While Tony's Out...

I have lots of things on my mind this morning. Husband is putting up flags with the Scouts for Veterans Day. He is probably enjoying the coolness outside. I, on the other hand, slept in. It was joyful, almost as joyful as the toast and hot chocolate I had for breakfast.

First of all, Baby and I have a doctor's appointment today. We are both quite excited. Husband/Dad wants to discover if it is a boy or a girl (it's still too early anyway...) but I am adamant. We will not find out. Aunt Whitney and Uncle Kemp get to find out what theirs is in just a few days and that's enough excitement for me.

We never did report on Tony's 30th (holy smokes) birthday back in September. He and Brooke share a birthday so they celebrated together. She got brownies. He got apple pie.


Tony and I also went to the Rawhide, an old west town, to celebrate just the two of us but at that point he hadn't got a new camera to replace his broken one so we don't have pictures. It was lots of fun, though. We roamed around for a little while and then watched a gun show. We finished the night with deliciousness at the steakhouse. Tony's favorite part was probably the dancing. There was a live band so he took me out onto the dance floor while we waited for our food. All the old people there cheered for us. He was pretty proud of himself and grateful to have a wife who'll dance with him.

Tony also got to go the an ASU football game with Dad and Bryton. He took some neat pictures with his fancy pants camera.


While we're talking about Tony...he's still unemployed. He's been working really hard, though and has been blessed to have a number of interviews. We know that one of these days the right things will come up. Last night we were reading in Alma 58. The Nephites are in a rough spot. They don't have all the soldiers and supplies that they need, but then in verse 11 it says,

"the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him."

Story of our life. Sometimes it amazes me how calm and at peace I am. Having to work hard EVERY MONTH to balance the budget can be tough, but I have peace, I have faith, and the Lord continues to give us assurances. I love when the scriptures apply so directly.

I found out this week that I've been provisionally advanced to the Upper Division Nursing Program. Happy day! I also found out this week that I have to petition that my space be deferred until next Fall because Baby is coming in April and that doesn't allow me to finish up my first semester. Hopefully I'll find out what they say about that in the next 2 weeks.

Other than that? 2 weeks until Thanksgiving/Christmas in Utah! I'm stoked.

Holiday Hullabaloo

It is November 1st and I am delighted at the arrival of the holiday season. Whilst Tony looks at me like I've gone nutty, I am already in full swing get-ready-to-party mode! Observe...

I'm downloading all the free Christmas music I can find. I'm making stockings [traditional denim, lace, and trim]. Hooray for worn out pairs of jeans! I'm racking my brains for gift ideas and I'm elated when I think of just the right one. I can't wait to skip out of class early (hopefully) so we can drive to UTAH to be with the Browns. I can't wait to get our very own Christmas tree to be decorated with blue balls [courtesy of wedding reception table decorations.] I can't wait for egg-a-la and sticky buns and other traditional Christmas treats. I can't wait to read Runny Babbit on Christmas Eve with the chill'ins. I can't wait to be Mary with a Baby Jesus belly while Tony is Joseph for the Nativity play. I can't wait to start my very own Jeri Lin & Tony Brown family traditions! Etc., etc., etc.

I think I might die of elation while I thrill in all the hullabaloo.

This year we'll be spending Thanksgiving/Early Christmas with the Browns and Goodwins in Utah. It is going to be complete with the two pregnant ladies {Whitney and myself} making delicious foods (while the boys watch football, I'm sure), an everything-baby-needs shopping spree for the girls on Black Friday, a secret Saturday activity, our annual stocking decoration tradition, and all that other crazy stuff we do when we all (six plus two) get together. I love my new family. I miss them so much and can't wait to spend some time with them, even if it is a super short trip (thanks a lot ASU).

Christmas will be with the Shinkles. Tony has no idea what he's in for. I, on the other hand, am counting down the days until the festivities begin. It shall be most joyous.

The Woes of Mrs. Brown

I shall not make this a complaining post. Like my friend Melanie, I have it better than most people. I've only thrown up five times. I feel like I'm going to throw up a lot of times but I haven't. I sleep a lot. When I'm not sleeping I don't have any energy. The worst part [maybe] are the migraines.

Tony takes good care of me. He cooks me breakfast. He makes my dinner. (I mostly get away with this because I read him Harry Potter while he does so and that seems to appease him.) He drives all the way out to Downtown Phoenix to take me to class, or pick me up from class, or both, when I'm afraid that the motion of the lightrail will just be too much for my tender tummy.

The problem, however, with all this taking care of me, is that Tony thinks everything can be solved with food. That's what makes him feel better. Usually, it's what makes me feel better. (Twice have I thrown up because my tummy is empty and that is no fun.) But sometimes food is exactly what I don't need, or so I have learned... You see? Tony has never experienced a migraine in his life. That might be stretching the truth a bit but I don't really think he has.

Anyways... a couple of weeks ago I went to bed with a monstrous headache. I woke up sometime in the night to a splitting migraine. I took some tylenol and then sat down by the toilet because my stomach was churning. Tony came to check on me. He was extremely concerned to see me in such misery and decided it was all due to me not eating very well the previous day. So, he made me a chicken taco. I ate half because he insisted I needed good food, but I only ate half because then I threw up the that half into the toilet.

THEN...last night I came home from school with a migraine and churning belly. I took some tylenol and laid down in bed. Tony insisted that I needed some dinner so he made me some soup and brought it to bed. I ate some and then commenced to throw it all up. I therefore decided, that I will never, no matter how much Tony insists I need it, no matter if I ate Ramen noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the previous day, no matter what, I am not going to eat when I have a migraine and churning tummy.

That is all. Except that I love the rain very muchly. The end.

A Little Pink...A Little Blue?

Well...word is starting to leak out. Tony and I decided you can choose to keep it quiet but you can't lie when someone asks you straight out, so...

I'm only ten weeks along but The Brown Family is going to add a little more color...pink or blue, to be exact. We're due late April and we are so excited to add a little one to our little family.

I love Tony!

He loves me!

We love Baby, yes siree!

He or she loves us and so you see...

We are a happy family!

Time to Start Working

I have been rather bad about blogging lately.  The same has been true about my journal writing.  It's not that I haven't had tons to write about either.  My Bride has given some hints about what I have been up to: Philmont, vacations to Texas, working for my dad, working in my ward with the young men.

Six months ago I was not sure how we would be able to make ends meet as a family.  My Bride sat me down one Family Home Evening and challenged me to have a little more faith.  My patriarchal blessing has one line that says I will be able to provide for my family's needs.  She asked if I believed the promise.  I decided I did.  (After all, I wasn't sure I would ever find a wife, but my patriarchal blessing said I would and I found the one it promised.)

So fast forward six months and I marvel at how we have been blessed financially.  Even though I (now) have been unemployed for over a year.  We have had income from no less than 9 different sources.  Some were my Bride's.  Some were from good decisions I made a year ago.  Some were the generosity of friends and family after we were married.  When you add them all up, we have never wanted for money. 

Starting next week, I have a fantastic opportunity to work for a company in north Dallas which helps people bring mortgage companies to the negotiation table to lower their debt or prevent foreclosure.  (I hear what you are thinking: "Don't you live in Tempe, AZ?")  Yeah, I will work for a Dallas company from Arizona.  Isn't telecommuting great. 

The company is poised to expand to other states soon and I get to help manage the expansion and growth.  My specific task is to improve processes and job responsibilities to enable that growth. 

I attribute this opportunity to several things.  I have tried to follow the Spirit as I have prepared for life.  I followed the counsel of the Prophet and have obtained as much education as possible (so far).  But most importantly now, my Bride and I have always paid our tithing, even when it was not very much.

Marriage Lessons

Ten things I've learned so far in my marriage...

Number 1: Being married to your best friend is the best thing in the whole world.
Number 2: I'm glad Husband is wax paper. No matter what I throw at him, it just slides right off. He'll always forgive me.
Number 3: His hair never sometimes lies flat.
Number 4: P90X is so much more enjoyable with someone to laugh with
Number 5: Sometimes it's hard, sometimes you don't know how things will work out, but they will.
Number 6: Husbands don't replace moms but that's okay. Moms are never far away.
Number 7: Working together is much much better than working alone.
Number 8: Even though we do stuff together almost everyday, just calling it Date Night, makes it special.
Number 9: We love to read stories together. I hope it's a tradition that sticks around when the kiddos are around.
Number 10: Never settle for less than a temple marriage. When you are eternally connected, you have an eternal love.

Eight New Bestest Friends Ever!

Husband being gone for two weeks meant spending lots of time with my family. People always tell you that your family eventually becomes you very best friends. I didn't ever not believe them, I just didn't understand what that really meant. My mom. My dad. Two brothers. Four sisters. They really are my best friends. Here are some of my favorite things about each of them.

Dad! My dad is the greatest ever! I love when I can just sit and talk to him about everything. I think he misses having me around all the time, even if he won't admit it. I think his new favorite thing to do is going to be taking me with when he goes to teach Bryton how to drive. Him and Keila seem to think I'm pretty entertaining. As for me...Husband is going to have to teach our kids how to drive...

Mom! Mom's the best mom ever. She loves being a mom and doing mom things. While Husband was gone she was the one who took me to downtown Phoenix because I'm too chicken to go by myself. She's always willing to talk on the phone whenever I'm lonely. She's answered a million questions like, "How do you make this?" "How do I do that?" in the last six months of my marriage. Mom's also closer to the Spirit than anyone I know. I aspire to be more like my mother.

Bryton! If you ever want an exciting story go to Bryton. He's got a million and a half and he'll tell you each one at least four times. It doesn't matter if he's told you before. He get's so excited that he has to tell you again! Bryton's also excited to go on a mission. He's such an example to me of having your heart in the right place. I'm so excited to watch him over the next couple of years. Not only will he become a great missionary, he's going to steal all the girls' hearts when he gets back.

Keila! Keila and I used to be pretty mean to each other. She was such a pain and I was so bossy! Things have magically changed, though. She's pretty fun to hang out with. We went and saw the midnight showing of "Eclipse" together for no other reason than "We went to the first two...it's tradition!" I admire Keila in so many ways. She can make friends with anyone. That's something I have yet to learn.

Sydney! Sydney just turned twelve and she is the sweetest! She's always willing to help. She's responsible beyond her years. We enjoyed watching "Ever After" together...twice...in the course of 24 hours. What can we say? It was that good! I also got to go with her to the temple for the first time. She was so excited to go. We went on her birthday and she was able to be baptized for some of our own ancestors.

Leslie! Leslie is a reading machine. I remember those days when summer meant nothing but swimming and reading. She wants to be an author when she grows up. We learned this week that she's a better Wii ice skater than me...and I held the world record! She's also excited to go to summer camp. The American Cancer Society puts on Camp Sunrise every summer and because she's a cancer survivor she gets to go. I'm so glad we got to keep our Leslie!

Brooke! Brooke, or Brookelee as I like to call her, is a blooming young lady. She is absolutely beautiful and will only become more so as the years go by. She's silly and fun. She always wants me to go swimming with her. Shame on me if I forget to bring my swimsuit! She always has tons of hugs ready for me when she sees me. She's always asking when I'll come visit again.

Hayden! Hayden is four and the poor guy doesn't understand why I don't live with them anymore. He wants me and Husband to move back in with them. He's crazy and fun and most of the time out of control but we wouldn't change him for the world. I always tell Husband I want one just like him. Husband just rolls his eyes.