Baby Names

Who knew that coming up with baby names could be so hard? Chad and I are fairly set on Derek James after my two brothers. They mean so much to me that I would love to name my child after two men who have been an important part of my life. But Chad is somewhat hesitant about it, as am I but not as much. We always thought that we would have kids with uncommon names. I have always loved my name because I have never met anyone in person with my name. I want my kids to have the same kind of uniqueness. So Chad and I set out to come up with some uncommon names. We didn't get too far before we were laughing about all the ridiculous names we could name our baby. If any of you come up with any good boy names, post your suggestions! We would love the help.

Home Is Where Mom Is

I just wanted to write a post to tell the world how much I love my mom. She has been through so much and stayed strong through it all. She is one of few Mormon moms I know who had two full time jobs; she always worked full time as a nurse and took care of her family. She has been an amazing friend, provider, protector, teacher...in one word, MOTHER. And even as, one-by-one, her children have grown up and started lives of their own, she has still made a point to be very much involved in their lives.

In more recent events, my mom has had a big hand in making things possible for my little family. Chad and I were recently in a little fender bender where the front end of my Subaru was smashed in just a little bit (not enough to do any mechanical damage to anything except possibly the radiator but enough to make it unsafe to drive for the time being). The car is in my mom's name and she has been paying insurance on it. We have been meaning to get everything switched over so my mom doesn't have to pay insurance anymore but it just hasn't happened. And now, because my mom was willing to keep paying insurance, we can get my car fixed without paying a ton of money. What an amazing blessing that is!!!

And even right after all of that, my mom is making it possible for me to visit this beautiful place! And my family and friends that I miss so much! And HER! I love my mom soooo much and I am so very grateful for all that she has done throughout my life. I think the saying "Home is where Mom is" will stay true throughout my life. For those of you reading this, tell your mom how much you love her! Heavenly Father truly blessed the lives of all His children by sending them Moms!

Be His. Be One. Be Strong.

2010 Mutual Theme:

"Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

~Joshua 1:9

I have the great honor of serving as the 2nd counselor in the Young Women Presidency of the Idaho Falls 7th Ward. What an experience it has been. I was called just shortly after we moved into the ward in December. It was something that I didn't see coming. And I felt a little intimidated at my mere 20 years of age compared to the other leaders' 30. And at the fact that I am just a few years older than the girls. Nevertheless, I was very excited because of the strong testimony I have of the youth program.

It has been a challenge. We don't have very many girls and even fewer active ones. But it has been a learning experience. I have greater appreciation for my young women leaders and all their hard work and love for us girls. And I have loved getting to know the girls and their interests and personalities. They are wonderful girls and they have so much potential.

I am so grateful for the mutual theme this year. It sums up exactly what I want the girls to learn and come to know as they go through life. As I look back on that time in my life, when I came to gain a testimony that the Lord was with me always, life became so much easier to handle. It kept me moving forward on the straight and narrow when the pressure to stray from it was at its strongest. Knowing what I know now, my hearts goes out to them and I sincerely hope they reach the full potential that the Lord has in store for them. They are such wonderful girls and I am blessed to have them in my life. Along with my fellow leaders. I am so grateful for their hard work and always look up to their examples.

I love my calling!

One Year

Today, I went out to lunch with Heather, Clark and Kristy and came home to find this waiting on the kitchen table for me:

A single orange gerber daisy. My favorite! Underneath it was a sweet little note from Chad. He spent his lunch break doing that for me. I was so surprised! Chad has never really done anything like this for me before. Of course, I don't mind that he doesn't. He already has this crazy ability to make me feel special in some way everyday.

He did it for our "first anniversary." We went on our first date a year ago today. I haven't even thought much of it except for looking back on all that has happened during that time. I never thought Chad would do anything for it but I guess I was wrong :). It has been a crazy year. We went through a lot together leading up to the wedding and, of course, we've been through a lot since the wedding. It's definitely been a roller coaster ride, but I wouldn't want anyone else sitting beside me. Can't wait for all the crazy years ahead of us!

The Start of Baby Phelps' Wardrobe

Chad and I went shopping earlier this week. I need new church clothes so we went on the hunt for clothes that I could wear now and keep wearing as I grow. We went to Ross and quickly ended up in the baby section. I've been really anxious to find out the sex of the baby so I could start buying clothes here and there. There are so many great deals out there! Anyways, as we were looking at clothes for boys we found a couple good finds. This is the first one:

This would be great if we have a boy but we also thought it would be great for our little girl as well! Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not really a girly girl. Never have been. Although I am so excited to buy all the cute girly clothes if we have a girl, this would be great to even it out. And if this girl is anything like her mom, she will eventually make someone cry. When I was little I was so possessive of my toys that I would throw a fit whenever I had a friend over and they played with them. I even scratched someone so bad that she started bleeding. And my dad caught me on film pushing someone off a toy tractor and then jumping on it. I was one tough cookie and I hope any girls we have get a little ounce of that...although, maybe not that bad! ;)

This was the other onesie that we found:

They had a few Dr. Seuss ones. We didn't see this one at first. We were looking at couple and then I noticed there were more and found this one. And of course this would be our pick! Considering Chad proposed to me with this book. I can't wait to read that book to our kids along with all the other storybooks. Chad and I would love to build our own house someday and I told him we had to wait and have at least one kid after that happens so I can decorate the nursery with a Dr. Seuss theme. What can I say?? I love Dr. Seuss!

So those are our first baby buys! We're way excited! :)

Every Day

Well, today has been a really good day. Chad's niece, Harlee, was baptized today. Chad requested work off but he didn't get it off so I thought I was going to have to go to Blackfoot all by myself. Luckily, Chad was able to leave early so we went to that together. We missed the baptism but were there for the confirmation. It was so nice. Harlee looked so pretty in her baptism dress. I was so happy for her. And very happy that she decided to take such an important step in her life. How wonderful it is to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost! Laney gave a wonderful talk about the Holy Ghost and I came away feeling so grateful that I have such a precious gift. It was really great! :) What an awesome afternoon!

And tonight we get to feed the missionaries. I love having the missionaries over! They always bring such a sweet spirit with them. And then later, all of Chad's siblings and parents are getting together for dinner. I know two dinners sounds crazy but Brandon and Melissa are here from Utah and it's always nice to spend time with family. I am so grateful that both Chad and I were raised and taught that family is so important and that you always make time to spend time with them. It's so great that we don't have to argue about not wanting to spend time with either family. I really love both of our families!

I have been listening to Pandora radio a lot lately and this song came on that I really want to share with you. It's "Every Day" by Rascal Flatts. I don't really like them all that much but this song really struck me.

You could've bowed out gracefully
But you didn't
You knew enough to know
To leave well enough alone
But you wouldn't
I drive myself crazy
Tryin' to stay out of my own way
The messes that I make
But my secrets are so safe
The only one who gets me
Yeah, you get me
It's amazing to me

How every day
Every day, every day
You save my life

I come around all broken down and
Crowded out
And you're comfort
Sometimes the place I go
Is so deep and dark and desperate
I don't know, I don't know

How every day
Every day, every day
You save my life

Sometimes I swear, I don't know if
I'm comin' or goin'
But you always say something
Without even knowin'
That I'm hangin' on to your words
With all of my might and it's alright
Yeah, I'm alright for one more night-
Every day
Every day, every day, every day
Every day, every day
You save me, you save me, oh, oh, oh
Every day
Every, every, every day-

Every day you save my life

I just want to say how much I love my husband. I have had my fair share of struggles since we got married. It's been hard not being able to find a job and being away from family and things like that. And every time, without fail, he is there to pick up the pieces when I fall apart. I don't know what I would do without him. Looking back, I can't stand to think that I almost gave all of that up. I love him soooo much! I am so grateful for all he does. And I can't imagine life without him! :)

Things I miss about Minnesota

1. Mi Familia

2. Mis amigos

3. Old Dutch potato chips

4. Top the Tater

5. Kemps Ice Cream

6. Sebastian Joe's...gotta love the raspberry chocolate chip!

7. The Suburbs...It's such a pain to have to drive 30 min to the nearest city.

8. Noodles and Co.

9. Target...with a nice selection, esp clearance items. And if you can't find it at one Target, the next one is just 5 min away!

10. Not being the only person with liberal views.

11. The snowplowing.

12. Potbelly

13. The lakes! And walking around them with mi madre.

14. The shopping selection

15. Ice skating at Centennial Lakes

16. Chillin at the Spyhouse

17. The Walker Arts Center and the Sculpture Garden

18. The Guthrie

19. The Original Pancake House (mouth watering as we speak)

20. The rainy season and the storms...gotta love it when the sky suddenly turns pitch black in the middle of the afternoon

21. The diversity...going anywhere and seeing people from all walks of life.

22. Como Park

23. Duluth and the North Shore

24. Going to Minnesota Blue gigs at Dulono's Pizza

25. The moisture making everything all green and beautiful

26. Summer bonfires with friends

27. Cities 97 and the Current...haven't found a decent radio station in Idaho yet.

And despite the fact that I miss home and how much I complain about Idaho, it does have some good things about it...I guess ;)

1. The mountains. Chad always has to point out how small they are every time I comment on them but they are still beautiful.

2. Enjoying the scenery on the 30 min drive to the next city

3. Living down the street from the temple. What a lovely daily reminder it is of what is most important. And it makes it that much easier to attend on a regular basis.

4. Rupe's Burgers

5. Rush hour is non-existent!

6. Our apartment. It's not much to look at but it's roomy; we actually have a dining room and our kitchen, bedroom, and living room are a very nice size.

7. Our ward and my calling

8. Living close to Chad's family. It's given me a great chance to get to know them and become more than just an in-law.

9. Wal-Mart. They're much nicer here which makes it easier to get over my bias against it because there's nowhere else to shop.

10. Winco. Greatest grocery store ever.

11. Harper's Homemade white bread. Greatest bread ever.

12. The Greenbelt. Makes me not miss the lakes TOO much :)

13. Rhode's Rolls

14. Craigo's Pizza

15. No humidity!

16. BYU-Idaho campus, esp during the summer.

17. The small town charm. It's nice to live in a place where nobody is really in a rush to get anywhere.

18. I live 15 min from the city where television was invented. I know...who woulda thunk that tv was invented in Idaho?!

19. Playing Glow-in-the-Dark Hide-and-go-Seek in the caves outside Rexburg. It's pretty awesome :)

20. Who doesn't love potatoes?! But it really is unfortunate to live amongst so many potatoes and not have Top the Tater.

21. Living in a place that is so different from the place I grew up. It's always good to experience new things :)

22. Hastings Bookstore

23. Deseret Book everywhere! Have I mentioned that I love bookstores?

24. People here don't look at me funny when I tell them I'm LDS.

25. The weather here is very similar to Minnesota. It's nice not to have to get used to that along with everything else.

I really do need to stop complaining about Idaho so much. I have a lot to be grateful for. :)