Grandma Belliston

considering the fact that this was and is my grandma's favorite time of the year, i would like to do a little tribute to her.

grandma's house on christmas was like no other. fully decorated inside and out: lights up outside, with the blow up characters on the lawn, and candy canes all around; always a WHITE tree inside with the village set up perfectly, matching stockings hung up for everyone in the family -grandkids and great-grandkids included-, a small tree with lights made out of TAB soda cans, a bell countdown, christmas books piled on the piano, christmas decorations on both tables and lined up on the desk, the christmas clock, and of course, the doorbell the so loudly played a christmas song every time it was rung.

but the best part about christmas at grandma's was having everyone together in her warm home. the kids would be running around playing until we ended up in the basement for the usual game of hide-n-go-seek. the adults would be laughing and chatting while trying to ignore the delicious aroma of grandma's amazing cooking, or giving in and snagging a few bites here and there before dinner. looking outside in, i guarantee any stranger would have loved to come in and join us for the festivities.

christmas was more than just christmas eve and day. grandma always had each family over individually to make their favorite christmas candy. my family always made the chocolate rice krispy rolls which are to die for. it was great to spend time in the kitchen with grandma and see how she made everything taste so incredible, even though there isn't a single person on earth who can mimick her creations.

grandma NEVER stopped giving and serving others. which is why i believe christmas is her favorite time of the year. the time families come together in celebration of the birth of christ. she was the perfect example and friend to all who surrounded her, and truly believed in the gospel of the savior jesus christ.

this will be the fourth christmas without grandma, but i still feel her presence more strongly at christmas time than any other time of year. i love you grandma!!

the days go by...

time is going by faster than it feels. only FIVE weeks left till my little guy is here, but i look at that five weeks and see an eternity!!! i wish this part went by fast and watching him grow up would go by slow. but we all know that's too much to wish for.

here is my countdown to help me take my mind off of my baby countdown, and hopefully make it go by faster.

9 days till christmas

15 days till new years

and 25 days until my birthday!!!!!!!!!!!

wooo!!!! i'm so excited i am going to be TWENTY!!! not. i like being nineteen. its a great age to be. i love the feeling of being at the beginning of adulthood and wondering what life will have in store for you.

so.... everyone asks me what i want for christmas and all i can think of is BABY STUFF! i'm pretty much addicted to shopping for little kids now. no big deal. right?

so i was finally able to compile the smallest christmas wish list i have EVER written. here it is:

-a gym pass

-just dance 1 &2

-zumba for wii

-CSI video game for wii

-a belly-band-it

and

-clothes that will inspire me to get in shape.

yeah... pretty lame right? but hey... the presents aren't what christmas is all about anyway. :)

i am most excited to get to be with my family for christmas. brad and diondra will be coming up!! sooo stoked about that one. shadoe is planning on coming up for new years so we can exchange gifts. i got him a cardinals helmet and cardinals youth football (i purposely got youth size for one certain reason (: ) my gift for him cost me a total of $10. thank goodness my dad works for riddell!!. he already knows about it and i know what he got for me. haha he got me a belly-band-it! YAY!!! :) i don't mind not being surprised at all... cause knowing he got me one is going to save me a bunch of money. and of course getting to see my mom's side of the family for christmas is THE BEST!!!!!! its the time i feel closest to them and feel my grandma's love stronger than ever because christmas is her favorite holiday. i'm a little too great at making myself cry... haha. and last but not least, MY COUSIN JT WILL BE HOME FROM HIS MISSION!!! i'm so excited to see him and how much he has changed. :)

i need to give a shout out to my aunt lyn and uncle jim. i honestly love them sooooo much. they are the two most supportive people in the world. i can't wait to go spend basically an entire week with them while she helps me make my baby quilt. if you haven't met them, i really need to introduce you to these two amazing people. you will fall in love with them instantly and be jealous you aren't related to them.

i realized i need to take more pictures and most them on here instead of just chatting away. so i will be sure to start working on that... or maybe not.. because come the end of january.. its going to be PICTURE OVERLOAD on here!!! :D

SO

i got the whole schedule thing worked out... and it's definitely not as bad as i thought it would be. which is great news. i NEED to keep thinking positive... like how i will get to be with him EVERY DAY this summer, and how i am going to school so i can give him everything i want to be able to. just a little bit hard when i'm slightly pessimistic. ha.

i started walking a half a mile or a full mile every day about two weeks ago. it's sooooo exhausting, but i seem to have more energy, and it's nice to know the exercise helps to get him here easier.

i also thought i had been having false contractions, but when i went to the doctor on monday and explained what was happening to him, he told me they weren't false at all. so that means i have to keep track of the super painful ones instead of ignoring them. they happen every other day now, instead of once every three or four days. hopefully they stay that way for three more weeks, and then i will be a week away from being considered FULL TERM. it seems soooo close when i type it, but looking at my calendar, i see day after day going by super slow. hopefully i will find ways to speed up the days once school ends.

my cousin lincoln is getting blessed today! I love that little baby boy. he's so adorable. i'm really excited to see my family again. :) i have been able to see them a lot more than usual these last few weeks and i LOOOOVE it! :) soo excited. :)

sudden discouragement.

i was so pumped and ready for him to come while i continued going to school. i had my schedule all arranged perfectly so i would have school and work just two days a week. but i then i get on to register for the classes and everything fell apart right in front of my face. classes i needed were filled, i scored a 24 on my ACT in math and english, but they won't let me take the most basic classes, and i can't just register for any classes at any time, because i have a baby!! it's really sooo frustrating. i honestly broke down and cried. i know all i need to do is take placement tests because apparently my ACT scores have expired, but i'm so busy with studying for finals that it all seems so impossible. i definitely need a pick me up. i have a lot of people who have offered to help me by watching my baby boy chance when i needed them to, but i was really looking forward to being able to be with him more than just at night and on weekends. i guess i need to sit down and look at the bigger picture of what going to school is really about and accept that i am going to have to sacrifice that time with my son. AAAAHHHH!

on a positive note... 7 weeks left till he is here. :) hopefully a little sooner than that.