Sugar and Spice? Or puppy dog tails?

The countdown has begun....and since I love chains I made a "countdown 'til we discover our baby's gender" chain. Here it is....10 days!!! We can't wait. We feel like we know what it is and I'll tell you if we're right when we find out for sure!!

Also....I've been getting emails that update the baby's progress each week. Today I got one that compared the baby to a cantaloupe. haha I think it's funny to picture that. We actually had a cantaloupe on hand so I thought I'd share so you can all picture it too...weird.

Curse of the Pharaohs

Well I went to the doctor awhile ago and he said I've got the curse of the pharaohs.........

I'm going to be a mummy!

[He really truly used that joke!]

So I'm 17 weeks along and due somewhere around July 3rd! Blake and I are really excited for this next big adventure in our lives!

Tomorrow Never Comes

The following is a poem shared by Elder Costa in the October 2007 General Conference. Please take this poem to heart and appreciate every second with those you love because they will not be on this earth forever.

If I knew this would be the last time I would watch you sleep, I would hug you tighter. I would plead with the Lord to protect you. If I knew this would be the last time I saw you walk out the door, I would hug and kiss you and call you back to hug and kiss you one more time. If I knew this would be the last time I would hear your voice in prayer, I would record every gesture, every look, every smile, every one of your words, So that I could listen to it later, day after day. If I knew this would be the last time,I would spend an extra minute or two to tell you, “I love you,” instead of assuming you already knew it. If I knew this would be our last time, our last moment, I would be by your side, spending the day with you instead of thinking, “Well, I’m sure other opportunities will come, so I can let this day go by.” Of course there will be a day to revise things, And we would have a second chance to do things right. Oh, of course there will be another day for us to say, “I love you.” And certainly there will be another chance to tell each other, “Can I help with anything?” But in my case, there isn’t one! I don’t have you here with me, and today is the last day we have—our farewell. Therefore I would like to say how much I love you, And I hope you never forget it. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old. Today might be your last chance to hold tight to the hand of the one you love and show all you feel. If you are waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today? Because if tomorrow never comes, you certainly will regret for the rest of your life Not having spent some extra time for a smile, a conversation, a hug, a kiss, Because you were too busy to give that person what ended up being their last wish. Then hug tight today the one you love, your friends, your family, and whisper in their ears how much you love them and want them close to you. Use your time to say, “I’m sorry,”“Please,” “Forgive me,” “Thank you,” Or even, “That was nothing,” “It’s all right,” Because if tomorrow never comes, you will not have to regret today.The past doesn’t come back, and the future might not come!

Some Thoughts

Recently I have been thinking about the wonderful plan of salvation. This is a lesson we learn about so often when we are children and throughout our lives. This lesson has recently taken new meaning and importance in my life and I want to share with all my friends and family my testimony that I know without a doubt that we can live with our loved ones who have passed on before us again. I know that our Father in Heaven has a glorious plan for each and every one of His children. He loves us and knows what is best for us. He will not take us before our time. He will do what is best for each of us even if we do not understand the reason at the time. I am so grateful for this knowledge we have as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This knowledge gives us strength and comfort in our time of heartache and sorrow. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father and I am so extremely grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge we have as members of His church.

Welcome Baby James!!

Last night my sister, Kim James, had a new baby girl! Both mom and daughter are doing well in Indiana. Here's the first picture I've seen of their sweet baby girl!

{Did I mention this is the first baby girl on the Batt side? woohoo!!}

We can't wait to meet you at Christmas time!!

It's About Time

Well, we've been living in our new apartment for nearly two months and we haven't hung anything on the walls. One reason is because we're not exactly supposed to hang things on the walls unless we use thin little needles or we'll have to pay for each hole. I haven't been brave enough to try until now. I also wanted to add some color to our living room and so I needed to finish some projects before I could really decorate. Well...projects done and courage gathered...I have finally decorated a bit and here are some of the parts!

First I wanted to add some color to our room by livening up our old pillows! I sewed four pillow covers in red and brown.

Before:

After:

Next we go to the wall hangings. I have a lot of brown to hang on the walls so I decided to add a pop of red! I learned how to make some fun flower wall hangings here and here.

Here are my versions:

Now for the hanging...this used to be my LEAST favorite thing to do until THIS. Holy Schamoly this saved me so much time. It makes hanging things by yourself so easy!

The process:

And the final result:

Well things are still pretty much the same around the Holt house. I'm still applying like crazy to random jobs and Blake is still working as hard as ever in the Accounting program. We still love our ward and we're both looking forward to some cool weather!

Eleanor's Bake Shop & Recent Projects

Hello. Thought I'd give you an update. Blake and I are now settled in Provo. Blake started the Accounting program a few weeks ago and is enjoying it. He's very busy with his studies but I do see him more often than I did during the summer so we're enjoying this time together. I'm still on the hunt for a job and I've applied for several but no luck yet. I'm also preparing to take the Social Service Worker licensing exam. We are really enjoying our new ward and have met several very nice people.

Recently I discovered (via email from my sister's old roommate) that there is a new gluten free bake shop that just opened in Sandy. Blake and I drove to Sandy last Saturday to try it and we loved it. Blake even said that the sandwiches we ate tasted just like normal food to him (he doesn't always say that about the gluten free food I make). Blake had a brisket arepa and I had a turkey arepa. We shared a bowl of soup. Then we had to try their yummy desserts so we each got a cake pop and then split a brownie and a nutella cupcake (we kinda splurged....it's not every day you find a GLUTEN FREE BAKE SHOP). In order to keep this wonderful place in business we need to spread the word. If you have any friends who are gluten free or even if you don't...spread the word!! Chances are you'll have a friend with a gluten free friend because Celiac Disease is becoming so common these days!

Here is the blog address:

www.eleanorsbakeshop.com

and here's their contact info:

Eleanor's Bake Shop
9495 South 560 West
Building D
Sandy UT 84070
P:801-563-7466
F:801-567-3747
eleanorsbakeshop@gmail.com

So since I've had SO much free time on my hands lately I've tried to occupy my time with some fun projects. The first project I did was craft cubbies that I found on my new favorite blog: Make It and Love It.

I first took several Idaho potato boxes, cut them in half and made four smaller cardboard boxes. Then I spray painted them all an ivory color. I then mod-podged material onto the front of them, let them dry then filled them with all my craft supplies. You can find more in-depth instructions on the Make It and Love It website (link above). Here are some pictures of the process and final product (in backwards order):

Next I decided to make my first quilt. I just finished piecing the top last night and here's a picture (pre-ironing):

You can't really tell in the picture but the cream and brown squares have blue, red and green polka dots (hence the blue, red and green squares to match). Anyway, I had a lot of fun sewing that together and when I go to Idaho next my mom is going to help me quilt it.