The Omaha Zoo

Daniel and I went to the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo on our way to Tenessee. I have been there a few times, but it was really exciting to show Daniel everything. We were there for 4 hours and still didn't get to see everything. The place is huge, and really amazing. I only posted about a third of the pictures we took. Didn't want to bore you to death.

Do you see the egg??
There was this tunnel that you could walk through that had these fish
and sharks swimming all around you. It was pretty amazing!

It was the perfect day, and we had tons of fun. We would have spent longer there, but the pet holding room closed at 5pm. I was so glad that they had a place to keep pets for those visitors who were traveling. Because if they didn't, we wouldn't have been able to go!

Celebrations!

It has been a while since I have written. Daniel and I have both been sick for a while, and so, the motivation just hasn't been there.

April 26th, we celebrated Daniel's 27th birthday.
May 6th, we celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary.

May 10th, we celebrated my 25th birthday.

It was two weeks filled with lots of lovin and laughter. My birthday I don't care too much about, but whenever our anniversary comes around, I think to myself "WOW". I just can't believe how long we have been married, and then on the other hand, I feel like he has been with me my entire life. What can I say? I'm in love!!

April Showers???

These past few days have been rain, rain, rain. I guess I can't complain, since April is the month for rain. I just hope that this means that spring is almost here, and there will be no turning back to winter. The sun has been so wonderful, that I think I will cry if the snow decides to come back for a visit.
I love the smell of rain in the morning....mmm

YAY!!

So, for those of you who know, Daniel has been applying to get into Optometry School for this coming fall. He interviewed in Memphis back in January, which was our number one place. We held off on applying at other places, hoping that he would get accepted, and not have to spend extra money on more applications and interviewing.

So, as time goes by, and we don't hear anything back, Daniel starts sending in other applications to other schools. At the beginning of April, he was invited for an interview in Philadelphia. This past week he flew down there. He had his interview which he said went really well, and then some students took him for a tour around campus. While on the tour, he received a call from Memphis. He was accepted.

We are so excited. It took them 4 months to make that decision, but now we are planning for the big move. Memphis here we come!! We will be moving mid August to the land of BBQ and blue-jazz. It's just so nice to know that we have a plan, and we are moving forward in the right direction.

YAY!!

(The future Dr Creviston)

Infertility Etiquette

This post might seem a little weird, but I found another blog of someone, who like me, is also struggling with infertility.

One of the hardest things to deal with when going through infertility problems, are the stupid things people say. I know that many people are just trying to help, be nice, or aren't exactly sure what to say. I have shed many a tears over things people, friends and family have said while trying to help. It's just such a sensitive topic....

So, while looking at this other blog, I found a link that spoke all about Infertility Etiquette. It's really good. If you don't want to read it all, just read the bold headings, but if you know anyone who is in the infertile situation, this is a must read!!

Number one rule: Don't tell me to relax!!

Guess Who??

Which Side Do You Stand??

Callings

So, about a month ago, I was called as an Activity Day Leader. I had no idea what that was at first, but it's basically like Mutual, but it's for senior primary girls. So I plan activities to do with the girls every week. After a looked online and getting some great activity ideas, I got really excited. I think this might be kinda fun. I'm over the 10 and 11 year old girls.

This past week, I was just called as the Young Women Girls Camp Director. WHAT??? So I am going to be a busy women this summer. I have only been to one girls camp ever, since they never had girls camp in South Africa, so if you wanna know, I have no idea what I am doing. I'm just glad that I am not planning it alone.

So now I have 2 callings that are totally out of my league. But, the Lord works in mysterious ways. I'm curious to see what He has in store for me=)

Visit from Nephews

No...... we haven't fallen off the face of the earth.

I know it's been a really long time, but I started a new job, and so haven't had as much time to write as usual. Not a whole lot has happened though, so it's okay. This passed week, we were lucky to have my brother-in-law, wife and four boys visit with us. It was so much fun. We hadn't seen them in over a year, so it was really nice. There was also a new addition that we hadn't met yet, so it was really nice. Here are some pics we took over the week.

New Crochet Hobbie

Last summer, my mother-in-law showed me how to crochet. She is always making baby afghans, which always intrigued me, so I finally asked her to teach me. It wasn't that hard to learn, but I made my first row way longer then it should have been, so it took me forever to finish. About 6 months actually.

When I finally did finish, I was so excited that I couldn't wait 24 hours before starting my second afghan. I went shopping for yarn, and bought a set of my own crochet needles (I borrowed the last ones from my mother-in-law). Unfortunatly, there wasn't much of a selection of baby yarn, but I made do with what I had. I found some super cute pink yarn that I couldn't walk away from. I started the moment I got home, and was done 4 days later. That has to be some kind of record.I thought I should take a little break before starting again. At least a few days anyway! Since my second afghan was pink, I think my next one will be blue, and then I'm gonna do a white one for a baby blessing. I think that should be good for a while. We'll see??

A Day of Pampering!

Every now and then it is important to take time to care for yourself. With everything that we have to do to keep our life, home, family in order, it's nice to do a little something for ourselves someday. So, this past weekend, when I went shopping, I bought an avocado oatmeal facemask. I was pretty excited about it, but didn't want to do it alone. So I dragged my amazing hubby into joining me.

It was a really fun day, and I highly recommend a day of pampering at least once a month. "Because you're worth it!"

10% of nothing is still nothing!

Visiting Teaching Message for February

9thwardcartoons.com

Love is in the Air

When Daniel and I got married, we decided not to do the whole gift thing for valentines and our anniversary. We thought we would just trade off each year, and then take turns planing something. So this year, Daniel was in charge of valentines, and then I will be in charge of our anniversary, and then next year we switch. Make sense?? It saves money for us poor folk, and we don't have to worry about what to get each other. It's really fun this way too.

Daniel planned for us to go ice skating on Saturday. It was so much fun. It was something we did when we were dating, but haven't done since we've been married. It was loads of fun.

They had a limbo pole up at one point. Daniel just had to try it. It was a bunch of kids, and then Daniel. He didn't stand much of a chance of winning, but his goal was to not fall or knock down the pole first. And he didn't. He went under a few rounds before knocking it down, but he was the second to go out. It was really fun to watch.
Later that night, we went to a stake dance. It was a really good day!!! I'm pretty sure I have the greatest husband ever=)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

For the Strength of Youth

This past weekend, we enjoyed listening to Stake Conference. One of my favorite talks was the youth speaker. She spoke about the 'For the Strength of Youth' pamphlet. It was really nice to hear, because I left Young Women shortly after the new pamphlet came out, and so I didn't really study it much. During her talk, she encouraged everyone, young and old, to read and live by the teachings in the pamphlet. That stayed in my mind, and so when I got home, I looked online and read a few passages from the pamphlet.

I was so filled with the spirit at that time, that I truly believe that those are the words of prophets, and encourage everyone to go back and read through it. Just because you are not in youth, doesn't mean you can't live like one. Gratitude, Friends, Media, Music, Honesty, Physical Health and Service are all things that we can always work on. I know I sure can!!

Hoping and Praying

Daniel and I have been very busy these last few weeks, and so I haven't had much time to write. Since we have moved to Washington, we have been trying to get our adoption home study updated and transferred over.

It brings out such a mixture of emotions. When we first got married almost 4 years ago, we knew we wanted a big family, but after a few months, we realized that we might need a little help. After a few years of tests, treatments, and procedures, it really makes you wonder what the Lord has in store for you.

Every month, for 3 years, you build yourself up, hoping that this will be the month there are 2 lines on the stick instead of 1, only to have your heart fall apart in the end. And then, you have to pull yourself together fast, only to go through it all over again the next month. It has been very exhausting, and has added a lot of stress to our lives.

Last summer, we decided to stop all fertility treatments. I just couldn't bare going through the whirlpool of emotions anymore. So, we sat down, had a long talk, and decided on adoption. It has been a huge weight off our shoulders since we made that decision. The moment we decided, we knew it was the right choice for us. But, now that we are coming up on our 6 months of waiting, the emotions are coming back.

It's hard being surrounded by mothers who have no problem building their family, knowing that we can't. But everyday, we just hope and pray, that we will find that perfect person, who is able to help us build our family.

If anyone reading this, knows of a special someone who is considering adoption for their child, we would be thrilled if you could tell them about us.

"Adoption means, you grew in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy."

Solving Winter Blues

Winter always has my emotions in a jumble. There are so many good things about winter time, but I'm sure there are just as equally enough bad things to say about winter. Some people can say without any doubt that they either love it or hate it. But for me, I'm stuck in the middle.

PROS:
Snow makes everything look better
Snowmen
Ice-Skating
Snow Angles
Snuggling up for a good movie

(my sister-in-law's car, the week before Christmas)

CONS:
Slushy and icy roads
It's so cold
I can't or at least I don't want to go running outside
It takes longer to get to work
Praying that you wont get stuck every time you stop at a red light
Cleaning off the pile of snow on your car every morning.

Well, you can see my problem.

So I came up with a solution, so that no matter how you look at it, it makes everything better. A nice steaming cup of Hot Cocoa. That's my answer. We got a Cocomotion Hot Chocolate Maker for Christmas, and it is one of the best inventions out there. It also comes with a book of fun recipes. A must have for any home. I highly recommend it.

So on days that you are feeling a little down, a little blue, a little weary, grab yourself a cup of your favorite hot chocolate, snuggle under a cozy blanket, and put on your favorite movie. It will make everything around you seem just a little bit better.

New York-Style Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

My favorite dessert of all time, is cheesecake. For my birthday, I would much rather have cheesecake over any other type of cake. I have made it severel times, but I always like to find new recipes to try. I found this recipe by Kraft, and it is amazing!!

1 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs

3 Tbsp. sugar

3 Tbsp. butter, melted
5 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1 cup Sour Cream

4 eggs

1/3 cup seedless strawberry jam

HEAT oven to 325°F. Line 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Mix cracker crumbs, 3 Tbsp. sugar and butter; press onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 min.

BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust. Gently drop small spoonfuls of jam over batter; swirl with knife.

BAKE 40 min, or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hours. Lift cheesecake from pan with foil handles before cutting to serve.
YUM!!!