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Oh the Joys!

Well, my last post seemed like a real downer, even though I didn't mean it to be; so, I decided I better post quickly before everyone thought I was sulking. I have too much to be happy about.

First of all, I'm so grateful that I had a willing and able husband that suggested we try living in Las Vegas for a few months to see how it went. He has never been much of a Vegas fan, but he knows how I have LOVED growing up around my family and that ALL of our family get-togethers have been highlights of my life, so he thought we should try it out if he got an internship here. He did, and we have been here for the last four months. There have been a lot of fun things about being around family, playing softball, and having new jobs and experiences....and there have been a few things from which we have since learned our lessons. I have loved it here...Devin has coped well, and we will be returning to Provo in the next 2 weeks for my graduation and for some new fun adventures. (I am personally excited to get back to intramural sports again. I LOVE to play co-ed soccer with my hubby! He is AMAZING! It is also fun and great exercise, and I just plain feel better. Plus, we are JUST in time for rock climbing season! All I can say is WAAAHHOOOO!!!) I really will miss the family though. I get a little bored in Provo sometimes. Mainly because I don't do as many silly things as I did when I was single and we don't have a dishwasher. ha ha. I know...pity me. --Trevor likes to remind me that only 2,000 people (in Australia) have dishwashers out of like 3 million)...so then I am forced to count my blessings--

Second of all, I'm glad we were able to make some money. It's not going to be much and it won't last long with tuition and stuff, BUT we actually had an income for almost FOUR MONTHS! WOW! I can't even believe the luxury it is to be able to work and have a consistent income from BOTH of us! PLUS, I was able to get transferred from my store here to the store in Springville; so I will continue to have a steady job with some GREAT benefits! :O) The only thing is, we're gonna have to get used to both of our full time jobs to just me being PART time for a while....at least until they can rotate me into a full time schedule. I'm sure once I get there it won't be a problem. I was offered a position at another branch too, but had already accepted the other offer....I am still trying to weigh out the options and determine what might be best for us.

Third, I am SO thrilled about the friends I was able to make at this branch here in Vegas. I know that there are some frustrating people in the world, but for all of them, I swear there are at least 15-20 absolutely FANTASTIC people if we truly give them a chance and our love. I have met people from all walks of life who DO truly care about people believe it or not. And we have had a blast! I have really loved my team!

Fourth, it is SO wonderful to have a practically fully functioning body again~! I haven't been on permanent medication for about 3 months now and have been JUST fine! I am still very tired most of the time, but I can get over that compared to what I WAS experiencing! I am grateful for a body that can get the things done that I need to get done!

We'll just do one more and then I'll be done. Last night, I was able to go to the Savior of the World musical that they had here in Vegas at one of the recreation centers. It was BEAUTIFUL! The music was inspiring and my testimony has grown! I'd like to thank all of the people who put so much hard work and dedication into sharing that beautiful message! (Thanks Kara!) I love my Savior and I hope that we as LDS members can share that love with ALL people we come in contact with...whether it be through our actions, thoughts, or words. Christ loves us all and I am so grateful to know that He is there and listening, guiding my family, and providing the way for us to return to Him! I am grateful for that knowledge!

Hope you all have a wonderful day! It is joyous to be here on earth! (And yes, Becca, a little sunshine can go a LONG way~!!!!)

April Fool's Joke Gone Bad

Well, I was GOING to play a GREAT April Fool's joke on Devin today. I know, I know...it's typical....telling him that I was pregnant, but it was going to be SO good. I was going to buy a little Texas Longhorns baby outfit and have one of my pregnant friends "pee-on-the-stick" for proof and all; however, after having what we think was my second miscarriage last week, I just couldn't carry it through! Dang, it ruined all of my plans. I've seriously had it planned for months, but when you have a miscarriage, you can't hide it; so, it's not like I could have pulled it off at this point...not without some SERIOUS proof from an OB/GYN anyway.

We weren't trying to get pregnant or anything...not yet. But I could tell that my new birth control wasn't quite working properly (that is a whole other story in itself--we just can't get me on ONE birth control pill that doesn't cause some sort of major problem with my health). Two weeks ago, I started feeling pretty nauseated in the mornings and throughout different times of the day. It wasn't very bad, but it was noticeably different. Then, my back started ACHING! I stand all day at work--we're talking 9 1/2 hours), so I thought maybe I just needed to sit for a while, but it didn't make sense because I had already stood through the entire previous month without any problems. I thought, "maybe it is because of the car accident a few years ago??" but I haven't had MAJOR problems with that in a while, so I shrugged it off. Anyway, I started to sit down at work (because we can if we have a Dr's note) and hoped it would get better...which, it didn't over the next several days afterward...

After a few days of this pain (I SERIOUSLY couldn't MOVE; especially after work), I started spotting even worse than I have for the past four months, so I was semi-concerned. Last Tuesday, however, I didn't just spot...I full on bled...BIG TIME! Now, my back is feeling MUCH better and I haven't been spotting as much since...which kinda makes me wonder how long I was pregnant, and if I had known that that was the reason for my spotting earlier that this story may have ended a little differently. Anyway, so much for my April Fool's joke gone bad! Did anyone else get a good one in?!?!?!

Perfect times

Things have gotten AMAZINGLY better at Wells Fargo for me. I have balanced perfectly for over a month now and have made a lot of progress on my sales. The most important thing is that I have been able to develop some meaningful relationships with some of my coworkers. They know I will be leaving soon, and it will definitely leave a hole in each of us until we can meet again.

Everyone at work knows I am LDS and I have therefore been the center of many stereotypes and jokes; however, the reason it is all worth it happened a few days ago! One of my coworkers, Jessica, has held a special place in my heart from the beginning. She is just one of the nicest people on earth and is SO willing to help anyone and anything she can.We were both helping drive-up and Jessica's questions started flowing. "Are you one of those die-hard Mormons?"..."Is it your duty to pro-create?"...and then finally "What is the Book of Mormon" and "Families can be together forever?" It can't get any better than that! One of my other coworkers bore testimony of her love for the principles of the gospel and another gave her a pass-along-card. AMAZING!!! I answered a lot of her questions and told her about missionaries. At this point, I am not sure what will come about. We had to leave in a rush and she has been out of town many days since, so Wednesday, I will be able to talk with her again!

It is SO exciting to be able to share the gospel! That is something I've kind of missed while being in Utah. Not that the gospel CAN'T be shared there, but the opportunities aren't as great in the BYU bubble. I am excited to see where this takes us and I am thinking of inviting her to the Savior of the World performances next week....I'll keep you all posted!

The other perfect thing is that the missionaries came over for dinner Saturday night. There's a whole story behind that (cuz I thought it was the month previous) but I was able to talk with them and get some good ideas. It is true that the Lord knows everything and guides our lives perfectly if we just follow him. Devin and I had a lot of fun feeding and talking with them. Devin LOVES to talk about his mission and missionary work; so his face just LIGHTS up with the happiest smile EVERY TIME he talks about Brazil and missionary work. It was a great night for us and we are happy to do whatever we can for the Lord! It also made me think a lot about Trevor and the mission he is serving in Australia. He's doing such a wonderful job and is always as happy as can be! We are grateful for his service and pray for him often. I guess feeding the missionaries here kind of helps me feel like I am doing something for Trevor out there! I can help take care of the missionaries here just like those families are taking care of my little brother out there! Missionary work is truly needed! Let's get out there and do the work! :O)

Life in a hurry...

Well, blogging obviously hasn't been my forte in the last month. I have been keeping very busy with my new job as a teller at Wells Fargo, as well as all of the wifey types of things I try to keep on. I am also taking a class this semester that I am hoping I will even get done with because....I finally turned in my graduation papers the other day! I know, I know, I was certainly putting it off because I'm just not sure that I want to graduate....EVER, but I finally relented and will be walking in April. I only turned the papers in yesterday, and that was after a lot of prodding from my parents and Devin. They said they will still accept them; so, the whole family will be going back up to Utah on the 23 to watch me walk. The closer it comes, the less I see the need....maybe it's because I've been there, done that. It will be exciting that day though I"m sure! But I'll probably cry. I just love taking classes! It's such an easy way to swallow a bunch of knowledge in a short period of time and I just love to learn. It will be very bitter-sweet.

'Doing school' is so much more carefree than 'doing life' I suppose. I was never NEARLY as stressed in school as I can be when I'm not doing school. I guess it's just my new job as a teller. I mean, it's simple in a lot of ways, but I never thought it would be this stressful to make sure I am in balance every single day and catch fraudsters and sell things to people and work with a bunch of gossiping girls. There are some people I have really come to like there, but overall, I have heard it's one of the hardest stores at which tellers for WellsFargo work because they go above and beyond on selling things. I have balanced well every day since I've been there except two....and the reason I didn't was because I had a fraudster! grrrrr! Well he was really an exchange artist. I wasn't even supposed to be on a drawer yet because I hadn't gone to training (a whole different story in itself because had I known I wasn't supposed to be on a drawer yet, I would have told my supervisor "no") so it makes me upset that I will take the blame for it. Another girl stole someone's identity, so I've had to deal with the stresses of giving $900 extra to someone who wasn't really that person. I guess it's just because I am such an extreme perfectionist! I DO NOT want to mess up and if I do, I am VERY hard on myself.

The interesting thing is how the job has been affecting me. Devin says at various times throughout the night (while dreaming) I will yell out "JaNae, don't do that transaction!" or "50,000 accounts receivable!" lol He will try and talk to me, but I, of course, only mumble and go back to sleep. I talk about banking most every night. I just sit and think...school was never this stressful. And who would have thought I would be THIS stressed at a job like the one I have. It's not THAT hard, is it?! I must say, however, that they offer GREAT benefits and lots of discounts on things (such as 26% off our monthly sprint bill) so that will really help longterm. I have also begun my 401K and have gotten on a lot better health insurance than I had at BYU, which is VERY needful. Mostly because on my healthcare alone, Devin and I spent at least $2,000 out of our own pocket last year...and the insurance covered about $10,000. Boy are we grateful for health insurance!

Anyway, the fun stuff is that every Wednesday night, Devin and I play on a softball team together. We have a blast! I have actually done surprisingly well! I hit pretty much every time and because of my speed, I get around the bases quickly. Devin, as always, is amazing at sports! He is obviously very fast, but not only that, he completely sacrifices his body for any sport! He will probably die someday playing in a sport game! Last week, he came home literally bloodied all over his arm and a big chunk of his hand was gone. To spare you all, I have opted to not take a picture of it and put it on here, but you can take my word for it, it was GROSS! Good thing he had long sleeves to cover it up so in his words, " no one else would see and pull him out of the game because he was bleeding." He's a crazy one! I never sacrifice myself like that for a game :O) Sometimes, I feel like this though....







The whole team drinks and drinks and drinks the whole game (no wonder we haven't won ONE!) They are all guys and gals from Devin's work and they obviously love to drink. I get offered a beer every game--they apparently haven't noticed that I never accept...or they just want to be nice and make sure I feel welcome?? ANyway, they really are VERY kind people! They have been extremely welcoming and encouraging and they even think I"M good! ME! Crazy huh?!

Devin is enjoying his work as well. He is learning a lot of new things at his internship and thinks the building they are completing is AMAZING. He is gaining a lot more things to do; so, he is feeling much more useful at this point. (When we first got here, he was feeling VERY disposable...which is completely natural for a new worker who only has a semester of the Major under his belt). Now, things have definitely improved. Martin-Harris has DEFINITELY been good to us!

Other than school, work, and hanging out with our families, Devin and I eat crepes (MMMM! MMMM!!), eat ice cream, eat REAL food, and watch American Idol and Survivor--Guess which one goes with which person! Devin has been an EXTREME help around the house because I've been so busy with working and stuff. Last week, for the first time since we've been married, he took COMPLETE initiative and did ALL of the laundry without me even knowing it! I was utterly shocked! What a good man, eh? He's taken a lot of stress off of me, which I appreciate, and we are enjoying being here. Devin has also been up to the Valley of fire and some bird sanctuary (which has hopefully been enough nature for him to suffice for now) and so I'll put a few pictures up of that.--scratch that, I can't find the camera...so I'll put it up later.

Anyway, that's a slight update on us at the moment. I really want to get taking some pictures, so I'll try my best in the near future! Have a fabulous day!

Pics of our cute little boy!!!!

I'm sure all of you are quite inquisitive as to what the title means here but do not fear--or get excited. I thought I had some pictures to put up from last night of our little boy, but turns out it was only a dream...a very REAL dream! It almost scared me. Here's what it was about:

One day, Devin and I were going to the store and he said "wait a minute, let me go get the baby." I was like "what baby?!" I could have sworn maybe we were watching someone else's kid, but then, to my surprise, it was our very own son. He was an eight month year old at this point. Come to find out, we had had a child, but for some reason in the first few weeks of his birth, I completely forgot about him! (ha ha, I'm laughing in my head right now...cuz like this would really happen to anyone). I guess my brain had gone on auto-pilot. I breast-fed him every time he needed it, but didn't pay any attention to him other than that....weird thing is, I NEVER remembered breast-feeding him.

Ok so, on this day that I realized we had a child, Devin was getting really frustrated because after I realized he was EIGHT MONTHS, I KNEW we needed to start getting him on solid foods (I'm pretty sure this dream came about because Shelise is getting Hudson on solids); so, I began to go shopping to get him solid foods (they had some CRAZY cool foods in this dream) but I couldn't find any of the cereal. We went to two stores to find the cereal and finally I just ended up getting some cream-of-wheat type of substance. The other problem is that Devin had never gone and bought our boy a car seat. He got some hand-me-down one from SOMEWHERE...except it was one of those booster seats for a five year old, NOT an eight month old. We went to another store to buy a car seat but Devin was not happy about it because he didn't want to spend the money, and he said he had been taking care of the boy just fine up until this point without me. I am not entirely sure how that happened, because I am quite sure he has No idea what to do with a child ALL of the time (even though he is pretty good with children). Anyway, I had just been on auto-pilot with this kid. After going to talk to a therapist, we realized that the reason I had done this was because in the first three weeks of his birth, he didn't interact or socialize with me at all, so something in my brain told me he wasn't real. (lol again) He wasn't really very social at this point either, because he hadn't really ever interacted with anyone (we were living in Provo, not around our family). It was quite a weird dream, and very real...so kinda scary!

These kinds of things sometimes make me wonder about our reality. I took a philosophy class long ago where we discussed our perceptions of reality and how we know they are real. I guess this just made me think of it all over again. Anyway, sorry no pics! I really thought I was going to be able to put some up of our cute little boy! :O)

Soon, I will put some pics up of our new apartment. It is so big compared to our other one that I don't think I would ever be able to fill it! The kitchen is HUGE (my mom laughs at this, because it really isn't...it's just that our other one is SOOO tiny!) Anyway, I'll get those up soon!

Oh and Happy New Year!!!

I hope that all of you have had a great start to this new year! Hopefully, we can all make goals of turning more to Christ and emulating His life more! Also, may all of your other new years resolutions come true! (Work hard, be strong....and I will be too!!!) HAPPY, HAPPY New Year!

Still here...

I haven't disappeared! But I also haven't been that great at taking pictures lately...

We went down to Las Vegas for the Christmas/New Years season! It was so much fun to be with the families! We had a GREAT time! Our families were EXTREMELY generous to us both because they know we are poor college students doing everything we can! We really were SHOCKED! We are always so blessed by both of our families, but they really went above and beyond this time! We each got quite a bit of SPENDING money! CRAZY! ha ha ha....they also got us a lot of the tiny things that we can't always afford. Our grandparents were also very generous...as usual~ :O) We love them all VERY much!

Devin got me a hair straightener (among other things). The cool thing about this particular straightener is that the guy who sold it to us showed me something REALLY neat that I can do with it! It does the most beautiful and permanent curls in my hair! It is really remarkable because my hair DOES NOT curl....at least not without TONS of hair product and a professional hair stylist doing it. My hair is SOOO straight! So why did I get a straightener?! Because of the way it does those curls!!!! I did my hair on New Year's Eve in those curls. It took me a bit to get the hang of it, but I only put mousse and hair sprayed it afterward. With only THAT, it stayed in my hair through all of our New Years celebrations, wind, AND sleeping on it....and it STILL stayed the WHOLE NEXT day! It was truly meant to be for me. I am glad to have it! I didn't take a picture (because I was way too busy to take ANY pictures this vacation), but I promise I will put one on next time I do those curls! :O)

I'm not quite sure what Devin's favorite gift was, but he got a handsome new suit from my parents and a Vince Young Texas Longhorns Jersey. He was sure surprised to have grandparents who were so generous! He looks so handsome in his new suit and has some neat new things to play with!

We had a fantastic time spending time with our families. On Christmas Eve we always go to my grandparents and eat a big meal and play some games. The grandparents always surprise us with fun things to play in order to get our presents from them! This year, we played concentration. When we finally made a match, we got the gift listed in that match! It was a TON of fun!

Devin had a chance to go to the Las Vegas Bowl! WOW what an ending, huh?!?! I missed the last TWENTY FIVE seconds!!!! What a bummer...the TiVo went out...:O( It was exciting to see the "miracle" of the night though! I'm glad Devin could be there!

Other than that, we relaxed a bunch by watching movies, going to movies, playing sports, watching JaNae's soccer tournament, celebrating holidays, putting together puzzles, eating, and practicing musical numbers.

JaNae and I did a musical number in church on Sunday and it turned out GREAT! I was SOOO glad that JaNae actually participated because she was so nervous! She is a beautiful violinist but has never really played for other people. She stopped playing for several years but then agreed to play the violin while I sang. I couldn't have been more pleased! It was wonderful to be alongside her!

She is also a talented photographer with her new expensive camera she got for Christmas. She took great pictures of the Leavitt/Truman/Mayer family. They all looked SO cute and it was a lot of fun to be there and participate in that!

After the fun vacation, it was time for us to return home...and that's where we are now! We are preparing to leave for Devin's internship in Las Vegas on January 16th. I am doing a MAJOR dejunking of our house just to get it all ready for us to be gone for a few months. We have decided to keep our apartment because we are moving into the *FREE* corporate apartment that is fully furnished (thank heaven) down in Vegas. Devin will be well paid, but I have yet to find a job. I have applied to a few places, but I am figuring it may be hard to get a decent job for only 3 1/2 months. We shall see! (If any of you know anyone looking for someone like me, let me know! :O)) Anyway, the house cleaning is taking MUCH longer than I really thought it would. We are SERIOUSLY deep cleaning though....and somewhat unfortunately, we are those kind of sentimental people that save EVERYTHING because we just KNOW we will need it eventually. ha ha Our rule is that if we haven't used it in the last 4 months (and it's something that SHOULD be used) we need to throw it out or give it to DI. So far, we are doing pretty well with that! We are really clean in our house and it always looks clean, but we just get that clutter built up over time. You wouldn't really know it, because I hide it so well--ha ha--but it is there and won't be soon! I am WAY excited about that! Plus, we'll close the apartment all up for our months away and I won't have anything to worry about when I get back except for finding a job and graduating! Exciting things...sorry no pictures! Hope all of your holidays were WONDERFUL and full of fun with family!

Oh P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!!

We hope that Grandpa Larson had a very HAPPY Birthday! We love him and are so grateful for him! Thanks for everything Grandpa!

Christmas Date!

So, Devin and I went on our date tonight to Salt Lake City!! First, we went to a basketball game for BYU vs. Michigan State. We had TERRIBLE seats that truly give me a headache, so I didn't end up watching most of the game. Devin was still able to enjoy it. I have been really sick lately though because of the antibiotics I've been on, so it just didn't sit well with me. I ended up reading some talks I wanted to get caught up on for teaching in RS. We lost...

After the game we grabbed a little bite to eat and then headed off to temple square to see the lights. Devin nor I ever actually REMEMBER seeing them; so we wanted to have a chance to go before we headed back to Vegas. It was really FREEZING, but the falling snow made it even that much more beautiful! They had lots of beautiful lights and various nativities. Here are some pictures of Devin and I at the nativities and outside lights. I really wish Devin would have remembered to take off his hood, but that's ok...he's still my handsome :O)!!


As we were walking around, Devin said "I feel like we should be singing Christmas carols or something" and so, we did! And YES, he actually did sing--though quietly because he was slightly embarrassed that no one else was singing! It was pretty fun!


















Here is the reflection pond. It had tons of different candles floating on top of it! I couldn't QUITE capture it on the camera, but it was REALLY COOL!!!
We also captured one with the peaks of the Salt Lake Temple...if you look closely, you can see the snow falling down....so pretty! (Not me, the snow :O))

After we looked around outside, we went to the North Visitors Center, which is my favorite one! I believe it is also Devin's favorite, but he just loves Temple Square in general. We were able to see the Christus, which is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous and breathtaking EVERY TIME you see it! We also saw a short film on the Saviors birth. I am continually in awe as I read and learn more of the birth of Jesus at how Mary and Joseph conducted themselves throughout the whole ordeal. It is truly amazing how they were able to keep their hopes up and how beautifully it all occurred. Joseph took such good care of Mary and Mary had such undaunted faith! It is truly indicative as to why they were chosen to be Christ's earthly parents. It was just a short film, but you can feel so much about what they really went through during that short time before Christ was born....and then how many people it affected immediately after. I am truly so grateful! This one is one of my fav's!

We spent a bit of time after that going around and viewing a lot of the short films that they have there at the visitor's center. We especially liked to view the ones on family (and children) and the church's welfare program. What inspired leaders we have!

This picture is of us at a tree in the visitor's center....




As we were walking away, Devin said that one day he would like to have a bit of money saved so that we could stay at one of the hotels around temple square. Then we could spend all day there and into the night viewing all of the videos at the visitors centers, go to several sessions at the Salt Lake Temple, and do some of our family history and stuff. I think that would be A TON of fun! Hopefully, we can get a chance to do everything on Temple Square someday. For now, this has to suffice. We have had a chance before to do a live session at the Salt Lake Temple before though. It was really neat to see it live....it's just even that more real somehow. It makes you think differently. Anyway, here is one last picture before I sign off! It was one of my favorites because it has the lights and the temple in the background! Have a wonderful Christmas full of service this season (if I don't get to say it sometime before Christmas)!! Love you all!