He is Here!

Bennett Samuel made a surprisingly pleasant arrival Thursday at 3:15 am.  We were almost positive he wouldn't come for at least another week.  He is 7 lbs 3 oz and 18 1/4 inches long.  We just love him.  We are all doing great.

More pics and birth story to come. 

Spoiler alert... I had him natural and that was for sure the furthest thing from my mind but I guess Bennett just wanted to come here quicker than they could give me the epidural.  My doctor almost missed the birth but made it just in time 2-3 minutes before his arrival.  Fun times!!

Surprise! It's a....

BOY!!!!

Sam and I went to the doctor today and found out we are having a BOY.  We are soooo excited.  I kept thinking it was going to be a boy because we really can't think of many boy names that we like.  We will have to get cracking on that now.  I have always just been drawn to looking at girl baby things because there so many but the last couple weeks I have been concentrating more on boy things and I have found some really cute things.  Not as many, that is for sure, but there are still some really cute things out there.

This was the big ultrasound where the tech measured everything.  It was so fun to see each foot, each hand, his heart, his brain, the bones in the legs, arms and back.  It is just so amazing that God's creation is growing inside of me.  It is just so wonderful.  I have been feeling him kick for a few weeks now and I absolutely love it anytime it happens.  We could not be more grateful!!

I just love that I no longer have to call him "it" or "the baby".  I really can't even stop smiling.  Right after the ultrasound tech told us we were having a boy, Sam said that he could almost see him holding a football in the ultrasound.  Haha.  Sam already has so many plans for him.  Poor kid!

Exciting News!!

Yes it is the news we have all been waiting for.

SAM AND I ARE GOING TO HAVE A BABY!!

I am 15 weeks along and due August 11th.  I know you have all been thinking that Ginger and Sam would be awesome parents, well we have thought that too of course.  We have always known we would have children either by adopting or having some on our own so we weren't discouraged too often these last 7 years of marriage.  It is just so amazing how Heavenly Father can comfort us so much during these hard times in our lives. 

My doctor here in Rapid City is amazing and made it all possible.  I went to the doctor yesterday and it was the first appointment that I didn't feel anxious and nervous at.  It was such a relief and so much fun to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time.  We are so grateful and excited for this new journey.  It honestly doesn't even seem real at all yet.  I am sure it at least will once we bring home our new baby in August.

(side note: I did want to post a pic of me and Sam making really exciting facial expressions but Sam thought it was a lame idea so I tossed out that idea.)

Miss South Dakota Pageant

This last weekend Sam and I went to see the Miss South Dakota Pageant.  We thought it would be entertaining and worth our time.  It did not disappoint at all!!  I told Sam that when we move away from here I want to come back every year around this time just for this pageant.  It really lifted our spirits and was so worth every penny.  It kind of reminded me of a high school production.  The musical numbers really made the whole show.  There were at least 10 different ones.

It won't let me upload the videos from my camera so these are just the ones from my phone but you can get the idea.

These guys were in many of the musical numbers.

The swimsuit competition is always so awkward.

This is Miss South Dakota 2010.

Here are the final 5.  Miss Rapid City is in the gold dress.

This is the winner.  She did a great job and we knew she would at least be in the final 2. I am excited to see her in the Miss America pageant.

Trip to New Hampshire

A couple weeks ago I made a trip to visit my sister, Kelly and her family in New Hampshire.  I hadn't seen them since we moved away from Boston more than 7 months ago.  My mom, my sister, Cami and niece, Amelia flew from Utah and met us out there also.  The main event was to see my niece, Natalie in a musical she was part of.  It was called "All Shook Up" featuring Elvis songs.  She did a fabulous job!  It was so much fun to spend most of our time there just hanging out and playing games.  I didn't get the chance to go visit my old ward down in Billerica so I will have to save that for next time.

Here is a little video that my niece, Brooke made.  We were being a little crazy one night reading "Goodnight Moon" to Amelia and Brooke's rapping skills and my beat boxing skills started to come out.  I may have found my new calling in life.  Brooke is so talented to make this video.  We always have a fun time.

Sam's jumping in finally!

Sam finally had his first official patient today.  He has been working now for a few weeks but he had to wait on some licensing stuff before he could legally work patients.  He has just been able to shadow the other doctor and was starting to get very bored and was anxious to get some hands on work.  I am so exited for him and am so glad that the ladies in the office thought to take a picture of his first patient.  That was so thoughtful.  It will be nice when he gets into the swing of things and it is just second nature to him.

Change of Plans

Okay a lot of things have been going on in the last few months. We left Boston since Sam was finished with school. The company in Denver was just leading Sam on and probably if we call them now they will still say that it is still between Sam and another dentist. They are crazy but it worked out for the best because now we are living in Rapid City, South Dakota. Yes, you heard that right South Dakota!! Sam actually started work today at the community health center here. It will be a good work experience for him and he has Fridays off. We will most likely be staying here for the next couple years before we make another move.

We stayed at my parents' house in Utah for a couple months making all the arrangements here so we were able to spend the holidays there. We have come back and forth from Utah to Rapid City a few times and it is very nice to be settled in our own place again. The drive is about 10 hours and we haven't gotten sick of it yet.

You ask what there is to do in Rapid City, well we are still wondering about that but in the meantime we will definitely have a year pass to Mt Rushmore which is only a 1/2 hour away. Hopefully we won't have to make weekly trips there for excitement. We are ready to start our new adventure here and have already been looking into some crazy destinations.