New Year, New Beginnings!

I love the start of a new year, like a lot!  It's a time I use to assess my life, see where I'm headed, and make goals to get me to where I want to go instead.  I love the idea of setting goals and making resolutions.  I may not always reach my goals or keep my resolutions, but in making them I at least try for a little bit and that's better than nothing.

Well, this year I made a blogging goal.  I normally just blog when I feel like it, but since my new found love for Instagram has emerged I haven't really felt like it.  But I do love it.  So, this year I  decided to make a schedule.  I will be posting a few times a week (sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on what the baby permits) and each post will belong to one of seven different categories (for the most part).  Also, each month has a theme.  And January's theme is new beginnings!

Another reason for this re-entry into blogging is that I have heard that sometimes after you have a new baby you can easily lose your testimony, and I really don't want that to happen.  So a lot of my posts will be about my faith.  Just thought you might like to know that.

Since it's Monday I thought writing about Family Home Evening would be appropriate.  Another thing I want to do this year is create a "family vision" for each month during the first Family Home Evening of the month.  I did this at the beginning of each transfer with my companions on my mission and have since then wanted to implement a similar idea in my family.

So, the first Monday of each month this year had been set aside to create a "vision" and make goals. We use the resolutions we made at the beginning of the year as kind of a starting point and then we post it to the fridge so we're sure to look at it each month. And then we assess where we're at each week during FHE. Simple as that. It's fun to make it all pretty and stuff.
Happy Family Night everyone♡
~Manda

Time for something new!

Hmm....so I haven't been much into the blogging lately.  But it's a new year, a new beginning.  Starting Monday I'm trying something new.  Hopefully it'll turn out the way I want it to.  It'll be fun.  And if you've missed out on any of our adventures, feel free to visit my Instagram.  It's pretty detailed with our day-to-day lives (mostly consisting of our beautiful baby girl, Diana!) and this will be for other things.  I'm excited for this new beginning.  It's going to be pretty exciting!

Lots of things to be grateful for

Wow, it's been almost two months since I last posted....yikes.  June and July were full of lots of great things for us. We found out we're having a girl (her name is Diana Mae), we found people to buy the contract for our old apartment, found and moved into our new apartment (pictures are forthcoming), Andrew has just about finished his management training at Pizza Hut, I've had a few people express interest in starting voice and/or piano lessons with me (I have yet to have a new student, but hopes are high!), Andrew turned 23, we had Andrew's sister, Clara, come and stay with us as well as my mom and two younger brothers, we attended a ginormous family reunion for my mom's side of the family at a gorgeous cabin in Island Park, we helped clean up after the flooding that hit Rexburg, Andrew finished his first semester of school as a married man, and as of July 21 we've known each other for a year (and as of the 24th we've been together for a year).

Andrew's birthday cake

Our pretty little girl!  We seriously can't wait to meet her!!!!

The carving I did for the foot of my grandma and grandpa's bed at the cabin at Island Park

Dinner after church....I love having a kitchen

One of the many dinners we've been able to cook in our larger kitchen...we're able to have guests!!!

Our car battery went nuts due to some corrosion (the only reason to buy Coke) and I found one with my name on it ^^

A kissy pic from our one year dating anniversary date

Happily together for a year ^^

Taking Clara to Salt Lake on 7/11/14....sales on Krispy Kreme and free Slurpees.  Gotta love 7/11

Aftermath of the big flooding adventure that hit Rexburg....this is my brother's fiancee's apartment  the day after the flood.  The water was waist deep the day of.

Right now I am seriously full of gratitude and I just have to share.  I was just brushing my teeth and saw little tiny hairs all over the sink from when Andrew shaved this morning.  Now usually I would have been a little frustrated as I had to clean those up, but today it made me so happy.  I am married to a really fantastic man who works very hard (lots of overtime now that he's not in school) to provide.  It has been so fun being married these past seven months.  We've had some interesting times, especially when it comes to finding work.  We've talked a lot about "what ifs" lately.  What if we had moved to Provo instead of Rexburg after getting married?  What if I hadn't gotten pregnant and had instead been able to spend the past six months working full-time as a paralegal?  What if I was in school right now instead of him?  What if we had gotten married in April of this year instead of December of last year?....There are a lot of them.  And through our many discussions we have both learned to be very grateful for where we're at right now (regardless of what those outside our marriage may have to say).  The Lord has led us, prodded us, chastised us, lifted us up, etc. every step of the way to where we are now.  There is no possible way we would be in this apartment, with a beautiful baby on the way (I saw the ultra sound, she is the prettiest things ever), or even married to each other if we hadn't consistently followed the Spirit.  I am grateful for a husband who is not only able to recognize the Spirit but has the humility to follow the Spirit as well.  I am also grateful to have a loving Heavenly Father who is patient and persistent enough to continue to give a naive, hard headed, kind of ditsy couple like us innumerable chances and promptings to make sure we eventually make it back to Him.

Another thing on my little gratitude list today is our new apartment.  I am grateful every day for this new home of ours.  One of our "what ifs" is what if we'd been able to move into this apartment instead of our one at Central Park?  But every time I ask myself that I just smile.  Although our time at our studio apartment got long and not so fun, I am so glad we lived there. It has made every moment living in our new place paradise.  I have such a long list of things to be grateful for in this apartment (a kitchen, stove, double sink, usable toilet paper dispenser, light, windows, a bed I'm able to get into, cupboards, full size fridge, large tub, bedroom, living room, my own furniture, carpet, storage space, oven, space, management that cares about their tenants, great maintenance people...) and I know that if we ever start complaining about not having room or not liking where we live or whatever, we'll always remember our last months of living at Central Park and just smile and be grateful.

Family.  I am so grateful for family.  We have had so much help since we've been up here (one of the reasons I'm also grateful we chose to live here instead of Provo).  It has been especially awesome since we've been moving.  We've had help from aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, parents, grandparents....it's been remarkable!  We have been able to get all of our furniture into our apartment, in storage before we moved, and even just into our own possession, all thanks to family who has so generously offered us their manpower and pick-up trucks.  We've been fed and clothed by family too...even Diana has received so many adorable little baby girl outfits thanks to generous family members.  In addition to all this we were able to get moved out and cleaned up thanks to visiting immediate family (shout out to Clara, Evan, Danny, and my mom for using your vacation time to help us!) And although we may not be the smartest or the most considerate couple all the time, we really try to remember  to thank all these great family members, and we definitely try to pay it forward whenever we see the opportunity to do so.

Friends.  Now although I haven't been able to make as many friends as I had out in Utah, we have been able to make a few new friends.  Andrew continues to know and get along with everyone (something I really need to learn) and it has helped in us making a few great friends who have really helped us out since we've been living here.  I've noticed something pretty interesting since being married: it is much more difficult to make friends as a newlywed than I thought it would be.  My single life in college was full of so many people (a lot of times too many people and not enough school) but my life as a married person is very different.  The lack of roommates and the lack of constantly being on the lookout for "the one" has kind of hindered my socializing skills.  So I am so very grateful for the few friends I've been able to make.

Well, this post got a little longer than I was planning.  I could go on and on, but I'll stop for now.  Off to go get some groceries and do all that fun stuff (all while getting a new student set up for the near future...I love having a smart phone).  I'll post pics of the apartment as soon as I feel it's ready to photograph.

Stay Awesome
~Manda

P.S. As I am much better at putting pictures up on Instagram than I am at putting them up here (having to get them off of my phone can be a pain....I'm sure there's an easier way, I just don't know it) be sure to follow me on there to get more consistent updates on our little family adventures.

We're moving!!!!

So we finalized the paperwork on selling our contract here at Central Park and got all the paperwork in to move into Twin Pines on July 15.  We are so excited.  Our new apartment is a two bedroom with a lot of storage space and a real kitchen.  We're going to slowly get the furniture we need because so far we only have a love-sac and a bookshelf.  We'll be on the second floor, and it's actually the same apartments that our next door neighbors are moving into so we're really hoping we'll all still be in the same ward.

It's been so fun living here.  We've loved having a gym, pool and hot tub at our disposal (not that I use the hot tub to much).  Central Park really works to make this a nice place.  The community kitchen is always clean, the lobby is so pretty (I love the real trees and other plants growing inside), and they just installed two gas barbecues and a gas fire-pit that are awesome!  Also, the fact that we've been living in one room for the past few months has made every other apartment we look at look huge!  We really have enjoyed living here, and we are so excited to be moving on.

We really don't have a lot of other news right now...oh, but I have felt the baby move now!  Just a little, but I felt it.  Next week is Andrew's birthday and a week after we'll know what we're having.  We are so excited to be preparing for the baby and to be moving into a bigger place.  Life is so good right now.  I'm starting to feel consistently well again (I hope it sticks this time...at least for more than a week) and I don't throw up nearly as much as I have been lately (not that anyone wants or needs to know that).  Life is just so wonderful and I just had to share!  We are so happy!!!

That's all for now
~Manda ^^

An Eventfully Exciting Day

Today has been an eventful day in the Hubbard house.  We finally found a couple who really wants our apartment.  They're going to sign a contract probably later this week.  They'll be moving in August 1, so we're working on getting into subsidized housing so we'll end up with more room and a lot less rent.  Exciting times.

Andrew also had a job interview with a place that really likes him and he'll be doing all sorts of business-y stuff.  He'd stay at Pizza Hut and the other job is a paid internship (neither of us work at the call center anymore...it was a bad fit for Andrew and I was getting really sick there) where he'd work up to 20hrs/week.

We got all the dishes done....I cannot begin to express how happy we are about that....sad, I know, but it's a real accomplishment.

And I am working on completing the Personal Progress program before the baby comes.  I've been going through it and there are such great things in it to help prepare for a family and a home.  I'm excited to do it all again (especially considering that I finished mine before the new one came out). It's a different experience working on this when I am already married and have a kid on the way.  Plus I've always wanted to do it again.

And speaking of church, I have a new calling as the Visiting Teaching Coordinator.  It's been great so far.  I'm trying all I can to help get our ward more into Visiting Teaching.  I was able to have a great meeting with the Relief Society president and a few of the Visiting Teaching Supervisors.  And my real job right now is to record all the ideas I and my supervisors have and compile them into sort of a training manual for the new Coordinator for when I move.

In baby news, we're getting the ultrasound that tells us the gender of the baby two weeks from today.  Andrew is more excited than I am (I think) and he wants a boy.  I want a girl, but I really just can't wait till I can start feeling the baby.  I'm starting to get a little bit of a baby bump but I really just want to be able to feel it so that I can know for sure that there's still a baby in there.  I kind of wish I could just have a little camera in there to see how he/she is doing all the time.  But yeah, two weeks from today we'll know if we're having a David Clifford or a Diana Mae.  We're so excited.

I think that's about it for right now.  If you have any advice, comments, questions, etc. don't hesitate to comment.

Bye
~Manda

Just a little update

So I was just thinking I should do a little update.  I don't really have any pictures, but I do have some news.  Andrew and I are both starting at a new job tomorrow.  It's not glamorous or anything, we'll just be at a call center doing phone surveys, but it's a job and I am so grateful to have one of those again.  I'm not gonna lie, I've gotten in a bit of a rut emotionally since I lost my job at Progrexion.  I really liked working there and knowing that I was doing something to contribute to our little growing family and it was hard having to leave that and be sick all the time.

On a lighter note, I am just so full of gratitude right now.  I am feeling better than I have in months (btw, we're 15 weeks along today ^^) and I'm going to be working again.  The baby is doing great, I heard its heartbeat at the last doctor's appointment.  Andrew is doing pretty well in school and with figuring out the balance between work and homework.  He's my hero.  Honestly, he is such a hard worker.  I really do love him.

Of course there are still challenges (keeping our small apartment tidy being one of them ^^) and there are things I know I should be doing better (unfortunately personal and family scripture study fall into this category), but it has been so great trying to figure these things out and having someone figure them out with me. Marriage is such a wonderful gift.  It makes life make so much more sense and have so much more meaning.  I really and truly love it!

Well, that's all I really have to report.  Not much and not too exciting, but yeah. ^^

~Manda

And because I just couldn't finish this without at least a little picture (original can be found here)

February 6th to now

So I have actually written this post countless times and it keeps not working....Lame.

I guess I'll just give a summary of our lives for the past few months and then start blogging a little more regularly.

February 6, 2014
Andrew tried out for the choir that sang in the Priesthood Session of General Conference.  It was a pretty cool audition.  There were hundreds of guys trying out, including my brother, Davis.  Only about 200 got it, so it was a hard audition process.  In the end neither Andrew nor Davis got in.  But it was pretty cool.  (And getting to watch that session of Conference broadcast live on TV was pretty cool too)

February 7, 2014
My amazing husband made one of my favorite Korean dishes as a surprise for when I came home from work.  Although he doesn't like kimchi or tuna he knows I do and made me 김치참치볶음밥 (kimchi-chamchi-boggeum-bap or fried rice with kimchi and tuna).  It was awesome!  And it was seriously one of the sweetest things ever!

February 8, 2014
We finally got pictures of the newest addition to the family, our beta named Captain.  We got him a couple weeks before but I'm not sure of the date and the pics are time-stamped for the 8th, so that's the date I'm going with.  We named him after Captain America (cuz he's the perfect shade of blue) and Captain Nemo (cuz he's a fish that fights ^^) and he's been way fun to have around.  We just love our Captain.

This same night we went mini golfing.  We played a game of mini golf on our first date and by some miracle I got 3 holes in one.  I didn't get any this night, but it was fun to talk about our first date (that, I know, wasn't that long ago) and pretend to be on a boat in a glow in the dark, pirate themed, mini golf course.  Fun date night.

February 10, 2014
I finally "graduated" from the training program at work.  I ended up being the only person in my class to stay for the whole training.  For graduation my trainer gave me a really delicious burger and fries.  After those three weeks I am officially a paralegal for Lexington Law Firm and I sell credit repair.  How exciting.

February 14, 2014

Best. Valentine's. Ever.

But really.  Neither Andrew nor I had ever really had a Valentine before....and I'm okay with that.  I got tulips and a chocolate covered strawberry at work and then I got home and there were balloons, roses, steak, three kinds of chocolate, more strawberries, Martinelli's, and my amazing husband all waiting for me.  Then we got dressed up and went to two different dances and danced till we were totally exhausted.  It was so much fun!  And before you start doubting me, I did give him a few presents too...maybe not as cute, but he'd needed a wallet and gloves, and I got him the gun he'd been wanting, an AR-15 or something like that.  We found a great deal and he loves it!  Totally worth it!

February 19, 2014

We like our Wednesdays.  We both have them off for work and we sometimes go shooting (I like to draw targets ^^).  Here's a video of him taking out his new gun for the first time, before it was sighted in (I think that's what it's called).  It was fun....then we went to Walmart and looked like bunnies ^^

March 5, 2014

Yet another happy Wednesday!  This was the day or so after we found out we were pregnant and so this was my first doctor's appointment and the day I threw up in the middle of Walmart....in a bag.  Oh morning sickness.....I really don't like you.

March 26, 2014

Another Wednesday.  We went to go visit Grandma and Grandpa but they weren't there so we just hung out at there place for a while before going home.  They told us we should eat when we go over there, but the only thing that sounded even remotely appetizing was string cheese, Gushers, and Fruit by the Foot....so that's all we ate.

April 1 (or so), 2014
Andrew officially got a job at Pizza Hut!  He's so cute in his uniform.  He's training to be a Shift Manager, but has to start as a cook and driver first.  He's doing really well at his job, which is such a blessing (like OH MY GOODNESS a blessing!) He doesn't love working with a bunch of high school girls, but he really likes the management.  It's been great!

April 2, 2014
First official picture of Gummybear Hubbard.  I still can't get over what a great picture it is.  You can see the little arm and legs and everything.  And it was totally dancing around and stretching.  Ultrasounds are so cool.  I didn't realize how awesome it was going to be till I saw it.  This appointment was around when I was throwing up a few times a day....That's when it all started really affecting my work.  Not a happy ending...but I'll get to that later.

April 4-6, 2014
So there aren't a ton of pictures lately due to how I've been feeling.  But I'm getting better, so hopefully I'll be getting more pictures in the near future.  But this is when we got our car!!!!  We got it Friday night, went down to Provo to see old friends, watched Saturday morning conference with my old roommate and her husband, drove to Salt Lake, watched the afternoon session with family, went to Ogden (I think) after priesthood session and spent Sunday with my old companion and her roommate and roommate's family.  It was such a great weekend....and I didn't throw up till we got home Sunday night ^^

April 11, 2014
A dark day for our little Hubbard family....I lost my job.  Something about running to go throw up in the middle of calls and gagging on the phone just really make selling credit repair rather difficult.  It was a good experience (not the job losing).  But the people I worked with are great and my supervisors looked into every avenue to try and keep me.  They appreciated that I'm a hard worker who came in and did my best everyday, and they were sad to see me go.  They both offered to be references and write letters of recommendation to help me find a new job.  That hunt has been fun...job hunts always are.  I haven't found anything yet, but I'm working on it.  I've had a few interviews, so that's good.  And if anyone reading this hears of anything hiring, definitely let me know ^^

April 19, 2014

This was our muddiest adventure yet.  If you follow me on instagram, you've already seen the pictures.  But here's the story.  Andrew, Davis, and I wanted to go see the family ranch up in Island Park.  Davis offered to drive.  So we drove and drove till we got there.  It was fun, there was talking, singing, and an over all good time.  Well, we got there and started in toward the ranch.  At the sight of all the water we all thought we'd probably get stuck and that we may not have thought this adventure through completely.  Soon Davis said, "I think I'm gonna get stuck".  And sure enough, not 5 seconds later, we were super stuck in the mud.  We tried and tried to get out but to no avail.  So we called Grandpa to see if he could help us or knew of anyone nearby that could.  Grandma and Grandpa started on there way to help us.  And since we could already hear their chuckles about us city slickers being dumb enough to try to drive a little car through all the mud, we started trying to get out again.  We used whatever we could find in the car to give us traction, mainly some old shoes and a sweatshirt that were on their way to DI.  Long story short, nothing worked.  But then a kind couple saw us and they had a big pick-up and a tow rope and helped us out.  Then we drove home...we didn't see the cabin, Andrew didn't shoot anything, and yet, it was still a pretty fun adventure.

April 21, 2014

As of yesterday Andrew and I have been married for 4 months.  It's been pretty fantastic.  We've had innumerable blessings and a couple little set backs.  He's in school now and I'm still looking for a job.  We have another doctor's appointment for the baby in about a week, and we're thinking our little gummy bear is doing pretty healthy.  In celebration of how great life has been and because it was Family Night, we went and saw Captain America last night.  It was awesome!  It was a great treat and it was topped off with us getting to spend some time with Andrew's best friend, Chase.  He's pretty cool and I'm glad Andrew gets to be living so close to such a good friend.

Over all, life is great.  No complaints.  Things are going really well.  I love my husband, my little tiny, unborn marshmallow baby and my life.  And I'm going to try to let y'all know a little bit more and more regularly what's going on!

Stay Awesome!