Post #100!!

There are many reasons for us to give thanks
Like food on our table or money in the bank,
A gracious Father looking down from above
Or a brand new baby to increase our love
Wait just a minute! I’ve let it slip
That my expanding belly and growing hips
Will be more than a product of delicious food
And my emotional swings not just a bad mood.
Because this year more than the turkey will be
Stuffed to the brim…Yes, I’m talking about me!

I was able to hear the most amazing sound today, the sound of my baby's heartbeat! I can hardly believe that Heavenly Father has blessed Nic and I with this incredible miracle! We are expecting our little bundle of joy around the end of May. We are scared, and excited, and did I mention scared? I am looking forward to all of you giving me your words of wisdom and advice!

Thanks to my sister Wendy for writing the cute poem!

Faith Hill's New Christmas CD

Faith Hill is my favorite singer by far! I was so excited when my sister bought me her brand new Christmas album. I think she honestly has the best voice in the whole world. PLUS, she is the prettiest person in the world (in my opinion). I really love her song "A Baby Changes Everything". You can listen to it here: http://www.faithhill.com/index.php?em2917=1034_-1__0_~0_-1_10_2008_0_0&content=videos&em3254=&em2913=&em3120 . Her voice is so powerful, I could listen to her sing all day. I highly recommend this CD if you are looking for a good Christmas CD!

44 Days Til Christmas

I love this time of year! People seem so happy during the Thanksgiving through Christmas season. How are you doing on your Christmas shopping? With the exception of 2 gifts, I am completely done. I always do my shopping throughout the year. That way I can pick up things for people when I see something they would like (and I don't feel the pressure of finding a great gift in a month) AND it seems a lot more manageable financially. If they were selling Christmas trees, I would have mine up today!

Nic and I have already started watching Christmas movies. We are trying to build up our collection. This is what we have so far, but I wanted to see what other holiday favorites people suggest!
It's a Wonderful Life
Miracle on 34th Street
Polar Express
White Christmas
Christmas Story
How the Grinch Stole Christmas

What other Christmas movies do you you love?

Merry Christmas! Ok, Happy Thanksgiving for now :) !

Blacksmith Fork Canyon

For date night we went for a drive up the canyon to try and photograph the gorgeous fall colors, well we were too late for that because all of the leaves are already on the ground. So, my second objective was to see a moose. I asked Nic to drive me 1 1/2 hours to Blacksmith Fork Canyon where I saw a moose last Winter. Sure enough, because my Heavenly Father knows and loves me, I found exactly what I was looking for and more!! I not only saw a bull moose--BUT TWO! Moose don't usually travel together, so to see two at a time is especilly neat, but to see two bulls was incredible. I have never seen that before in my whole life. We were even quite close!! Here are the pictures of our trip...

Columbus Day

We had such a fun day off today. We slept in until 10am--which was a real treat for Nic because he never gets to sleep in (because he wakes up early to study even on Saturdays and has meetings on Sunday mornings). We went on a tour of the Mrs. Cavanaugh's Factory. They give free tours to the public along with free samples. It was really fun and educational.












Then we went and picked out our pumpkins. This is one of my favorite things to do in October. There is a great little produce stand that is close to our house and I always buy the biggest pumpkin they have every year.

IT'S FRIDAY!

TGIF! LOL, do you remember watching TGIF on CBS growing up? They would show 4 TV sitcoms in a row; Family Matters, Step By Step, Boy Meets World, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, or Hanging with Mr. Cooper! Oh those were the days! My best friend Anna would come over and watch that with me and my siblings and my parents would get us Little Caesar's pizza.

Sorry for the flashback moment! Anyway, I am so excited that it's Friday! Our Friday nights usually consist of Bountiful High Football, which is a lot of fun to support our brother Benj. He is really good and is so much fun to watch. Saturday will be regular Saturday--chores & errands and Sunday I am having my in-laws over for dinner. But the reason I am so excited for this weekend is that it's a 3 day weekend! You gotta love working for a bank--paid holiday for Columbus Day. I am even more excited because it is Nic's Fall Break and we will finally get to spend a whole day together!!! He has promised to limit his studying that day to 2 hours so we should be able to have a lot of fun. I hope that you have a great weekend!

Here are some Friday facts for you:

• The first letters of the months from July to November spell the name JASON.


• In every continent, there is a city named Rome.


• 215 jeans can be made with one bale of cotton.


• The reason why women's dress shirt buttons are on the left and men's on the right is because when buttons were first used during the Victorian period maids used to dress the ladies, and since the maids put on their shirts the buttons were put on the servants right side, hence the women's left. (Ashley's note: this is a theory that is believed to be true).
• 38% of Americans eat breakfast everyday.


• After chocolate and vanilla, orange is considered the world's most favorite flavor.


• Americans consume the most peanut butter in the world. (Ashley's note: Not a surprise to the Browns!)

VP Debate

Did you watch the Vice Presidential Debate? I thought it was very interesting. As my sister said "Can we vote for a Biden/Palin ticket?". I really liked how they had a good debate, yet they weren't nasty. It seems like all McCain and Obama do is give personal insults back and forth to each other. Biden and Palin did a lot of complimenting each other which really surprised me. The both seemed very cordial and intelligent. Palin sounded much more impressive at the debate than she had in her interview with Katie Couric. I know I said this before, but I really like her. She seems to really know her stuff and I like that she is a White House outsider. I would love to hear your opinion!!