Thanksgiving '08

Stephen and I had a great trip to the small town of Kingman, Arizona over Thanksgiving. We woke up at 4 am to make the 6 hour trip. Along the way we came across an Arizona winter storm. It snowed for about two hours of our trip and I was surprised to see how much snow had actually fallen and STUCK! We took a few pictures of the snow as we drove 35 miles an hour through the icy patches.

We arrived in Kingman just in time to join the family playing rock band. I learned how to play the drums and watched Kendra and Micheal beat all of the family at playing the drums. We turned on Mario Kart and Stephen began his weekend long domination. I had to force him to play other characters in order to beat him. Friday all the guys went golfing for 5 hours while the girls went out for a nice movie (Twilight, my second time) and shopping. I love hanging out with my sisters and sisters-in-law. We had a lot of fun talking and shopping. I got to hold my new little nephew while the girls were in the movie and I learned that babies need a lot of attention. Am I ready?



Saturday and Sunday we did a lot of laying around and, of course, headed to church. I am so grateful I got to spend 4 days with all of my family. Everyone is happily married and have lives of their own. It is awesome to get to see each of them and get the entire Skousen family together.



I can't wait for Christmas!!

5 Things I am thankful for:

1) An awesome husband who rubs my back each night

2) A forever family! We all get along so well and I am happy to spend eternity with them!

3) A healthy baby boy who is less than 3 months away from joining my family

4) A beautiful home in Albuquerque (yes, my apartment)

5) A great job that has helped pay the bills for the last 4 months

Happy Holidays

In the area?

For Christmas, my sister-in-law, cousin, sister, and aunt are throwing me a little shower in the Phoenix area. If you will be down there December 27th, I sure would like to see you! So send me your address and I will get an invite to you. If you can't come, send your address anyway and I will send you an announcement when the little tot is born.

juliembarnes@gmail.com or you can leave your address as a comment.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Twilight

Saw Twilight

Loved It!

Is this supposed to be a compliment?

Today, I strolled into work, "la la la" minding my own business.

I walked in and cheerfully said "hello" to the three ladies gabbing up front. As I signed in to record my time, an older woman said to me....

"You look so cute pregnant, it looks like you could be having twins!"

Trust me, shock rang across my face. It sounded so nice and sweet, as if it was a compliment. She masked a nasty "fat" comment with a sweet tone.

No, I am NOT having twins. This is ONE baby... one big baby boy. He will be big, he likes to eat, and he is a little lazy about his works out lately. So yeah, he has gained some weight, he feels bad, why should we rub it in? He is working on getting better.

Things I took for granted:

1) My figure!
Never again will I complain about being fat!
2) Sleeping on my stomach
3) Sleeping
4) Motivation
Has been gone for months now and I am lucky I get up in the morning.
5) Running three miles with ease
Now I am lucky to make it 10 steps with out running out of breath
6) Clothing
7) Compliments

Honestly, the list could go on, but I truly have learned to appreciate my mother and her sacrifice for me. I was basically offered a full time job starting in January with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This would be my dream job with a GREAT pay. I will now step aside and walk away from something out of selflessness.

To each mother, I applaud you and your sacrifice. Thank you for making our world a better world by raising good children.

To my Mother... No words can ever express my deep gratitude for your sacrifice to ensure I live a spiritual and privileged life.

Thank you!

25 weeks!!!

Here is an update of the growth... Stephen looks the same (lucky!) He might even be getting skinnier!!!!!

Enjoy!

Kidney Stones + Pregnancy = 3 AM hospital visit!

Monday morning, 3 AM, and massive pain. This would be kidney stone number two for me within the last three months. I am not sure if Kidney stones are a side effect of pregnancy but I will say I do not drink caffeine. Either way, I woke up at 1:30 AM and an hour and a half later decided I needed real medical attention. After a scan of both my kidneys (and no pain meds) my doctor said I have another kidney stone that is just ready to come out as well!!!!
I suppose I will weather the storm of my third kidney stone drug free as well so that my little baby can come out happy and healthy with out being addicted to extra strength Tylenol. I suppose if I have gone through three kidney stones before giving birth I should be prepared for labor, right?

I love Arizona!

Stephen and I took a mini trip to Arizona last weekend. I really thought we would have more time to do things; however, we ran out of time fast. We spent the weekend with Stephen's family and got to see how much everyone has changed in only 4 months! My parents also drove down to help Craig and Blair look for homes in Maricopa. I also had a wedding to attend so the weekend went by fast with hardly any moment of down time. I am sad to say we didn't get to see a few people I wanted to and we didn't get to do a few things that needed to get done, but all in all I had a BLAST in the HOT weather in Phoenix.
We arrived at 10 AM on Friday morning. I was wearing a sweater and expected to keep it on all day. My outfit was sort of planned around the sweater. Well the second Stephen and I stepped outside to wait for our ride I took the sweater off. I was sweating by the time I got in the car! I believe it was about 92 degrees that day. We left ABQ at about 65 degrees!
We were able to spend a lot of time with Stephen's family shopping and eating out then we went to watch a long movie with Craig and Blair.
Saturday was all about the wedding and straightening my hair. It took about two hours to get my hair straight and in the end I think I really decided that I should have left it curly. Either way, I have only a few pictures of the wedding.

Saturday night Stephen and I drove up to the north part of Phoenix for a fun game night with Craig and Blair. For the first time in our gaming history, Stephen won BOTH games we played (I think it was the diet pepsi max). I guess we were all too tired to pay attention to the game. I took some pictures so Stephen could remember what it felt like to win two games in a row!
Enjoy! AND I miss you, Arizona!