Slumber Party!

Last weekend my sister and brother-in-law went out of town. We figured this was the perfect time to follow through with a promise Sam made to their kids to have a slumber party where we stayed up all night watching movies and eating popcorn and candy.

We didn’t end up staying up all night, but we did watch a movie and eat popcorn and candy.

And of course there was jumping on the bed that turned into a pillow fight.

The 4-year-old woke up in the middle of the night because she had a nightmare that her daddy was the Grinch. I tried to console her, but I was also trying not to crack up at her nightmare story. She woke up again, but before I could get up, Sam was headed to the living room to check on her. I woke up awhile later and Sam was still gone. Then I found this:

After that I only woke up once because the baby wanted to snuggle (that was heaven!). In the morning I was awakened when Sam and the girls brought me breakfast in bed.

Yes, I married the best man in the world!

We went to church the next day and got some interesting looks. A lot of people know we are hoping to adopt, so I think they thought we hit the jackpot!

Where It All Began

The other night we went bowling and it reminded me of our very first date.
I met Sam about a month or so before we first went out. I was immediately interested in him, but I wasn’t sure what he thought about me. I actually made the first move. I had a work-related event that involved filmmaking. I knew Sam had been working on a documentary and that he had a passion for film, so I figured it was the perfect excuse to ask him out. He turned me down. Apparently he had to work or something. A few days later he asked me out to go bowling.

When we pulled up to the bowling alley, I was a little mortified when Sam pulled out his very own bowling ball and shoes. Who has their own bowling equipment? For the first couple of frames Sam didn’t do so hot, but I was doing unusually well. Sam proposed a bet; whoever lost had to make the other one cookies. We shook on it—I didn’t really care if I was being a sucker. After that it was all downhill for me, and Sam started throwing strikes.

After bowling we went out for hot wings and then over to Sam’s friend’s house to watch a movie. I have no idea what movie we watched, but I do remember Sam held my hand for the first time. He took me home after that, walked me to my door and gave me hug goodbye.

That night I couldn’t sleep. I was very surprised by this because our date wasn’t really much different than most of the other million first dates I had been on. I did like Sam A LOT, and I really wanted to go out with him again, but I usually have no problem falling asleep. I tried everything I could think of. I wrote in my journal, I counted sheep, I even read War and Peace. I did sleep sometime between 5:00 and 5:20 a.m., but that was it.

So that’s where it all began. Sam still kicks my butt at bowling, but at least now I get to go home with him after the game. And after all these years, I’m seriously considering buying my own pair of bowling shoes.

Thank Goodness for Visiting Teachers!

visting teachers - noun. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints, Relief Society sisters (adult women) assigned in pairs to a list of sisters in the ward. Each set of Visiting Teachers are required to share a monthly spiritual message and generally assist, help strengthen and be-friend their assigned sisters. All Relief Society sisters should have someone assigned to visit teach them monthly.

Saturday I received a call from my stalwart visiting teacher, Sister N.

“Hi Megan, I just heard some news that I want to tell you so that you can deal with it in your own way.”

I million thoughts quickly went through my mind, none of which were remotely close to what she said next.

“Sister L was just placed with a baby boy and I just wanted you to find out about it when you could deal with the news however you need to.”

My first thought was relief, because of all the things I might need to “deal” with, this wasn’t too bad. I then felt sincere happiness for Sister L (really, I did). Sister L adopted a little girl from China about 2 years ago, right around the same time my sister and her family adopted their little girl from China. Sister L and I have talked about adoption, and I knew she would try to adopt again at some point. So I wasn’t totally surprised by the news. But I admit there was a small part of me that was bummed it wasn’t Sam and me getting a baby. I thanked Sister N for giving me the news, hung up, and told Sam. (By the way, he was more upset than me.)

Here’s where I thank Heavenly Father for the divinely inspired visiting teaching program, and the divinely inspired woman who first assigned Sister N to be my visiting teacher. Sister and Brother N adopted both of their children. Sister N knows exactly what it’s like to be in my shoes—aching for a child and feeling so helpless, trying to be positive, patient and optimistic while watching everyone else have babies—lots of them—while my arms remain empty year after year. Yes, Sister N knows what it’s like to be me. And it seems she knows what it’s like to be me even more than I.

You see, when I went to Relief Society yesterday, the R.S. president announced Sister L’s good news. I was totally surprised by the effect this had had me. It felt like a slap across the face. Along with that, (I might have been imagining) I swear I could feel everyone look at me out of the corner of their eye. How would I have reacted had I not already had 24-hours to process the news? At best, I would have held it together until class ended and I would have barely made it to the car before losing it. At worst, well, I would have had to make a b-line to the bathroom. But after the initial shock of the slap, I again felt sincerely happy for sister L. I really did. And I didn’t have to hold back any tears.

Yes, thank goodness for visiting teachers!

Year of the Baby

Yes, my title may be a little bold, but I really do think that this is the year Sam and I will finally become parents. Every year for the last several years I've hoped that it was the year, but this time I really think it is. And if it isn't, well, I'll be okay--it just means we're one year closer to whenever it happens. But in the meantime, the realist in me is giving in to the optimist in me.

We had a great New Year holiday. We spent time with family and friends, played games and watched football (go Utes!), watched good movies and ate yummy food. It doesn't get better than that!

On New Year's Eve we went out with some friends for Sushi, then to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert and then back to our friends house to play video games.

Here's what we look like from the back--just in case you were wondering. We're boxing each other on our friend's Wii. Great therapy! It's pretty hillarious because I have no clue how to play this game well. Sam takes me out me every time. HOWEVER, I kick his you-know-what in Wii golf.

The next day we took my sister and her family to our favorite neighborhood diner where my nieces found this thing--I'm not quite sure what to call it--a vintage car trunk outifitted as a bench?? Whatever it is, they loved it. By the way, they are way excited for a new cousin. My sister tells me they even pray that we will find one soon!

There's No Place Like Home

Last night we returned from spending Christams with Sam's family in Arizona. The trip also included some time in Albuquerque to see Sam's brother graduate from the Police Academy. It was a little strange seeing Cooper dressed up as a real live police officer. We are very proud of all of his hard work and know he will do a great job. Congratulations Coop!


On our way back from Albuquerque we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants, the Anasazi Inn. They have THE BEST fry bread and peach pie. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

This is us on Christmas morning. I asked Santa for a sassy apron. He brought me one, and Sam's sister gave me another! Sam's brother gave him the furry hat.


We spent a lot of time in the car! I think this is the first time we've taken my new car to Arizona. I used to have a blue VW Beetle, but we sold it and purchased a baby-friendly 4-door black Toyota Corolla. I miss my beetle, but I appreciate the practicality of the new car. Sam drives a Nissan Frontier--it has four doors, too. Now all we need is a car seat!

Sam's dad built their house from the ground up and he did an amazing job. There are still a few things that need to be completed, so every time we visit we work on something. This trip we painted and installed tile flooring in one of the bathrooms and did some minor electrical work .

We saw this beautiful sunset on our way home. Of course the picture doesn't really do it justice. It really looked like the sky was on fire.
It's the first time I've spent Christmas away from whatever place I called home. Sam's family definitely made us feel welcome and it was great spending time with them. On Christmas Eve we celebrated one of Sam's families traditions of making/eating hors d'oeuvres and playing games. We spent a lot of time relaxing and just hanging out. I'm glad we went, but it's good to be home again.

'Twas the Week Before Christmas

This week has been crazy busy and a lot of fun!



Tuesday we took a group of cub scouts to see the lights at Temple Square. (I'm the Bear Den Leader and Sam's the Cub Master. We were just called to these positions about two months ago and have really enjoyed being able to work together.) The lights were beautiful and it was quite an adventure having four rowdy nine-year-old boys along for the trip.




On Wednesday we continued our tradition of baking treats and giving them to friends and family. I came home form work and Sam had already made all the cookies. I just got to do the fun part of decorating them!




On Thursday we went sub-for-Santa shopping with my sisters and then we all came back to our house to wrap up all the loot.




My sister's birthday was yesterday and I made her this box. We usually have a girl's night out for each other's birthdays, but we decided to go to lunch instead. Later that evening we went to our friend's Christmas Party.

Today we're headed down south to spend some time with Sam's family.

Oh, Christmas Tree … Oh, Carpet!

After months of drywall dust, painting, tile laying, countless trips to Home Depot and a mandatory shoes-on-at-all-times policy, we finally installed carpet!

We already installed tile in the bathrooms and kitchen, and bamboo in the living room. Now that the flooring is 100% finished, I seriously feel like I’m living in a palace! I have never appreciated carpet like I have the last couple of days. I keep running around my house BAREFOOT and it feels SO good! When we remodeled our first home we contracted out a lot of the work and most of it was done when we moved in. We’ve done this house all by ourselves (except the carpet installation) and we’ve lived in it the entire time. We are not planning to do that again any time soon!

With the carpet in, it was finally time to decorate for Christmas. I’m a total sap for all things Christmas. Here’s our tall ‘n’ skinny Christmas Tree sitting atop caramel-colored bamboo flooring.

The tree is decorated with ornaments we’ve collected from all over the world. Do you see the train circling the base? Sam bought it last year and I love it! It actually blows smoke from the engine.

Here’s our just-barely-carpeted bedroom and Christmas plant.

We still have a few finishing touches – for both the remodel and Christmas decorations – but I think it’s looking pretty good!