It's a...

GOOD QUESTION! Lol. We went today to find out what we are having. We got good pictures of the baby but unfortunately our little one is a bit shy. Seriously, when the lady went to check the sex the baby's legs were crossed. Then, the baby opened up its legs but the umbilical cord was in between the legs so she STILL couldn't tell. So she asked me to walk around and try to get the baby to move and that didn't work After trying for a good 5 minutes to find out what sex the baby is the lady finally said that we wouldn't find out today. Needless to say, we are extremely disappointed but we are happy to know that our baby is alive and healthy. This was Ralph's first experience at the doctor's office for a baby appointment and it was so fun to watch the joy on his face as he saw his little one for the first time! I was so caught up between watching Ralph and the monitor that I didn't know which one to look at! Anyways, my insurance is over tomorrow from the school so I will be trying to get onto the state of Oregon's health plan which will probably take anywhere from a month to a month and a half. During this time, PLEASE pray for me and baby that we will be ok without insurance for a small while. I would greatly appreciate it. Anyways, thanks for reading! :)

P.S. I graduate tomorrow!! :) :)

Anticipation

This waiting stuff is no fun. I really, REALLY hate waiting. It is killing me knowing that I can know what my little baby is and I have to wait until tomorrow to find out. I am so EXCITED to find out. The very first thing I'm gonna do is go out and buy something for this baby cause I have been wanting to forever... Lol. I'll let you know what the baby is! :)

Update

So I went to the doctor two weeks ago and everything was fine except that I LOST 3 pounds. I was like, "Ok. No big deal." Well the doctor didn't notice the weight loss until after my appointment and as I'm leaving she starts freaking out at me and telling me that she needs to see me in two more weeks to make sure everything is fine and that I need to eat more and gain weight. I got this HUGE lecture from her. Well, hello, I'm gonna say it. I weigh 286 pounds (yeah. I know. It's a lot)! How the heck is a little weight loss gonna hurt me or my baby?! It doesn't mean anything to me. If I'm not eating enough my baby can just feed off of me. Lol. There is a whole one year food supply on me. Anyways, that was that appointment.

Yesterday I had my follow up appointment and I was so worried that I had gained too much weight this time because I had eaten 3 Thanksgivings and had lots of fast food. Fortunately I only gained one pound. So that is good. I also got to hear the baby's heart beat for the first time!! It was SO exciting. The heartbeat was so fast. It amazed me. I can not wait to see another ultrasound of our baby. We are scheduled for our BIG ultrasound on Dec. 17th. This is the one where they will hopefully tell us the sex of the baby. That is assuming the baby is co-operating.

On another note, I am GRADUATING on Dec. 18th!! I am so stinking excited! My mom will be here for the graduation and the ultrasound so that is cool too. I can't wait to see my mommy! I have never wanted my mom around more than I've been wanting her around since I've become pregnant.

Also, Ralph and I will be moving to Oregon on Dec. 21st. We don't know if this will be a permanent move or what will become of it but it is happening. Please don't ask why. I don't feel like posting the super long super sad story on here. Anyways, that is all for now! Mahalo for reading! :)

It's our Baby!

This is our lovely child! The first one was taken at 8 weeks 4 Days. The second one was taken at 10 Weeks 5 days. I've seen the little baby since the second one and let me tell you...that is one round child. You can kind of see it in the second one but the baby was waaaaay rounder in the third one I saw. I wish they would have given me a picture but they were just checking to see that my baby was alive still. They did that because I was having eating issues (like I couldn't/wouldn't eat at all) and drinking issues (same deal...couldn't/wouldn't drink at all). Anyways, here you are for now!

Baby, Baby Who's go the Baby?!

We do! If you hadn't guessed it yet, we are pregnant! We are expecting our little bundle of joy on May 5, 2010. That is my official due date so we will have to see if we make it that far. I am hoping we make it to May at least because if this little one doesn't we'll have a birthday in February (Ralph), March (Me), and April (Baby--maybe...)! Let's try to spread things out please!

So everything is going good. I am currently on my 15th week (almost 4 months). My first trimester was horrible. I was insanely sick. I couldn't even take a sip of water without getting sick. I lost a TON of weight and even had to have a hospital visit due to dehydration. They put me on Zofran and that was my miracle drug. I wouldn't have been able to eat or drink anything without it for my first trimester. I am slowly coming out of the sickness phase and getting more and more able to eat but I am still a VERY selective eater now a days.

Things have been tough on Ralph. My nose has become EXTREMELY sensitive to any and every smell. Body Odor is the worst and the second worst is the smell of fire. Let's face it, my husband is a man and men SMELL. AND to top it all off, my husband works with the torches at the Polynesian Cultural Center night show so he comes home smelling like fire. So, I have been utterly repulsed by the smell of my husband since I've gotten pregnant. Also, since I can't stand the smell of B.O. I am unable to do laundry. So, my sweet, angel husband has been picking up my slack.

Anyways, that is the news for right now. I have pictures of baby but I need to get them onto the computer so I'll do that later. Like after my camera finishes charging. Mahalo for reading!

Andrew Landers Project

So every once in awhile I stumble across some new or in this case old band that I absolutely fall in love with. Last time it was Sara Bareilles and if you haven't ever heard her music, well, shame on you! Check it out here: http://www.sarabmusic.com/. But that is not why I'm writing this. I'm writing this in regards to a group called The Andrew Landers Project or ALP for short.



I actually heard this band first in highschool. But I wasn't quite the music nerd I was then. I was into rap and whatever was popular. I had no time for groups that weren't mainstream. That was my sister's kind of music. So what is ALP? It is a bunch of older guys playing their instruments and the lead singer is probably old enough to be my dad BUT their music can speak to my soul like none other. So how did I hear about this group that I had put aside so long ago again?

It is actually a very strange thing. It just so happens that the guy who plays the trombone/trumpet in the band is my sister's father-in-law (known as Jimmy Lee in the band). BUT that is not how I heard of the band again. Actually, one day I was at work and I got a text from my sister that said they were having a concert with live stream online and that I should check them out. I was bored so I thought, why not. Well, they were amazing! I told her they were pretty cool and that I was suprised that I hadn't heard them before. Then she sent the text that reminded me that I had. But, no big deal. That is what repentance is all about. ;)

So, what kind of music do they play? That is a very good question. It is a kind of jazzy meets new age meets southern infusion. It is upbeat and fun and even the slow songs make you want to dance. So, PLEASE check them out at their website: http://www.andrewlandersproject.com/

They have song clips and video of their new CD. This is just a small town, Iowan band right now but maybe if we get the word out we can get them to be nation wide! SO GO CHECK THEM OUT NOW!!!

P.S. Ralph and I have been married for 2 months!!

One Month and Counting...

So Yesterday (Sunday, July 19th) marked the one month mark since Ralph and I had been married. Let's just say a lot has happened in one month. Firstly, since the second or third day since we have been married I have been chronically nauseous and tired. Don't worry though, we are NOT expecting a little one any time soon. I went to the doctor and he told me to ignore it unless it became extremely bothersome. Yesterday it was bothersome though because I woke up with a migraine and was so sick I wished that someone would have come and put me out of my misery! I survived but it was not a pleasant morning. What a way to spend your first landmark of marriage together!

Yesterday night we had a "family" dinner. That pretty much consisted of Ralph's brother Louie and Ralph's best friend Daniel who is like Ralph's brother and one of their friends, Sasa coming over. I attempted to make pizza for the first time. Let's just say I learned a valuable lesson: NEVER cook two pizzas at once! I had one pizza where the top was definitely done and the bottom was doughy and the other pizza had a burnt bottom and a not so done top. It's ok though. Those boys will devour anything. They were sweet and told me that it was good. I thought it tasted alright but that's just my opinion. I also made a dessert and they had watermelon too. They were happy and they left the house full. That's all I can ask for. It made my husband happy too because he got to spend some much needed time with the boys. I, unfortunately, had to endure time alone with nothing to do because they insisted on speaking in Pidgin which is what Ralph speaks. That's alright though. Maybe it will force me to learn it!

Ralph and I are settling into being married. We are in no way experts however. In fact, we are pretty much clueless about this whole marriage thing. No big deal though because we keep trying. We are like any newlyweds. We have our good moments and our bad moments. I am fortunate, however, because Ralph is an amazing husband. He does the dishes, takes out the trash and occaisionaly does the laundry when I am unable to get to it because of my work schedule. He even cooks sometimes which is a blessing when I am dead tired. He even cooked the other day and dropped it off at work for me on his way to work! How cute is that?!

We are also settling into our apartment. It is interesting living with a male. The male species is fascinating to me. I will never understand how you can get clothes CLOSE to the laundry basket but not IN the laundry basket. Also, how do you not see the mess you have left in the bathroom sink? These things are slowy changing though. I was fortunate enough to grow up having a father who was kind enough to pee sitting down and who hated having dirty sinks. So, needless to say, it is taking some time to get used to being around a real male. Also, it is a mystery to me as to how a male can eat SO much food. I mean, where does it all go? I am finally figuring out the grocery shopping though. It basically goes like this: Whatever amount of something I think I need, I need to double that amount cause it will be gone in a day otherwise. Other than those things, it has been smooth sailing.

Anyways, I know I'm rambling. I'm going to wrap up now. I hope all of my family and friends are doing well. We miss you all. I just want to give a shout out to my favorite family, the McIntosh family. Ralph misses the kids like crazy! He was SO jealous when I told him I got to talk to Sarah on the phone the other day. I just laughed and told him he'll get his chance someday. I hope you and the kids are doing well and you are all in our thoughts and prayers. As are all the rest of you reading this. As always, mahalo for reading!

Wedding Bells Were Ringing

Us on our wedding day. This photo is courtesy of my sister's photograpy business.

Us at the zoo.

He's as tall an an American Black Bear!

Feeding the birds.

So I'm finally married! It was quite the journey to make it to this point. If only everyone knew the problems we kept running into! But, I'm grateful that it is over and Ralph and I can move on with life.

Ralph's parents were able to come to the U.S. for a month so they could be a part of the wedding. It was/is such a blessing that they were able to come. I am grateful that I got to meet them and got to spend time with them before I married their son. It gave me some major insight about Ralph and where he came from. We did a lot of fun things including going to the Oregon coast and going on a mini train trip. A week after Ralph's parents arrived in Oregon, Ralph came.

I was so happy to see him! He makes me happy all the time and life was miserable without him. I am so blessed that I met a person as wonderful and caring and understanding as him. The sealing in the temple was a very special time. Now I'm stuck with him forever and I could not be happier! I put the only picture that I have gotten back from the photographer (who also happens to be my sister) up on here. If you want my sister to photograph your next event, need family photos, or just want a portrait shot to give out as a gift let me know and I'll put you in contact with her. She is new in the business but learning extremely fast. I love her work and am excited to see what esle she has.

I just want to take a moment to thank my mom for all the wonderful help she gave me. Things would have been a disaster if she wouldn't have spent so much time, money, and effort on this wonderful event. I love her and she will forever be my rock and support, even if I have a husband. I will miss being around her as much as I was before but I know she'll always be there for me. I LOVE YOU MOM!

Anyways, that's it for now. Mahalo for reading!

One Month!

Aloha! Tomorrow marks the one month mark until my big day! I am so very excited and most everything is coming together. I just hope and pray that the things that aren't going right will be alright when I leave on June 4th to go home to Oregon. Ralph's parents are hopefully coming to the wedding and they will arrive in Oregon on June 5th. I am so very nervous and excited to meet them. I feel so blessed that I have a wonderful mother who was willing to fly Ralph's parents over from Papua New Guinea so that I have a chance to get to know them.

This term has been very crazy and I feel overwhelmed most days. It is a 6 week term and believe me, it is FLYING by. Everyday is a challenge because I work, have class, have homework, and usually have some planning thing to do for the wedding. I am very tired and can't wait until I go home. Hopefully I'll be able to have a couple of days of R&R while I am home before my friends and family start arriving.

So many people are making the sacrifice to come to my wedding and that just astonishes me. I never knew how much I was loved until now. My very bestest friends will be in attendance and those that can't I know will be thinking of me. My friends begin arriving on June 12th which is actually Ralph's brother. Ralph will arrive on the early morning of the 13th, and my good friends Erica and Joshlin are arriving on the 14th. After that, family and friends will be coming in from across the nation all week long. It's going to be one looooong, crazy, fun ride. I'll be sure to post about my first meeting with my inlaws and I will definitely post pictures from the big day! Until then, much mahalos for reading!

Aloha! The end of the semester is coming to a close and I have just 80 days from today until I get married--but who is counting?! Anyways, I've been working diligently on just finishing all my projects that i have ignored all semester because I was doing wedding things instead of homework. I can not wait until the end of this semester because hopefully I'll be able to enjoy the break between winter semester and spring term. I hope all of you are doing well!

Fireknife Dancing

I just wanted to take a few minutes to share with you my favorite part of the Polynesian Cultural Center night show. It is fire knife dancing. It always amazes me how the men who fire knife dance can keep their strength but somehow they do. Take a look at the video!!

Request

As from a request from a friend, *ahem*Sarah*ahem* I am posting my engagement story. It is not romantic or anything but it is how it happened. Basically, it happened on MLK day in January. We had a wonderful day together. He went to the beach with his friends to play some rugby and then I decided that I wanted to go to the beach so I went with one of my girlfriends. We laughed and played in the water and had a ton of fun. We came back to BYUH and we went our separate ways. Later, he called me and played a horrible joke on me. He told me that he had to go home because of an honor code infraction. At first I didn't believe him and I thought he was playing a joke but he convinced me it wasn't a joke. I was crying and was super upset and I told him I had to go because I didn't want to talk to him. He started laughing and asked me why and then he told me it was a joke. Boy was I mad! I told him I was so angry that he did something like that and that I trusted him and he broke my trust. Trust is a big thing for me because I've had some trust issues with people in the past so it's a big deal when I trust someone. I was crying and he told me he was sorry. Then I asked if I could see him just because I needed a hug and to know that everything was ok. He said he didn't feel like he could face me because he felt really bad because he made me so upset and he didn't want to see me like that. So I just told him that was ok (even though it wasn't) and we hung up. The phone rang a few minutes later and he told me he felt worse for not seeing me and that he would see me to make sure I was ok but he didn't want to hug me or anything. He just wanted to make sure I was alright.

So I met up with him at our spot on campus between his dorm and mine and he asked if I was alright. I told him I was but that I was just upset. The whole time we're talking he is coming closer to me and I am coming closer to him. I laugh and tell him this and say, "If you don't want me to hug you I suggest to back away." He just laughs and gives me a HUGE hug. It made my night. I realized then that I wanted to spend the rest of forever with him. I told him that and said if he felt the same way, I would welcome a proposal from him anytime. Well, he said, "I'm ready right now and I've been waiting for you to say that." He grabbed my hand and asked me to marry him. I thought it was another joke. I told him he couldn't joke about that because I was going to go back to my room and call my mom and once I called her there was no backing out. He said he was extremely serious. I just said, "YES!" and we hugged and kissed and then the fire alarm went off in my dorm. That meant I had to go back. So he told me to go back to my dorm, get checked off to say I was there, and then call my mom and then to finally call him and tell him what she said. Well it was like 1AM in Oregon but I didn't care. I called her and she was surprised but extremely happy for me. Then, I called my sister and she and her husband had the same reaction. Ralph and I had only been dating for 6 weeks but I knew it was right. So, we're getting married and I could not be any happier. I love him with all my heart and I am so blessed to have him in my life. The road has not been easy for us and we're not even married but I know that when I'm with him we'll be able to overcome everything. I hope you all can make it to at least the reception! So that, my friends, is how it happened.

Aloha! It's been some time. I always feel bad about that. I come on here with the sole purpose of posting and I always end up spending time reading my friends' blogs. It truly is fun to read them.

I'm engaged officially and I'll be getting married on June 19th in the Portland, Oregon Temple. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world because I got one of the most amazing guys ever. Seriously, I think everyone thinks that though. There is so much planning that goes into a wedding and it is quite a task to accomplish since I'm in school and working but I do what I can and work at my own pace. It kind of scares people though because they wonder why I haven't planned things more or faster. I just know that it will get done. If it doesn't, oh well. I will at least be able to marry an amazing guy. I'm so ready and so excited to continue my journey in life with him.

I've been working at my new job for awhile now and that is fun. I love my boss and the people I work with. It makes coming to work an enjoyable part of my day. I like my job because I get to do homework, surf the internet and just be paid to talk on the phone. It's not so fun when we are getting slammed with calls but we have a lot of down time too. One of the biggest blessings of my job is that I get the opportunity to work with three of my friends. Sometimes I feel like we are a bunch of old ladies sitting around talking stories and laughing. We can get into some trouble when we're all around because we laugh so much.

Overall, my life seems very blessed. I am happy. I am extremely stressed and tired but the happiness evens things out. I am grateful everyday for my friends and family who are there to lift me up and help me out. I am grateful everyday for my mom who is doing her best to help me however she can.

In conclusion, if you find yourself in the Portland, Oregon area on June 19th let me know. I would love to have whoever can come at my wedding!!

Pictures of us at the beach.

Well things are off to a wonderful start this semester. I am taking some great classes. They are interesting and fun. My favorite class right now is my modern American History class. The teacher is awesome and amazing and he let us plan the course. It really makes going to class more worthwhile because you know that you are doing things that you want to do in class. Along with that class I'm taking stats, anthropology, modern world civilizations, and entrepreneurial leadership.

Ralph and I are still dating and things are going extremely well. We love to just sit and talk and laugh and have fun together. I can't stop smiling when I am around him. We hardly see each other because of our class schedules and work but we try to talk on the phone at least everyday. Chances are good that we'll be getting married in June! I can't wait to spend the rest of forever with him. He is a truly amazing person who understands me and I could not ask for more.

I am starting a new job this semester so that puts some stress on my life. I am going to be working at the call center on campus as an operator. Basically I will be answering phones and transferring the call where they need to go. Hopefully I'll be able to manage. I am starting it shortly.

Other than those things, life is good. My family is good and that makes me happy. So, until next time, ALOHA!

Long Time

My dad and his wife Marty.

Evergreen Lake. We took a hike around it. It was beautifuul!

The view from my dad's house. I loved it.

The view from one of my flights.

Ralph and me before I left.


Well it's been a long time since I've posted. It always seems like life gets in the way. A lot has happened in my life since my last post. I have finished my first semester at BYU Hawaii and I could not be happier. I didn't finish well but it's out of the way and I can start a new semester and do better. I am feeling extremely burned out right now from school. I talked to my advisor and found out I can graduate in September if I don't want to get a teaching certificate. It is sounding extremely appealing right now. I have to decide soon so we'll see what happens.

At the end of my first semester I went on a date with an extremely attractive (in my opinion at least), intelligent guy from Papua New Guinea. It went extremely well and we are now dating seriously. His name is Ralph and he is a computer science major. He works backstage at the Polynesian Cultural Center and will graduate in 2011. I'll have to see how things go with him. Hopefully they will turn out well! :)

The holiday season found me traveling from place to place. I went to Colorado for a week to visit my dad and his wife. It was very interesting to say the least because my father and i don't have the best relationship. We just looked past that and we had a lot of fun. We went to the Nutcracker, went Christmas shopping and hung out. It was a good experience for us both. Hopefully my father and I can start the road back to building a relationship. I invited him to come to Hawaii so hopefully he'll take me up on that offer.

After I was in Colorado, I came to Oregon to spend the holidays with my mom, my sister, and my brother-in-law. We had a wonderful Christmas day and it was so much fun to see how my sister and her husband interact. It was the first time I've seen them since they got married in October. It was really funny because they all wore the t-shirts I gave them from Hawaii and they didn't even plan it! I felt very loved. For the New year I went to a young single adult activity and it was really fun. I got to see all of my friends and catch up with them. I enjoyed it and I'll miss seeing them.

My trip to the mainland is coming to a close and I am heading back to Hawaii in the morning. It seems like I just left but it feels like ages since I've seen Ralph and all of my friends. I can not wait to get back, sleep in my own bed, and to share my stories from my trip with the girls. Until next time, ALOHA!