Meema's Summer Job

It's Meema's turn to post, but she is currently busy and so I'm going to make a post for her.

This is Meema... Thanks to Ashley for posting for me, and now I'm going to just add a few comments throughout the post. My comments will be in this lovely color.

She's currently in New Mexico at a scout ranch, and she's having a blast. Don't believe me? Here's the proof:

I'm quite disappointed in the so called "dancers" around here. Sometimes I really wish I had a dancing partner who knew how to dance like I do so I could show all these people what they're missing out on.

 

 

The above picture shows my hand after a day of shoeing and before stitches... The bandaid is where I was punctured with a nail and it bled badly but once it stopped it was just fine. The duct tape is a redneck bandaid... Duct tape over paper towel. Both duct tape spots were where I skinned my finger and wanted to stop rubbing it on things as I worked.

   

Also, I love Mom. So concerned about me, yet not about herself. What are mothers for? I was quite touched that she was going to come "patch me up". Honestly, I'm so tan now and get dirty so fast that I don't think anyone would recognize me. In this picture below, you can see how dirty my knuckles are, and that's after I washed my hands... We work all day in the wind and dust and it shows. 

 

Needless to say, Meema is having a blast down in NM. What a goober!

I don't know about the goober part, but I sure am having fun! It always feels good to work hard and accomplish things! 

2013 Is Flying By...

Holy canole, kids, it's March. March! Where is this year going??

After 2 years of school, school, and more school, (to the point where we still can't come up with a family Christmas ornament to represent last year,) the Yockeyite end of the family is anticipating some HUGE changes....
-One more month until we both graduate with our undergrad degrees
-Hopefully one more month until we know if Husband makes it into the Master's program
-Four more months until the Yockeyites expand from two to three
-Six or seven months until we move to... somewhere. (Hopefully to where his Master's is.)
-Eight months until we celebrate three years of being married

Right now, the biggest thing that's going on is me. Literally. (Hahahaha!) Gummy Bear is getting bigger and bigger, (I think (s)he weighs around a pound by now? Ish?) and (s)he has been VERY active. The other night, right before bed, Husband and I were watching my tummy ripple as (s)he moved around. As my baby bump gets bigger, the funniest things happen! I bump the bump on lots of things, including bathroom stall doors and pan handles, and I'm ALWAYS getting crumbs on it. I have aches and pains, but Husband has been giving me little massages here and there to help, because he's amazing.

I'm super interested in how (s)he reacts to sounds, especially music, and the last organ concert was a really funny experience. I'm sitting there, and the third piece the guest organist played was by Louis Vierne, the Intermezzo and Finale from his Third Organ Symphony. About halfway during the Intermezzo, which was kind of light and pretty, I felt Gummy Bear moving around, consistently in the same spot, and I think (s)he was dancing! It was the weirdest thing! But then the Finale started, and suddenly there was full, loud organ with booming pedal parts, and Gummy Bear stopped moving instantly. No movement. I think the loud organ scared him/her!

We've also been playing Minecraft in the evenings, if I do my homework, and Gummy Bear likes to move around while we play. I don't know if (s)he likes the sounds of it or what, though, but (s)he's always active anyways!

I'm not really obsessed with buying clothes or toys or stuff, the only things we have are random things we've gotten from other people. Around graduation we'll probably start getting a few things, like a carseat or something... I don't know, there's really no space in our apartment to put cribs and tables and dressers and the whole shebang, and when we move we'll probably lose half the space we have now! Gummy Bear will probably just live in white onesies for the first month.

Something I am obsessed over is names. I LOVE looking at baby names! We like doing what Mom and Dad did, where the kids have their own first names, and then family names for middle names. We haven't decided whether the girls will get middle names yet. I'm always looking for unique names, (but not weird or wonky ones,) and we definitely are not going for gender-neutral names. We have this HUGE list of names that we thought we liked but aren't sure of yet. I think I'm going to go through withdrawals when we actually have to pick one!

People go crazy when I tell them we're not finding out Gummy Bear's gender, too. I've gotten surprised reactions, good-for-you reactions, upset reactions, incredulous reactions, every kind of reaction imaginable. I've learned from the couple of people who have touched my belly that they move VERY quickly, and I need to be faster on the lookout for wandering hands. (I still can't believe people do that, touch your belly without asking. It makes absolutely NO sense.) Being pregnant isn't that big of a deal in church, mostly, because I think literally half the women in the ward are pregnant (at least half... there are a ton). One of my favorite reactions is from a gal I had in one of my music classes a few semesters ago, she was walking by and saw my belly and said "Oh my gosh! When did that happen????" (Do you really want me to answer that...?)

It's been an interesting journey so far, and I'm sure there's more to come. I'm so excited for graduation, when I get to see our families and spend time together! I miss everyone so much, and I'm so jealous that Meema is getting to go home tomorrow. Husband should be home any minute now, and then we're going to go to the temple (where I'll find out if my dress still fits...). I love the chance to have a temple five minutes away!
-Ashy

Just Been Thinking

It's been a very long time since I've posted, so I just want to let you all know beforehand that I am going to say some very... well thought...thoughts. Or at least I feel like they're well thought.

Sometimes when I am alone or driving late at night I start to think. I think about how I could change either for good or for bad. I think about how I can change others, or/and how others can change me. I think about peer pressure and what it can cause people to do. I think about my friends, my family, my coworkers, and the people that i see going about their every day lives.

You see so many people every day who act like they're okay. However, everyone has problems, and I can guarantee that they have more than one. You and I, we definitely have our problems. Problems with ourselves, problems with our friends, problems with our family, problems with the world. We can even have problems with the people we meet.

We judge people so harshly sometimes, whether we know them or now. I know that I do. I also know that people tend to judge me for a lot of the things I do. I make mistakes, I know I do. And I know that others o as well. Nobody is going to be 100% perfect. We all have at least one fault.

We blindly put our trust and give our hearts to others. We know that there is a chance that we may or will get hurt. We know that our choices may be wrong. We know that some of the things we do may not be right. Yet we do them anyways. I know that I tend to not think much before I do things, and other times completely over think things to the point where I will panic and give myself anxiety.

I have my moments of being shy or being rude or being kind or smart. I do my best to be who I want to be, or who I feel like I should be. I don't necessarily do things right but I try. I try my hardest to be the best for every one. I try my best to help others and make them smile, or cheer up, or just feel better. I try to be the person who is there for every one, who can help when she's needed. Sometimes I can't help the person no matter how much I want to or how much I try. It hurts me when I can't.

I do my best to love everyone, even the people who may scare or intimidate me. It has been difficult, as I have forced myself very far out of my comfort zone to show some kindness to these people.

Sometimes I try to put myself out into the world. To see what I can do to help people in their everyday lives. I try to take a step back and look at the people around me.

So many people who also do their best to look past their problems and go about their days as if they were and are just fine. Yet sometimes I look at people and I can just tell and know that they are hurting inside. I just want to help them, to offer some comfort, and a lot of the time these are complete strangers to me!

They try to push past their problems but need a friend, need someone to help, someone who could just smile at them. I have seen so many peoples' faces light up when I smile at them. I've seen how grateful they are and how you can read it on their faces that they appreciate that smile, or that compliment, even though they might not know you.

For a brief moment, you have changed their day. Even if you are having a bad day, if you smile at those people who look like they too are having a bad day, you can definitely see how it changes them, and doing so you can feel it change you.


I feel as though I may have overthought all of this, and I apologize for rambling on, but I just thought I should share my thoughts.

Plus, it got Ashley off my back about posting in the sister blog.

So there, Ashley.

Love you all, Me.