Tell me if this isn't the most ironic thing you've EVER heard????

Okay, so you all know how Mike lost his job about a month and a half ago. So obviously we lost our health insurance. We applied for individual insurance, and Mike and Aiva were easily accepted, but there were some questions about myself regarding some fertility issues conceiving Aiva. We decided not to fight it (a rejected health insurance application will follow you for life) and we just withdrew my name. We figure, hey, Mike will have a job sooner or later, and I'm a relatively healthy person, so we'll just pray that is stays that way, and wait it out.

Fast foward one month . . . I'm getting ready for work one day, when I happen to glance down at the carpet outside my bathroom in the hallway. GuESs WHat I sAW???



My IUD. That's right. My IUD had fallen out at some unknown earlier point in time and landed on the floor in the hallway.

Now, fastfoward another 2 weeks . . .

Does anyone recognize this scene from Friends??? I do. It was me one week ago. We are expecting a baby! And I have NO HEALTH INSURANCE BECAUSE OF PAST FERTILITY PROBLEMS!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (Maniacal laugher)!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Medicaid, here we come!!!

Wanna hear something else hilarious? This baby's due date is August 23rd, the day before Aiva's was. I swore I would NEveR, EvER, EVeR have a baby in the summer again. (insert more crazy-lady laughter here.)

. . . As crazy and unexpected as all this is though, we are excited to welcome another baby into our family. Aiva has brought us so much joy, how could we resent another??? We also feel that considering the circumstances, this is really meant to be. And when something is meant to be, the Lord provides.

Mommy's shopping buddy . . .

Turns out my little girl is not Mommy's best shopping partner! I took Aiva with me to the mall the other day to go Christmas shopping, and the second we stepped into a store, she started whining and crying, asking for a "caca" (cracker) and "wawa" (water). Eventually it escalated into her newest word, "Go! Go! GO!" I finally complied and we left the store. As long as we were stroller-cruising down the hallways, she was happy as could be. However, as I began to turn into another store, she'd started screaming "GO! GO! GO!" at the top of her lungs, and kept it up until I chickened out and obeyed her command. Oh, sad day! My little girl is not going to be happy to be my shopping buddy for some time, I'm afraid!

FIRST SANTA CLAUSE ENCOUNTER . . .

Our ward Christmas party was this Friday, and a "SPeCIaL gUeST" was invited, which means that it was Aiva's first experience with SaNTa. We had a nice ham dinner, and some dancing before the big guy arrived.

At home in time out for playing with the Christmas tree ornaments. Time out is still a game to her. Sometimes she'll look at me, purposely touch an ornament, and then run all by herself and sit in her time-out corner without me even asking.

Dancing at the party. I need to get a video to post of her dancing. It is so cute! The girl's got moves!


She loves to dance so much, in fact, that when all the teenagers were line-dancing, she got in the line with them all by herself, and started trying to copy their movements!


And last, but not least . . .


Aiva's first meeting with Santa! When she got to the front of the line and saw him for the first time, she let out a high-pitched, terrified scream, and then bawled for about five minutes. So sad, but oh, so cute! Mean Mommy made her stand next to Santa for an extra 30 seconds to get this picture.

o CHriSTmAS TReE . . .

We went to a tree farm to pick out our CHriSTmAS TReE this week. We decided that instead of getting our usual $60 tree this year, we'd try to spend less and get a "CHarLiE BrOWn TReE." You see, a couple years ago, my mom got this sparse, interesting-looking tree, and once it was all decorated, it really was absolutely gorgeous! So I thought for sure I could pull it off. Hmmmm . . .

I'm not so sure it worked. Mostly it is just a very sad, SAD tree. Luckily I have a sense of humor about it!

Mike and Aiva helping to pick out our tree.

Okay, so at night the tree doesn't looks so bad, when you can't see the daylight shining through it's . . . shall we say "absense of foliage" . . .

. . . but during the day it is very, very sad to look at! :(


Last, but not least, Aiva giving baby Kennley (my friend's baby that I watch sometimes) a big kiss. Aiva loves her friend!

New Photos . . .

I need to start taking more pictures. I used to be so camera-happy. I don't know what happened. Anyway, here are some new random photos of Aiva.

Going for a walk

An Elmo doll in WalMart. Aiva LOVES Elmo right now.

Notice the BOW??? I am very happy to announce that my little girl, who hasn't allowed any bows on her head for months, has finally decided that they are pretty! Mom is very happy about this because most girls this age have more hair, so a lot of people lately have been commenting on what a cute little boy she is. Yeah!

ANOTHER great quote . . .

Sorry if my blog is becoming too political/spiritual. I will try to post some photos soon, because I know that's really what people are looking for when they visit your blog!! I feel pretty preoccupied lately with everything that's been going on. Like, obsessed. And I felt this way even before Mike lost his job. Can anyone else feel something bad coming? I mean, really bad and really scary? Like what's going on now is only the beginning??? I feel like I have to keep an eye out so that I can see the signs before it gets here and thereby be better able to protect my family. I have tried to lay off a bit, because it's starting to feel like a heavy weight on my shoulders, and honestly, it's depressing. But here is another quote that I found on my friend's blog. It gives me hope and strength. I especially appreciate the last line: "Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."

Given at BYU October 10, 1978 “A More Determined Discipleship”

“Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had ‘never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.’

“This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.

“Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened…. Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, ’summer is nigh.’ Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat.” — Elder Neal A. Maxwell

A good quote . . .

“God has held the angels of destruction for many years, lest they should reap down the wheat with the tares. But I want to tell you now, that those angels have left the portals of heaven, and they stand over this people and this nation now, and are hovering over the earth waiting to pour out the judgments. And from this very day they shall be poured out. Calamities and troubles are increasing in the earth, and there is a meaning to these things. Remember this, and reflect upon these matters. If you do your duty, and I do my duty, we’ll have protection, and shall pass through the afflictions in peace and in safety. Read the scriptures and the revelations. They will tell you about all these things.”

(Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, sel. G. Homer Durham [1946], 230).

And another one bites the dust . . .

Well, add our names on the list of casualties in this crappy economy. Mike was laid off last night. I know that there are so many people going through difficult times right now. Let's all pray for each other. It won't be easy. But God will take care of us and give us strength. We are hoping that this is something that we will one day look back on as a blessing in disguise.

We ask that you will include us in your prayers. You are all in our prayers as well.

Cozumel, Mexico!!!

We have spent the last week in beautiful Cozumel, Mexico. This is a trip that we have had planned for almost a year, so it's something we've looked foward to for a long time. Here's a few photos of our amazing gettaway . . .

This is the view from the cliffs of the Mayan

ruins of Tulum. Absolutely the most gorgeous beach

I've ever seen!

Mike and the ruins

Looks just like a postcard, doesn't it?

On the beach under Tulum

Two of the days we were there, we rented a scooter

and went around to the east side of the island to the

Caribbean Sea where there were awesome waves.

On our last day there, we rented a boogie board. FUN!

On our way around the island we stopped where these

2 guys were selling fresh coconuts on the side of the road in

the middle of nowhere. We drank the juice, and then ate

the meat. So good!

The beach we found. We named it "Tiki Beach"

(for those of you whose kids watch The Backyardigans,

you know where that comes from). We had about a mile

of beach all to ourselves and our own private lifeguards.

Riding on our scooter (which we named "Sasha." Those of

you who watch Scrubs will know why!) This is in front

of our hotel.

The view from our balcony. Nice, huh? We actually

didn't spend much time here, though. Too much fun

stuff to do elsewhere, especially if you don't

drink alchohol!

If anyone is thinking about ever going to Cozumel, I totally recommend it!!!

Happy (late) Halloween!

I know it's a bit late (we've been in Mexico for the last week. More of that to come.), but I wanted to post some pictures of Aiva on Halloween. Aiva LOVED it! And, what came as a suprise to us, was that she actually understood the concept! She would go up to the door, knock, take candy out of the bowl, put it in her bucket, and then wave goodbye, and go on to the next house. She was very possesive of her bucket, and wouldn't let us carry it for her. She also wanted to do all the walking herself. It was so FUN to go trick-or-treating, and watch her grasp the whole thing. Luckily, she doesn't know what candy is yet, so we've had fun eating it for her (hehe).

"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"

Oh, I love having kids! All those things that I loved doing as a kid are fun again! We went to a little outdoor market to pick out our pumpkins that we will carve for Halloween. Cute, cute!

"The Man You Love" Survey . . .

The Man you Love Survey

I was blog-hopping and I found this on someone's blog I didn't know, and I loved it! Now everyone out there that doesn't know Mike can get to know him a little better. If anyone out there wants to brag a little about their hubbies, jump on board!

1. Where did you meet? The first time we met, we were on a double date with other people! Mike was dating a friend of mine, and I was with an old boyfriend. We went to my friend's house and watched a movie. I thought he was cute!

2. How long did you date before you got married? ummmmm . . . this is embarressing. We knew each other for over a year. We dated for six weeks before we got engaged (!) and were married 4 months after our first date. Yes, it was crazy, but I'd do it all over again. I'd never felt so sure about anything else in my life.

3. How long have you been married? 3 years & 8 months.

4. What does he do that surprises you? His silly jokes. He always knows how to catch me off guard and make me laugh. I love that.

5. What is your favorite feature of his? He has nice broad shoulders, very cute feet (which is abnormal for most men, I think), a cute button nose (which he gave to my daughter), perfect lips, and I love how his eyes twinkle when he smiles.

6. What is your favorite quality of his? He is the kindest, most thoughtful person I know. And I love that he is that way to everyone he comes in contact with, not just me. Also, I love that he is just so . . . good. He is a very, very good person. I try to be more like him.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Weesie, "B" (long story), and Todd ( long story).

8. What is his favorite color? I don't think he has an absolute favorite, but he likes dark colors, like navy blue and gray.

9. What is his favorite food? He likes all foods. Chinese might be his favorite though. He loves all of his mom's deserts (Margaret is famous for her deserts).

10. What is his favorite sport? Football

11. When and where was your first kiss? At his mom's house. Mike took me to the Nutcracker Ballet and then we went to his house to watch The Grinch. It was a very romantic date. When we kissed it was like fireworks!!! :)

12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Watch movies, go out to eat, or sit on the couch and read our books together.

13. Do you have any children? Aiva, 14 months.

14. Does he have a hidden talent? He is the most determined person that I know. When he sets a goal, it's like it's written in stone for him. For example, he made a goal to read his scriptures every night when he was, like, 12 or so. He has never missed a single night since! I really think he will accomplish anything he want in life because he has so much perseverance.

15. How old is he? 26

16. Who said I love you first? He did. Because everything went soooo quickly, we knew we were going to be getting married before we even told each other we loved each other! So the night we told our parents we were getting married, we were sitting on the couch, and he just leaned over and whispered in my ear that he loved me. We did things in a wierd order, I know!

17. What's his favorite music? Very random. He likes a little of everything. Mostly older stuff from the 90's. And odd stuff like They Might Be Giants and Michael Jackson and Black-Eyed Peas.

18. What do you admire most about him? He has the purest heart of anyone I know. He thinks ill of no one. He harbors no bad feelings - he forgives and forgets so easily. He is always so thoughtful of others. He is always thinking of something nice he can do for someone else. He is a wonderful example for me!

19. Do you think he will read this? Yes

Glenn Beck anyone??

I listen to Glenn Beck a lot on talk radio ( 570 am) to attempt to educate myself on what is going on in politics and the economy. I find what he has to say (usually) pretty insightful, although I still have a hard time getting a good overall picture of all that's happening and just how we got here since I just catch his show in bits and pieces. I went on Glenn Beck's website and found three articles that really help explain what is going on in the economy right now and gives a lot of good advice for how to prepare for what is coming. I thought I'd include the links here for those of you who, like me, just want to know WHAT IN THE HECK IS GOING ON!!! The information is to the point and was exactly what I was looking for. Hope someone else out there finds them useful!

How we got here:

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/16171/?ck=1


What's coming:

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/16278/?ck=1


What can we do to prepare:

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/16799/?ck=1

Update . . .

I realize that I haven't posted any pictures lately, so I'm fixing that. Here are some pictures of our latest adventures . . .

Aiva playing in my pots-and-pans cupboard.

She's still learning how to climb back out.

Notice that there is still no hair on her head to speak of!

She got into the basket next to her crib that happened to have the q-tips in it! (My computer has a new editing program for photos and I haven't figured it out yet so I couldn't flip it!)

Hee hee. Gotta love the chubby baby bum! We've actually been fighting a yeast infection/staff infection/diaper rash (ouch!) so I let her run outside au naturale to try to give her poor little bum some air.

Aiva and Mommy

Aiva and Daddy. Aiva is especially loving her daddy right now. She'll cuddle with him far more than she will me, which is fine. I'm glad she has such a good daddy!

Is anyone else scared???

Okay, so I'm not very educated when it comes to politics and the national and global economies, but is anyone else out there getting very nervous about what's going on here??? I've been trying to read up, watch the news and listen to the radio. I don't want to be in the dark when something big hits (which I guess it already has). I am trying to stock up my food storage, and we're trying to cut back on spending. We're holding our breath. I want to be as prepared as possible. If I have a plan and I am prepared, then I know that I won't be as afraid. But still, I'm bracing myself.

I have been reading the book "Hubener vs. Hitler" this week and a few things have really stood out to me, beyond the main plot of the book, which is about the resistance movement involving some LDS teenagers during Nazi Germany: #1) How everyone had so little, yet managed to survive, and #2) how this trial brought everyone so close and also brought everyone to their knees, and closer to God. I've been feeling very blessed lately and I've also been feeling the complacency that comes with having all of your needs so easily met. And I've been thinking lately about how the leaders of our church have said in the recent past that the time of plenty is over, just like in the bible during the time of Daniel. And while I really fear what is coming, a (little) part of me is looking forward to a bit of struggle. When the chips are down, that's when you find out what you're capable of. I know that God will be there when I need Him, and if there could be a positive to what is happening, I am looking forward to seeing the miracles as a result of ours and everyone elses' faith.

Fun new tag . . .

8 TV shows I love to watch: The Office, Supernatural, American Idol, Friends, Heroes (kind of. I'm getting confused and bored.), hmmm . . . Man vs. Wild (go Bear Grylls!), Ellen, and Oprah

8 Restaurants I love: Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory, ABC Mandarin, El Matador, Texas Roadhouse, ???

8 things I HAVE done today: washed dishes, made my bed, read a book, watched General Conference, organized/cleaned out the basement, gave Aiva a bath, ate lunch, worked at the hospital

8 things I am looking forward to: Halloween, our trip to Cozumel, being debt-free, going on a mission with Mike one day, going home from work (I'm there now), sleeping, having my pre-baby body back (haha), having more children (which kind of negates the last one).

8 things I love about summer: green grass to walk in, BBQs, fireworks, swimming, warm summer nights, the sunshine, not having to wear a coat everywhere, playing outside

8 things on my wish list: my Nikon D60 DSLR camera, to allow myself to be completely content, to feel confident in my swimming suit in Cozumel, always more hugs and kisses from Aiva, always more good dates with my husband, for Christ to come and end this crazy world/economy nonsense, a perfectly clean house, to not have to think about money, world peace.

I tag Megan Whitear, Stacy Hanna, April King and Heidi Jarrett!!!

I LOVE AUTUMN!!!

This is a tribute to my favorite time of year. I L-O-V-E the autumn season! During the fall, I am happier, more energized, more goal-oriented, and I just have this overall sense of well-being. It has always given me the feeling that no matter what I am going through, good or bad, the weather always changes. I always feel like I get a fresh look and a better perspective on my life. It feels like magic to me. Somehow I get into the "autumn spirit" much earlier than a normal person would . . . about the middle of July. Ask my husband, he thinks I'm crazy. I bought Aiva's halloween costume 2 months ago. It's hard for me to contain myself until September, but finally it's here! The harvest smells, wearing sweaters, scarves and hats, pumpkin carving, the timeless classic "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," the changing leaves, . . . I love it all.

Bear Lake . . .

For Labor Day weekend, we went up to Bear Lake with Mike's family. My sis-in-law Sarah's family has a condo up there, and they weren't using it, and they were kind enought to let us Coles go up. We hung out on the beach, played on the playgroud, and stayed up way too late playing games after the kids were all in bed. I must say that I have the best in-laws in the world. There's never any drama, and I can honestly say they are my best friends. We had such a wonderful time!

Aiva and Grandma Margaret

Our nephew Jacob

Firstborn TAG . . .

My baby girl just had her first birthday. So it only seemed appropriate to post a tag that my friend had on her blog about firstborns. Here is a description of my day one year ago . . . to date the very best day of my life.

Yes, she was born this fat! This is moments after her birth.

BABIES FULL NAME? Aiva Elise Cole

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THAT SPECIFIC NAME? We wanted something very feminine, different (we didn't know at the time how popular it was becoming), but also timeless. I always loved that name, but Mike didn't. We had already picked out a different name. One day out of the blue, Mike said, "If you could name the baby anything you wanted what would it be?" I told him, "Ava" and he said, "Hmmmm...let me think about that for a couple days." The next day, he said. "Okay, I've thought about it, and I really like it now." His only concession was that we change the spelling, because 'ava' is a word in Tagalog (the language he spoke on his mission) so it weirded him out. So . . . "Aiva" it was. And we thought my first name sounded pretty with it. So there ya go.


WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yep. We'd been married for 2 and a half years when she was born.


WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Of course we were ecstatic. It actually had taken us a year to get pregnant. Along with that, surgery for endometriosis, and months of hormones and AI with a specialist. It was all so stressful that we actually had decided to "give up" for a while. First month after giving up . . . we got pregnant. I was actually almost 8 weeks along by the time I took a pregnancy test. After so many negative tests, you just can't stand the thought of not seeing those 2 lines so I was putting it off until I was sure. I was at work, and eating my way green-faced through my lunch, after which I ran to the toilet to try to throw it all up. My coworkers rolled their eyes at me and forced me to go home to finally take a pregnancy test . . . "positive." We laughed and cried together when Mike came home. We were so excited.


DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Absolutely. We were first told that it was a boy. About a month later, I had a coworker scan me just for fun, and to "make sure" it was "still" a boy . . . nope.


DUE DATE? August 24th, 2007

DID YOU DELIVER EARLY OR LATE? 6 days early


DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Yes. Bad. I threw up every day at least once. Evening was the worst. I think the last time I threw up was the 16th week, and I stopped feeling nauseous at 20 weeks.


WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Ice cream


WHO IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Everyone had their moments

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? girl

DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS WITH YOUR PREGNANCY? A little bit, though nothing too serious. One month before my due date I passed out at work due to the heat, dehydration, being on my feet too much, and the fact that Aiva was already past the size of a normal full-term baby (though we didn't know it at the time). Luckily I work in a hospital, and they wheeled me down to the ER. After tests showed that I and the baby were okay they made me start maternity leave early. It sucked . . . I wasn't allowed to drive for the rest of the pregnancy, and I so huge, I just sat on the couch and read, crocheted, and watched TV for 3 weeks!


HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? 6 1/2 hours. Easy breezy.


WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Mike. It was a planned induction so it was nice to have a nice calm morning, driving to the hospital knowing that we were going to have a baby that day.


WHO WAS IN THE DELIVERY ROOM? Mike and my mom.


WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural


DID YOU HAVE AN EPIDURAL? Heck yes! Except for feeling like a sack of potatoes, it was utter bliss. I will never have a baby without one.


HOW MUCH DID YOUR BABY WEIGH? She was 9 pounds even and 21 inches long! I remember when the doctor handed her to me when she first came out, and I remember just looking at her and thinking, "this girl is HUGE! Is this really what a 7 1/2 pound baby looks like?????" (They did an ultrasound the day before and told me she was around that.)


DID YOUR BABY HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS? None. It was a beautiful delivery start to finish. The most beautiful moments of our lives.


WHAT HOSPITAL DID YOU DELIVER AT? Davis Hopital in Layton


HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRSTBORN NOW? She turned ONE on August 18th.


I TAG EVERYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN.......

Happy Birthday Aiva!

On Monday the 18th at 6:45 pm our little Aiva turned one year old! We had a party at our house to celebrate. Three of Mike's brothers and their families were there, as well as his mom and dad, and my mom and two little sisters. We kept it simple: cake, ice cream, and presents. It was so much fun, so laid-back, and it was nice to have our familes with us to celebrate the life of our sweet little girl!

Happy 1st Birthday Aiva!

Aiva and Grandma Margaret (Mike's mom)

Mike's brother Dave and his girls Jaycee and Jaqueline

My little sisters Chelsee and Paige

Aiva and Grandma Vicki (my mom)

Aiva's Backyardigans cake

She cried when we put her hands in the cake, but she would eat it with a spoon. :)

Aiva and cousin Jaycee

Jane, Aiva and Courtney playing in Aiva's new RadioFlyer

Thanks to everyone for coming to celebrate this happy time with us! We have loved having Aiva in our family this last year. She has brought us more joy that we thought we could have. We are so appreciative to all of our friends and family who are such a positive part of ours and Aiva's lives!