart breaks much more easily.
10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.
11. Every day is a surprise.
12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)
13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
14. You become a morning person.
15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

I WON!!

I NEVER EVER win ANYTHING!!
BUT today is a different story!

I visit this blog called Give Away Today every day to see what great new items are being given away. On Friday there were three items, all of which I was interested in. I decided that it wouldn't hurt just to enter. There's always a ton of entries so I do not figure I will win anything.

When I went to the blog today I didn't figure to see my name, but there it was. I wanted to scream but of course I was at work and had to hold it in! Go HERE to see what I won!

Also Check out The photographer's blog. She does amazing work and it will be great to get some fun shots after the baby is born!

--New Prego Picture in post below!

24 Weeks

Here I am at 24 weeks. I can not believe how fast time is flying by. This picture does not nearly show how big I really am, believe me I am big.

What we have noticed:
-I can no longer see my feet very well
-I am finding that I can not walk around stores nearly as long as I used to cause my back and feet start to hurt
-My belly button is slowly disappearing
-We can feel Baby Bess very clearly from the outside-whole body parts
-His kicks and moves are very strong from the inside
-Last doctors appointment I had gained 4 pounds (a pound for each week of the last month and a total or 17 pounds)

What we have done lately on the Baby's room:
-Set the crib up that my sister gave us (Thanks)
-Purchased the crib bedding-the one I posted a little while ago
-Re-did a rocking chair that we purchased for 20$ up North
-Re-did a swing cover for the swing my sister gave us (Thanks)

We get more excited every day for Baby Bess to get here! Although we know it will be hard and an major adjustment, (as many people have freely informed us) we are still extremely excited!

Today

On this rainy day

I would rather...
be driving up the canyon looking at fall colors
with rain pounding on the car
listening to my favorite music playing.

I would rather...
be home wrapped in a blanket
reading a good book
with the rain hitting against the window

I would rather...
be home snuggling with Burke
drinking hot chocolate
with the fireplace blazing
or
taking a long walk hand-in-hand under an umbrella.

INSTEAD
Burke is at school
and I am at work wishing we could be together.

Blessings

I know that it is not November yet but My sister-in-law Kate did a great post on death. You can read it here. It really got me thinking of all that I am blessed with.

We currently live with Grandpa in Cedar City.
It is so much fun and a privilege to get to talk with him everyday. We hear his stories and words of wisdom. I have found myself laughing, crying, and filled with excitement for the next thing he shares with us.

Often times I have a hard time leaving him home alone.
His wife passed away 10+ years ago. Although he is used to being alone I can't help but feel sad when we drive away with him staring out the window.

We are blessed to have Grandpa in our lives.

The other day we had a doctors appointment.
On the way we passed the graveyard where a new burial grave was being dug. I couldn't help but think of the excitement we were having as another family was having an emotional load dumped on them (which reminded me of Kate's post).

The experience of being pregnant.
Has brought about many new emotions in me, as I am sure it does in most women. I am excited, frightened, delighted and honored to me trusted by Heavenly Father with one of his children.

We are blessed to be able start a family with our little guy.

As with most people.
Life gets busy and we get caught in the motion of things. Life is expensive. Worries, concerns, and hard days fall upon us.

Thanks to the little things.
The little things in life, which are big at the time, help to get us through life. Like being "forgiven" for the rest of my school loan, receiving a grant for school, and simply being around family and friends when needed lightens the load.

We are blessed with tender mercies.

Of course there are many other blessings in my life but those few things have been on my mind lately! Burke always reminds me that Life is Good...and it is!

Five Months (Twenty Weeks)

Here I am at twenty weeks...Getting bigger and feeling it! It is so much fun to feel him move around all the time now. My last appointment I had gained 7 pounds! I about died but I have to remember that everything adds up! Trust me though...I am taking advantage of this time and eating lots of shakes and chocolate along with the healthy foods of course!

Burke is so great to me and already worried about my ankles swelling (they are not yet though) so he rubs them practically every night! We have learned that it is important to take advantage of the time we have with just "us" before the baby comes but we love to fantasize what it will be like and ready to be the "three of us!" We are just so excited and grateful to be having a little one soon!

Choices

¹name

Pronunciation: \ˈnām\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English nama; akin to Old High German namo name, Latin nomen, Greek onoma, onyma

Date: before 12th century

a : a word or phrase that constitutes the distinctive designation of a person or thing b : a word or symbol used in logic to designate an entity

Choosing a name for Baby Bess is so difficult...I don't know how some people just know. This is the name he will be known by for the rest of his life! I am one of those people that wants a name decided before he arrived. We think we have something decided and then the next day it has changed.

For now...we will give it a rest and maybe something will come.

Burke felt Baby move on Sunday 9/20/09
It was fun to see his reaction!!
Baby already has him
wrapped around
his finger :)

Five months (twenty weeks) tomorrow
picture soon to be posted

i was measured the other day

I had to get measure the other day
I know I am short,
but for some reason I thought the last time I measured I was 5 foot 1 inch
I always round up so I tell people I am 5 foot 2 inches (just a small fib)
Well,
the other day I was proven wrong
I measured 5 foot 1/4 of an inch (maybe I wasn't standing straight).

...Now I will round up to 5 foot 1 inch.

Now the Fun Begins!

Love this Crib bedding! Who knew Boy bedding could be so cute?!

Proof that there is Something Growing

It's A BOY!

Yesterday we had our ultrasound to make sure everything was going great...not to mention to find out whether our baby is a boy or a girl. It was so exciting to see Him moving around in there...He was seriously moving! I can not believe how active our baby is. The Ultrasound Tech was so great and was just loving every minute of it...she took a ton of pictures. I was trying to figure out what we were having that I was not even looking in the right spot. Burke said "Oh, it is definitely a boy!" I asked, "You can already tell?" Of course he laughed at me because there it was plain as day....a BOY! We already love him so much!

Here are a few pictures for you...sorry the one that announces is not on here.

He constantly had his hands up by his face sucking on his thumb.

He was always hiding from us with he feet straight in the air.

Four Months

This picture was taken at four months. I will be eighteen weeks on Saturday and we are scheduled for an ultra sound on Monday! Boy or Girl?

3 Months

Here I am at three months. It is a little late because I will be four months on Sat. We have an ultrasound scheduled for the 14th of September to find out if it is a boy or a girl! We can hardly wait!

Thanks to Everyone!

We are finally settled in Cedar City. We do not have the internet yet so I have yet to post pictures that I have. I sometimes go to the library with Burke so I will try to post my 3 month and 4 month pictures as soon as I can.


We just wanted to put a big THANKS out to everyone for helping us look for jobs while we have been in transition. I finally landed a job at Infowest as a receptionist thanks to two good friends. We have decided that it would be best for Burke to just take a full load and focus on school.


Although life has been super busy the last couple of months, we enjoyed seeing friends attending weddings and being with family! It is so nice to be closer to home!

WORK WANTED-

Moved to Cedar City and of course the economy is bad right now and it does not help that Cedar is a small city
BUT

If anyone hears of any possible job leads, let us know! We would love to look into it.


Teresa is looking for:
A full-time position with benefits (if at all possible)
I would love to work in an environment with kids
or work for a business as a secretary/receptionist.

Burke is looking for:
A part-time position (Afternoons after one PM)
He is a Business major so anything in that area would be great
However, at this point any job position would be nice!

Thanks for keeping your eye open for us!

It may not look like it...BUT we are EXPECTING!

Baby Bess is in the oven and doing GREAT! We are actually almost three months along and have already had one ultrasound and heard the heartbeat. It is amazing how hearing those little thumps calm all my nerves and worries. We have a while left but we can hardly wait til it gets closer to February 13th!


I have not been too sick but I have got to say that Burke has been very patient with me and is going to be a great Dad. He takes great care of me when I am sick and never ever complains...I would not blame him if he did.Three month prego pic coming soon...got to love them:)

CALIFORNIA

We went to California with Ben, Kim, and little Annie last week. It was so much fun to just get away and go to the beach! We did spend some time in HOLLYWOOD and a Science Museum that was really amazing. Wish we were still sitting on the soft sand at the beach! (The pictures are not the greatest because we could not find our good camera before going so we had to use an old one)Gotta love Burke's Face :)

Annie is absolutely adorable! The boys love creating sculptures in the sand.

Where Have We Been?

We are in the middle of moving down to Cedar City and our lives have been crazy! We have been out of town practically every weekend since the end of June and we are about ready to settle down! Most of my SD Cards with all our pictures on them are in Cedar so I guess I will borrow some from others or just tell you what we have been up to...I just need to catch up on blogging:)

• It all started with watching this cute little little niece of ours for a week. She is really a great baby and we had a lot of fun with her. We absolutely fell even more in love with her and actually felt empty handed when she was gone!

• We went to the ranch for a family reunion. Thanks to Kate for these great pictures with the Polaroid. it was so much fun to explore the ranch and just relax. Also, many of the family members had never been to Bryce Canyon so we decided to take an extra drive to see that.

• Can't forget celebrating my Birthday! I love sharing it with the Nation's Birthday too! I'm twenty three and for some reason I just can not get that down quite yet.

• One of our weekends consisted of going to Jackson Hole Wyoming with our cousins Cameron and Jessica to visit KC, Mary and Sophie. We spent the weekend hiking, water rafting, and just completely wore ourselves out! Thanks for the great weekend!

Well that is where we have been. It has been a busy month but we are just about to the end. We are excited to get our lives going in Cedar City but we will definitely miss Provo and all that we have experienced and learned here!

New Projects

We have started a few projects for the summer. This is the time of year we absolutely love! We both changed into work clothes and realized we were wearing the same thing! When my neighbor came out she was laughing at us and took a picture of us! Aren't we just looking our best?When my niece and Nephews come over, they have nothing to play with so we decided it was time to make a few things. Burke has started to make wooden blocks but they are not finished (It is always fun for kids to use their imagination to create using wooden block. Together we made ABC blocks and then I made soft ABC/123 blocks with bells inside. We have found that this is something we enjoy doing together and it is always fun to see the outcome. One night for date night, I went and bought three canvases for us to paint on. Together we created a little bit of art to hang up in our house :). You should definitely try this for a date night. You can learn a lot about each other!

DANCE DANCE DANCE

The school year finally came to an end! For the end of the year we had our Ballroom Club perform all that they had learned. They performed: The Cha-cha, Swing, Waltz, Tango, and a dance they made up on their own. A lot of the boys in our club came in not wanting to dance or hold a girls hand. They went out loving it. The parents were very excited to see their children dance and were amazed with how much they had learned.You are probably wondering why I am wearing the same outfit as the girls...Well, at last minute one of the girls could not make it so I was lucky enough to dance one of our fifth grade boys!
For the last week of Burke's GT class they created a zoo in their classroom. The students had a lot of fun making all the animals and turning their classroom into a zoo. The students absolutely loved Burke and after he left the school for his other job, his students were constantly asking me where Mr. Bess was!

Stock Paid Off

In one of the classes Burke took he was given fake money to invest. He became really interested in it and we decided to invest some of our own REAL money. For graduation Burke sold the stock and had earned enough money to buy me a Bosch mixer! I was so excited and we have already made a lot of great goodies!
Burke has also been saving his monies and he decided to buy a chop saw! It is so fun to see him doing the things he enjoys. We have now started many new summer projects! Oh how we love summer!

Graduation-HAPPY DAY

Since we have not had the internet for awhile I need to catch up on what has been going on in our lives!

Graduation finally happened. Walking finally made it feel real. I never thought I would ever graduate, let alone from BYU. It was a satisfying day and it was great to have people there who have helped me along the way!

We are tending the littlest one for four days soon. It will be an experience:)

Teresa is looking for a Summer Job...HELP

We are moving to Cedar City in the Fall but we are staying in Provo for the summer so I can make it to Camp for Young Women's. I am still filling in at the bank but I cannot only depend on that so I am looking for a temporary job just for the summer. If anyone knows of any positions, send them my way. With my degree in Marriage Family and Human Development, the ideal job would be working with kids and providing childcare.

Where I have worked in the past:
I have worked in a bank for four years and have gained many office/receptionist skills.

For the past year I have worked in an elementary school teaching students reading skills, teaching ballroom dance, and working with special-ed.

If you know of anything send it my way...THANKS!

Computers and Internet...BLAH

So in case you have been wondering where we have been...we are still here. I have so much I want to post but we currently do not have access to the internet. Our neighbors who have been in charge of it have moved and we are waiting for our other neighbors to take charge because they will be here longer then we will be. I never realized how much I use the internet until now. I keep trying to hop on to check anything and everything and it never works. Anyways we are currently at the library where we have never been to so much until now:).

I thought I would hurry drop a line and tell you we are here and a few of the things I want to post are:
-Our trip home
-Graduation
-The new Bosch Burke gave me (a total surprise and I love it!)
-Burke's new chop saw (it is now summer so Burke is back to do doing his GREAT and CREATIVE projects)
-Our Ballroom Club's performance

I am sure there are a few more but I will get to them someday...I promise!

For Family Night last night, Burke and I made Chocolate covered Strawberries! I have never been very succssful at making thsese! But for some reason they turned out great! Plus, because of the price, they were better than the ones you buy at a chocolate store;)!

For the lesson Burke pulled out "Preach My Gospel" and we did the Attribute Activity on pg. 126. This activity lists all of the Attributes of Christ and you rate yourself from 1-5 on each one. It is a great activity to do with your spouse and recognize the areas you can work on individually and/or together! I definitely recommend this to everyone! It is a great FHE Idea...Thanks Burke!

Conference

My Niece from Idaho was on spring break so she came to visit us the weekend before Conference. It was so much fun to have her here! We went to the Young Women's Broadcast up in Salt Lake at the Conference Center. This was so fun for her because up there they never really get the opportunity to go. We did a lot of fun things with her. For Family Home Evening we went bowling. Of course Burke won, second was Melissa, and I came in last:(. She is getting older which means she is getting taller. As you can see she is comming up on me! We had so much fun spoiling her! Love you Lisa!Conference Weekend Burke and I had tickets to the Sunday Morning Session of conference. It was such a relaxing weekend and Conference made it that much better. We were able to see Burke's brother KC and his friends up there too!

I really enjoyed many of the talks. It has been hard for me to see President Hinkley not at Conference. However, I have no doubt That President Monson is called by God and leads and guides the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!