The Story of Christian, Steph, and Claire

Decor and More

2012-01-19T10:58:00.001-07:00

First of all, it was Claire's birthday on Monday! We celebrated with my aunt, uncle and cousins the Johnsons on Sunday along with lots more family singing to her via Google video chat. It's so fun to see Claire turn into a little one-year-old. Wow - every couple days or so I'll look at her and think her hands are so big! or how'd she get so long? She moves and plays like a one year-old now too and gives us her little two-toothed grin (although her top ones are on their way down). We love that girl!

Some other things going on include the fact that I'm finally getting things on the walls and into place. Here's an update on our decor. It's a fun (and I will admit sometimes stressful) journey for me to discover what I like and how to get there. The fun thing about decorating is that it evolves with you and I have much more evolving to do - so here's the beginning:

The office/playroom: The Ikea table and chairs were totally a curbside dump pick-up that I snatched up. Gotta love those and the sneakiness you feel while throwing them in your car! Map display was created from .50 cent painted Goodwill frames and vintage maps from a world atlas from Goodwill (many more maps left in that book - time to look up some more ideas!)

The book holders are Ikea spice racks. Inspiration here.

Living room:

Family motto created on MS Publisher and printed at Kinkos for $2.00. Shutters another free curbside find. And that end table between the two couches? Totally an ugly veneer, but nothin' a little extra burlap couldn't fix!

Heritage wall - one of my favorite things. I have many more old family pictures I want to add over the years. Enlarged wedding pic - $2.00 poster print at Kinkos. Not as long-lasting as a high quality print but when you're on a budget, it's perfect - looks great and very affordable.

Entryway:

Kitchen:

Burlap curtains. SO happy how those turned out. They cost like $2.00/yd at Joann's (make sure to bring your half off coupons!). I used stitch witchery to hem the inside of each panel, but it really didn't need it. The width of each panel was perfect bought as-is and doesn't fray. The bottom and top where they're cut do fray however, so I used a little hot glue on the corners to secure the strands in place. DIY tutorial here.

Bathroom:

Print from Sugarfresh during a sale.

Just finished a tufted headboard for our room and got some shelves for Claire's room - those pics coming soon!

The Scary and the Sweet

2012-01-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

Claire was spoiled to be able to get a photo shoot around her first birthday from my friend Ashley Williams of everylittlesmile.com. I love love love how they turned out. Her sweetness especially hits me when I see the contrast of her being so sick. This last Sunday afternoon near the end of church we noticed she was starting to get sick. She had a fever and it was starting to climb but it wasn't enough to alarm us too much yet. She went down for a nap and then an hour later Christian heard strange, choppy cries coming from her bedroom (I wasn't home) he went in to see her convulsing - having a seizure. It's a frightening scene I'm glad I didn't have to witness. It lasted no more than a minute and then she went very limp and got very sleepy. For up to a half hour afterwards she didn't move her arms or legs much. I got home about fifteen minutes after the episode and we quickly called her pediatrician who recommended taking her to the ER since their office wasn't open. Her fever was 103.5 at the hospital and she was diagnosed with having a febrile seizure. I had read about them a couple months ago and was surprised to learn that they're more common than you'd think. About one in every 25 children 6 mo - 5 yrs will have at least one febrile seizure (seizure brought on by a high temperature), and more than one-third of these children will have additional febrile seizures before they outgrow the tendency to have them. Only one in 100 will go on to develop epilepsy (source: NIH Fact Sheet). So, they're pretty self-limiting and the best way to prevent is just to treat with fever-reducing medication. At her follow-up Dr's visit today she also had an ear infection (not to mention her top two teeth painfully cutting through) and a rattly respiratory infection, so all those factors combined have made her a grumpy girl in the last couple days. Thankfully, her fever is finally down (for good hopefully!) and she's on the mend. I hope this info can help you in case your child has one. I know my previous knowledge helped reduce the amount of alarm I felt when I first learned of her seizure.

To back up a couple weeks, here's our pretty little Claire hamming it up for the camera:

This was for my bro on his mission

Notice the rooster and peacock in the two photos above! The birds were everywhere, it was crazy

Festive Days

2011-12-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

Our Christmas was very merry and bright. We had our own little Christmas morning a few days early and then flew to Monterey to be with the Bennions for a week. It was days filled with games, crafts (the girls mostly), chocolate, yummy meals and more chocolate. Claire loved her first Christmas. It was so so very precious to see her giggle and hug her new stuffed animals and dolls and instantly want to play with every new toy she opened. It was very fun to get to play Santa for the first time for your own child! It also caused us to realize that our family Christmas morning traditions differ a little. No biggie, we'll compromise on how Santa displays and wraps (or doesn't wrap) his gifts :) Highlight for me - Kindle Fire for my reading and browsing pleasure and for Christian - hang gliding gift certificate!! He's been dreaming about hang gliding (and flying in general) for ages so it was so fun to see his surprise :) But most importantly, this week allowed us to let the blessing of family, which is centered around our Savior, sink into our hearts.

My favorite homemade gift for my bro Matt. Inspiration here.

Our living room's festive touches

Are all these things for me?!

The daughter of a dentist needs to start early.

Hugging her baby

Kissing her baby

Ball from Grandpa Raleigh

Kissing (or eating) the head of the baby from Grandma and Grandpa Raleigh

This pic is for my dad: Thanks for the S&P shakers!

Claire had a little bit of a hard time with all the big boys at Gammy and Pop's place. Lots of new people, places, and things caused her to get a little clingy . She is demonstrating her happy but worried face here. However it wasn't anything seeing their doggy Jens couldn't fix! It looks like doggy is her first word - sounds like either dee, gee, or da. Well, maybe not a full word, but she would point to the back door excitedly and babble her words whenever we'd ask where the doggy was.

The traditional Christmas Eve dinner at the Bennions. Thanks for the lovely week and gifts and love Dave and Lorraine. We love you!

And of course things weren't complete without video chats with my fam in Utah. My bro David is getting home from his mission in April so I will get to spend some quality time with them all soon.

Merry Christmas and Happy 2012!

Playing catch-up

2011-12-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving with the fam was sweet. It was so fun to have them stay with us in our new house. We hiked, ate Thanksgiving Day with cousins in Gilbert, and just enjoyed each other's company for their short visit.

The horrors of Santa

2011-12-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

So life has been crazy but I wanted to post a quick update:

Claire's first Christmas is here and it's a terrifying one. Thankfully, she'll forget all about scary Santa once she opens up her awesome Christmas and then birthday presents! Lots of fun things ahead.

ch-ch-ch changes

2011-11-27T20:13:00.001-07:00

Our baby keeps changing and getting bigger as evident by the following cell-phone snapshots:

She now holds on to furniture and adult legs with solid footing and steady balance. She moves back and forth and along these ledges and crawls like a mad woman. Now she just needs the courage to stay standing when she lets go and move those little feet! No rush though, she moves enough as it is right now. She claps, kind of points, and likes to turn the pages and lift the flaps of the books we read. She is sweet and quiet and has the cutest shy smile when new people talk to her. She likes to snuggle her teddy bear when she goes to sleep and snuggles with mom and dad too. We love this sweetie!

Other changes include the fact that we moved into a house! We love it and feel very blessed and at home - this is where we're supposed to be. Here's some shots of the house without us moved in. My decorating projects are coming together and I'll show some pics once we're more settled in.

More pics to come!

Getting better

2011-11-14T21:40:00.001-07:00

Last week was a sickly one for us. Claire demonstrated a whole range of symptoms - on and off again fever, decreased appetite, constipation, weird rash on her face - all on different days. Thankfully she never was too uncomfortable and almost each symptom was resolved within 24 hours of first appearing. Of course Christian and I weren't spared and suffered lovely food-poisoning-like illness the night after enjoying our military discount at Olive Garden on Veteran's Day. Dang, I hope my appetite for that place comes back eventually :( Well, Sunday after our icky week we decided to heal in the sun and explore Thunderbird Park which is close by. We hiked and enjoyed the 75 degree, blue sky and sunshine of November (ah, heaven). It was just what we needed.

View from the top of the "mountain" as they call it.

I told Christian to get close enough so it looked like she was going to touch it. Ha, thankfully she didn't get poked.

Busy Bees

2011-10-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

So last year on my birthday my mom gave me a baby bumblebee costume for next year. Even though it seemed so far away, it's here and we got to dress up our little 9 mo. old bumblebee! Dad and mom of course were her beekeepers :) Also on this birthday weekend Christian took me out to breakfast to "The Good Egg" for some delicious omelettes and pumpkin pancakes. Oh wow it was good.

Unfortunately our little bee was an angry bee. Good thing we had on our gear so she wouldn't sting us.

The angry bee was calmed by some sugar and also by taking off her fleece costume in the 85 degree weather.

And boy does she like that sugar. She's practically inhaling the sucker we gave her.

Five thoughts

2011-10-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

Five random things on my mind...ready, go:

1. Quinoa is a delicious and very nutritious filler for all types of meals. Not a grain, more like a seed (but soft when you cook it). Eat it as warm, oatmeal-like breakfast food or with beans and mexican seasonings for a burrito or even dessert. Check out these recipes. We made this the other day served over tilapia:

Double yum (and very healthy, but don't tell Christian :)

2. The government of North Korea is very evil. I had no idea the extent to their people's brainwashing until I saw these documentaries: Kimjongilia (watch the trailer here or the whole thing on YouTube), National Geographic: Inside North Korea (watch the whole thing on YouTube here) and A State of Mind. I saw them all originally streaming on Netflix but you can watch them in installments in the links above. Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung are their eternal leaders and gods. The people of this county can have no religion, literally no access to the outside world and from children they are taught to hate us "imperialist" Americans. Prison camps are crucial to their economy and people are put in these camps for things like placing a newspaper picture of their dear leader on the ground or for merely being the grandchild of someone who committed a "crime" because you must "purge three generations". Yes, these Hitler-like conditions still exist in the world. It is very disturbing to say the least. Satan is reigning his terror in that land and the poor people are innocent...and starving. I hope in my lifetime we can see those people unveiled from the lies that are ingrained into them. I hope they can taste freedom and desire it for themselves (and of course avoid nuclear warfare in the process).

3. I love my sisters. It is so fun to see them dating and experiencing the joys and challenges of life (which often create flashbacks to my own past). The challenges aren't fun per se, but seeing them overcome and learn from them is joyful to me. And I can't forget my brothers: handsome Dave perfecting his spiritual nature and bringing souls unto Christ in Mexico, and handsome Dan who does so well in school and pushes himself physically in football and tennis. And of course Matt, that little blondie full of energy. It's so sweet to see him love Claire and I'm excited for the relationship they'll have only being five years apart.

4. I have no discipline to go to bed. Even if I'm tired it's like I desperately try to waste time so the day won't end. Maybe it also stems from the fact I used to be afraid of walking in my sleep. Or that I used to not be able to sleep in high school because I was stressed about a cross country meet or a stupid math test. I guess I have some issues, but now I sleep just fine - it's the deciding to go to bed part that's hard.

5. It's difficult to face the truth about ourselves but if we do so, that temporary pain can lead to eternal freedom. For book club we read "Bonds That Make Us Free" land it's very thought-provoking - even life changing if you let it. To me it's a "how-to" on how to become more charitable, let go of pride, etc. Of course we can pray about it and tell ourselves we're gonna change, but we're often caught in cycles and trenches that we truthfully don't know how to get out of. First take-home point: When we feel we're the victim it's because we're allowing ourselves to be the victim. How do we react when we fail to do what we know is right? We justify and rationalize our actions. We hurry on past the lady who dropped her stuff in the store because we're in a hurry, right? She may think we're annoying, right? Or when our spouse has a lot to do and we leave the crying child to them. We take care of the baby all the time - they never help anyway. We're betraying ourselves and blaming others for our negative emotions.

Second take-home point: "To the immature, other people are not real". Remember when we were younger and our parents and teachers weren't real people? They were there to take care of our needs and our actions didn't affect them. Remember when you first began to understand that your parents had feelings? That they were real people with flaws and emotions too? It's a interesting paradigm to shift into but it's crucial in being able to love others. That cursing lady screaming at her kids at Wal-Mart shifts from an evil person (why do people like that have kids?) to a real person with inner-anguish, maybe abuse, and a lack of knowledge about love and life because she's never had it. When we can see every person as glorious spirit beings, children of our Heavenly Father, it helps us treat others with more charity and love and less judgement. It's the how-to of the principles we know are right.

Deep stuff. It's gonna take awhile to process all of it and hopefully integrate it into my own life. Whew. That's all. Next up, Halloween!

White Coat Ceremony

2011-10-23T19:55:00.000-07:00

It's official. Christian now has the revered white coat. According to the school president's speech, whenever he lacks motivation, all he needs to do is put on the coat, look in the mirror, and he will have the strength to continue :) Ha, I will definitely be teasing him about that one. It was like a huge graduation after their two months of hard work :) We definitely are proud of him though. Seeing him in that coat reminds us of why we've worked so hard to get where we are and why we will continue to work over the next four years and beyond.

After we saw him coated Claire and I hung out in the lobby. "Let me outta here!"

My little running buddy

And I talk about it a lot, but I can't get over the perfect sphere of fuzziness on her head. It's supernatural.

Well, it's the middle (actually almost the end - wowza) of October and 96 degrees outside. I will be 25 in a week - that's likely over a quarter of my life gone. Life really is short. Christian continues to excel in his teeth carving, and learning about lots of gross-looking diseases. Life is great and we're looking forward to the holidays which are gonna be here before we know it.

finished products and a tutorial

2011-10-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

Like I mentioned last post, I've been gettin' crafty lately. First of all, after being inspired by these monograms, I decided to start my own collection:

For the mossy B I started with a tutorial found through Pinterest but it included buying foam (that stuff is pricier than I thought) and using a projector (where am I gonna find one of those? Steal one from the elementary school or church library?) to trace your own shape etc. So, I ended up buying a $1.50 solid paperboard letter at Hobby Lobby and some sheet moss. I traced around the letter on the moss with a razor and then hot-glued. Looks pretty don't ya think? The blue one is a .50 cent styrofoam letter painted with acrylic paint and the gold one was at Hobby Lobby too.

My next project started with inspiration found here. Thumbtack covered foam balls which are then painted. However, one pack of 100 tacks didn't even cover one medium sized ball! Hmmm, time to problem-solve. I decided to just paint the rest with acrylic paint and then cover a couple with a fun fabric I recently found as a remnant at Joann's. I briefly looked online for how to cover a sphere with fabric, and improvised from a couple patterns I found. Want to make your own?

(Note the baby hand on the right part of the picture. Yes, these are very attractive objects to little people. However, I will be a mean mom and keep these fun-looking items barely out of reach).

First measure your ball from the middle of the top to the middle of the bottom. Mine was about 11 cm.

Then make a leaf-shaped template (mine was cut out of cardstock) as long as your ball was. The width of the shape I didn't worry about at all - I just kept it symmetrical. I just winged it and it worked out. If you want to be more technical, it's maybe 3-4 cm across. It was wide enough to barely (just barely) cover the medium-sized ball with seven pieces, so you may want to make it a little wider. I guess it all depends on the size of what you're trying to cover.

Then cut out your fabric pieces using your pattern and glue (I used fabric glue) to the ball, making sure to line up your pieces if you are using a pattern. It's not perfect, but if keep your fabric in line after you cut it out and glue it in the same order, you can keep the general pattern going.

Ta-da! And again there's baby, dying to play with those cool toys

And now the reveal of my favorite (but most time-consuming) project:

Yay! $5.00 matching end tables (yes, there's two of them) from DI. Some sanding, primer, a couple cans of Rustoleum Heirloom White spray paint, and some light distressing and you get this. Far from perfect, but when you distress it anyway, who cares, right? The hardware is the original, just without the ugly ornate piece that went around the knob.

Our "fall-wall". The extent of our fall/halloween decorations, but since we're so young in our marriage I have no doubt the decorations will accumulate over the years, so I'm trying to be patient. I think it's fun to have a little area you can keep decorated based on the season without worrying about trying to get the whole house coordinated each new holiday. And btw, the bats on the wreath were made by searching for "bat silhouettes" in google images and then taping a piece of white paper to the screen and lightly tracing, then using that as your pattern. My SIL Laura and I figured out how to do that for Sarah's wedding cake toppers and for easier shapes it sure is cheaper than one of the fancy cutting machines. There are a bazillion cool silhouette shapes out there, try taking some black construction paper and making your own. I have in mind another little project using embroidery hoops and linen-type material to back these birds:

Okay, that's enough craftiness for one day (see what Pinterest and decorating blogs do to you??) I think I'm gonna take a break and catch up on my book club reads.

Lazy days of fall

2011-10-01T20:50:00.000-07:00

Wow, it feels like its been a long time since I've posted. So, I guess it's fall now! Hard to believe when it's still so hot outside, but little bits of fall decor and Christian and my fall birthdays are reminding me that it's really that time of year - and only less than two months until Thanksgiving! Crazy. Baby is still sprouting her fuzzy hair and gets lots of comments about it. She's quite the popular little lady in public. She does well driving around with me doing errands, has two regular naps per day and sleeps well at night. She babbles, crawls and when getting changed likes to roll over and crawl away as fast as possible. She's pulling herself up on everything now and even slowly walks along the couch or anything else she pulled herself up on. In the pool her favorite thing is to stand on the steps and hold on to the metal railing all by herself.

Nope that's not a tooth you see - just glare from the flash, but she just barely started cutting teeth on the bottom this last week.

Mommy's things are so much fun to play with! First time playing dress-up :)

Temple site for the Phoenix temple. Only ten minutes away! The ground has been broken and it should be completed hopefully sometime in 2013. Unfortunately opposition to the temple has slowed down its progress. Bah. Those people need to watch these videos. They'll be convinced of the beauty and peaceful nature of the temple and its activities in no time.

Birthday Boy

Christian's birthday was the 27th. He's the big 'ole 26 now!

Christian is doing SO great in school. He is such a good student and so cool about everything too. I'd be a stress-case but he calmly studies and then practically aces a test. What a stud.

We made oreo pudding cake. Recipe found via Pinterest. And speaking of Pinterest, I'm trying to do more than just pin. Here are some projects, and more on the way (like if I did all of them, about 400 more):

I found matching bedside tables for $5.00 each at the DI here. Score! They are beat up on the outside, but nothing a little sanding and painting can't fix. So excited to get that done hopefully this week. And the wicker tray on top will be spray painted and used in the front room on a coffee table.

This barn star is made out of a cereal box. DIY instructions here. The only thing with that very basic tutorial is that it doesn't provide a barn star template with the angles/measurements, so I winged it. I've been collecting boxes for the last month though, so I'll be making some more in different colors and with hopefully more precise lines.

.50 cent wicker wreath from DI. Probably will spray-paint it. Hanging in the middle is one of a series of seasonal signs my mom made for me for Christmas.

Apartment Tour

So, here's our apartment, looking somewhat organized, considering we've only been here a month and probably won't be here too long. But, we do love the spacious front room and kitchen

Super-blank wall. Trying not to make too many nail holes...

And Halloween is just around the corner. Can't wait to dress up our little bumblebee.

And as for my life, I'm getting into the stay-at-home routine. I now have tons of time to shop and get good deals, make yummy meals and read more books. I recently volunteered at a car seat checkpoint event in Phoenix and beforehand they asked me to teach some classes during the event. I was very flattered and they went really well. So fun to get back into the public health world, it feels like I never left home. I also just signed up for a local Ragnar race with some people in my ward. It's in February and I'm getting geared up to start training. So excited!

Our new life is a good one. Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and hopes and desires and blesses us if we only have faith and come unto Him.

Debbie's Legacy

2011-09-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

On Thursday September 1, 2011 my aunt Debbie Forsyth leftthis earth after a year and a half battle with ovarian cancer. It is sweet tothink of the joyful reunion between Debbie and her older sister Kathy whopassed away 29 years ago.

A lot of emotions fill me when I think of Debbie. I lovedher and I know she loved me. After her first major surgery last summer myfamily was there as she was wheeled out of the hospital. I gave her a hug and toldher I loved her and she said “I love you too Steph”. My heart is at peacebecause one month before her passing I did not disregard the urgency I felt tomail her a copy of the Family Slideshow. In the package I included a note whereI told her we were thinking about her and loved her. Her husband Terry said shereceived and enjoyed the slideshow. Oh, how my heart would hurt if I had notsent it.

Debbie babysat me occasionally when I was a little girl andour families spent innumerable hours together. My dad was her annoying littlebrother and she still loved to tease him. She was the crafty queen and lovedplanning parties and having the family be together. She took the initiative toplan and hold a family bridal shower for me and Christian before we were married.She witnessed in the temple the special moment when Christian and I were sealed. Even in her tired and sickcondition she came to Claire’s baby blessing in February. I love her so muchand I know I have two very special aunts to greet me when my turn on this earthis over.

I think especially around the commemoration of 9/11 of howimportant it is that we never leaveour acts of love and service unsaid or unseen. We need to tell those we careabout how much we love them. We never know how much time we have left. A lifemotto of mine is to live with no regrets and I am trying to be better all thetime in order to avoid the sting that regret leaves behind. This video from Thomas S. Monson demonstrates this principle perfectly.

There is so much sorrow in the world, but Christ will heal all wounds. All He asks is that we come unto Him.

Kenny, Kathy, and baby Debbie

The sisters in their beehives with their pesky little brothers

Sisters in grade school

Lovin' that hair. Went to Brighton High in SLC

Claire and I flew to Utah for the funeral. Claire's first flight!

Debbie's granddaughter curiously looking down into the burial site.

L to R: Oldest brother Ken, Deb's son Brian, and brothers: Jeff, Mike, Chris, and Steve. Youngest son Kallin is hidden behind Ken.

We loved spending time with family during our trip. Claire, as always, was a dream traveler.

After all was said and done, Claire and I traveled back (on 9/11 of all days. I won't deny I was nervous). Family is everything. Debbie, thank you for the legacy of love and service you left in this world J

our crawling baby has hair!

2011-09-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

Her hair all of a sudden has been sprouting like crazy. It's a darkish blond and so fuzzy, it usually sticks straight up in all directions (it's a little wet in these pictures) and so fine you can barely feel it. Our fuzzy head is very smiley and keeps us very happy.

2011-09-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

We’re here. We made it to the valley of the sun! And boy, did it give us an extremely warm welcome. The hottest August on record actually (highs between 111-116 and lows around 90 degrees over the last week). Thankfully, the heat is still a novelty and hasn’t worn on us like I’m sure it will by the end of next summer. It’s the end of the summer so it all gets better from here, right?

We’re starting everything fresh. We’re in a lovely fresh apartment (with an awesome pool and palm trees, I feel like I’m on vacation!) Christian is off to school with a fresh new MacBook (and with its iPad-like touchpad navigation, Christian is in heaven. An iPad is high on his wish list). And the slate is fresh in our social sphere, well, except for the bishop. My cousin Reid married our bishop’s daughter Andrea, so we’re already family J Don’t think we’ll be able to hide from callings for too long, we’ve already been on a ward campout and are buddies with the bishop’s family. The ward here is amazing too. We’d heard good things, but we were welcomed automatically as family. The relief society activities and groups are constant, giving us student-wives a supportive outlet. These four years will be very special, I can feel it already.

However, to back up, our west-coast adventures ended two weeks ago with the marriage of my sister-in-law Sarah Bennion to Christian Briggs (yes, the third Christian in my family now). Sarah looked gorgeous in her vintage-inspired tea-length wedding dress (made by her mother Lorraine in the three weeks before the wedding!!!!). As much as Lorraine will deny her seamstress skills – one look at that dress and you can’t deny it took some definite skill and diligence to make something so perfect for Sarah. The reception in Fresno was awesome for the Bennions to connect with old friends (and for us to see Trevor and Katelyn – miss you guys!) and the Salinas picnic was simply picturesque. Just look at the pics below. It was beautiful.

Getting ready for the big day (I feel so special - we got to share the same hotel room with the lady of honor the night before she got married!)

Audrey posing with her favorite bag filled with "food treats"

I love the following series of pictures because of the infinite expressions of these girlies (Jane, Audrey and Maddie). I love them so much.

Pops was brave enough to take on Jonah and Claire who decided to wrestle in his arms, but it wasn't anything a daffy duck voice couldn't fix:

Luncheon post-wedding. Jane was quite excited to learn that clinking your glass with a utensil meant the bride and groom had to kiss!

Fresno Reception:

Salinas picnic entrance. I made the sign

Bubble machine!

Amid all this busyness Claire was a trooper. She had so much fun romping around with her cousins who I’m sure played a role in getting her to want to start moving. She is officially a crawler now. So much fun to see our little petite girl make her way across the living room. Time to start baby-proofing! And she also has recently started being a little stranger-wary and attached. Today at the store an older couple started talking to her and she stared quietly first at them, then at me, then back at them before her little lip started to tremble. Having a babysitter her will be a lot harder from here on out.

Santa Cruz Boardwalk

Look at that sweetie. Claire is just as excited to start our new life in the desert

San Clemente 2011

2011-08-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

Christian's extended family has been getting together at the beach in San Clemente, California every year since Christian's dad was a little boy. The tradition continues. Here's Claire's first official week at the beach:

Claire's great-grandma, affectionately known as Grandi

Cousin-love from Logan

This was not posed - promise!

The boys getting Claire to smile

Here's a video of Claire demonstrating her quickly-evolving skills

Gone

2011-08-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

We are gone. Outta here. Adios. I can almost consider myself a Utahn, considering the fact that I lived in Utah for a combined 13.8 years of my life (Oregon for the other 11). Even though I adamantly claimed to be an Oregonian during my BYU years (sounds so much cooler than being from Utah, right?), by the time I was married Provo was becoming home. Every time we rolled back into P-town after time away, I breathed a sigh of relief - we were home. So as the reality of our move sunk in as we finished packing the van I blinked back teary eyes. I was really going to miss this home - especially the towering mountains that are so close they practically fall on top of you. The cool summer evenings, the soft grass, the Provo river trail basically in my backyard, BYU and its apartments south of campus - holding many college memories. And especially, my family. There are many reasons Heavenly Father wanted us to stay and extra year in Provo rather than get into dental school the first try. One of the big ones was my family getting to be close to Claire her first six months of life. Its been such a blessing to have their support and love only twenty minutes away.

This new chapter will be different. It will have its challenging, lonely moments - but it will bring more happiness. Because what satisfaction and joy happens without any sacrifice? It will lay a foundation for the rest of our lives. We're excited to be where we are.

Claire and her grandma :)

Summer time is family time

2011-08-01T22:13:00.000-07:00

This summer has been full of lots of family get-togethers and reunions. Summer is such a happy and delicious time (except for when summer smells trigger memories of morning sickness last year - oh man glad I've been able to enjoy bbq's this time around)

The fourth of July brought us to the Furse/Raleigh reunion at Camp Koholowo up Payson Canyon. It consisted of my dad and his siblings and my cousins. The most exciting part was definitely the small earthquake that felt like a explosion had gone off. My cousin's husband even saw the ground ripple like a wave outside.

The mountains are so green this year from all the snow and rain Utah got this winter/spring

Christian's sister Laura and her girls stopped by one afternoon. We ate orange julius' and then went to splash in the fountains at the Riverwoods before a huge thunderstorm blew us out.

Daddy decided to run through the water with Claire in their clothes!

Family Slideshow

2011-07-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

Here is the family slideshow I created for the Furse/Raleigh reunion a couple weeks ago. It was an emotional and spiritual process for me. I love my aunts, uncles, and cousins so much and know that it is possible for us to be a family forever!

Organizing the internet

2011-07-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

You know when you have ten tabs open, full of awesome, funny, inspiring, and/or crafty ideas? How do you organize and remember to use them all?? Well, I may be a late-comer, but if you haven't heard about it, Pinterest is amazing. It does exactly what I have been searching for. And the cool part is that it shares your "pins" with people you know or start following, and you can follow other idea-loving people too.

Here's my boards. Now start pinning! (ps, you may need an invite to start using it. I have six to give away, so leave your email address if you want one)

Bright afternoon at the Beach

2011-07-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Here they are!

and a new milestone:

Sitting up!

May/June in Pictures

2011-06-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

The summer is now rolling. Our life in Provo is ending. Our life in the hot hot southwest sun will begin in about a month. Wowza. Better start thinking about packing...

Claire loves books. Her favorite is a farm animal book where she can touch and feel the animal's fur.

She also loves her play saucer thing (which we scored on KSL for $15!)

Cousin Time

Claire with Princess Audrey. It has been so fun for Claire to meet her cousins this summer. They absolutely love her.

Jane

At the Johnson's house in Arizona. We stayed with my uncle Brian and aunt Stephanie while we were looking for a place down there. Their girls Kate and Chloe here are my cousins, but Claire can just call them her cousins too to make it easier.

Chloe and Kate love love babies.

The twinners and their first-borns

Jonah's first interaction with Claire: Grab the baby's headband. They'll be best buds before they know it.

Seven Peaks. Claire loves swimming! She splashes and squeals with delight.

A Sunshine Family

2011-06-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

My aunt Kathy was beautiful. Petite, cute, and extremely talented. Her handwriting was one others tried to copy. Her talent in art led her to study it at BYU. She got married to tall, lanky and handsome Kenny Moncur and quickly started her family. Four shining children were born: Cicely, Ty, Jason, and baby Chelsea. In fact someone in their home ward nicknamed them the "Sunshine Family" because of their beautiful glow. They settled in Lewistown, Montana and had just finished building their own home. In June of 1982, father Kenny (who had a pilot's license) started up their Beech V35B plane to fly the family to Utah for a vacation. Bad weather obscured the view of the high terrain as they flew south through Montana. The plane crashed and that sweet family returned to the arms of our Heavenly Father. Cicely was seven, Ty was five, Jason was four and brown-eyed, curly-haired Chelsea was two.

I've known their story as long as I can remember - my dad telling me little snippets as I grew older. My Grandma also keeps their memory alive, letting the little girl grandchildren sleep in Cicely's Strawberry Shortcake sleeping bag at family sleep-overs. She also would find similarities in the grandkids that they shared with the Moncur children. When I did dance as a little girl, she gave me Cicely's picture of her dance class, taken not long before she died.

Because I never knew them in this life, my grieving process and emotions have been very different than those who experienced their love in the flesh. Sometimes I get an insatiable curiosity about their life and death in a longing to know who they were. I've dived into Grandma's musty basement a couple times to look at old scrapbooks and clippings and marveled at Chelsea's locks of hair still in her baby book and the miniature-sized family pictures that were recovered from Kathy's wallet. I also think about who they are now. The spirit world has new meaning because I have people there that I love so much. During my pregnancy my emotions and sensitivity to the spirit went up a notch and I thought about them more frequently. As acquaintances in my ward lost family members in the last year, my heart went out to them and I cried for Kathy and her family - more for the loss and pain that my father has experienced. These experiences although they may seem sad, brought me to a special closeness with this beautiful family - especially with Kathy, the oldest daughter in her family and Cicely, the oldest child in hers. I love them more than words can express and look forward with bright hope to our reunion. I know they know of my life and love me too. These experiences have also assisted in my creation of a slideshow which will highlight their family at the Raleigh-Furse family reunion in a couple weeks. I hope it will bring a spirit of unity and a desire by everyone present to do what it takes to be together forever.

Kathy, I love you. Thank you for your glowing legacy in this earthly life.

First Family Pictures

2011-06-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

First off, I apologize for such a lag in posting. I feel I have some good excuses:

1. Starting to work a little again
2. Trip to my family's old hometown of Hermiston, Oregon to visit our many special friends there
3. Getting a family multimedia slideshow put together for a Raleigh-Furse family reunion this summer (more on that soon).
4. Planning a trip to AZ to look for a new place.
5. Family coming to town (John and Ida are here now!)

So, lots going on but that lends itself to lots of good blog posts, so they'll be coming. Another fun thing that happened lately:

My mom recently gave us a free photo shoot with friend and photographer Evelyn Nelson. The pictures were taken this last week and a sneak peek is now on her blog! Check it out. The rest will be coming in a couple weeks! :) :) I love our baby muchisimo. Can't get enough.

The Mormon Bachelorette

2011-05-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

So, almost every season of ABC's The Bachelor(ette) I tell myself how I will not watch. Sleazy, silly stuff. But then as soon as I watch one episode I'm hooked. I especially get a kick out of lame-o bachelors like Brad (Come to me now please). So, I perked up when I came across this online series:

http://www.themormonbachelorette.com/

However, these people are more than lame-o, the last bachelor and his pick were pretty awesome! (And the first bachelorette's pick is totally my friend's cousin! Shout out to you Angela!) Not to mention it is quite a bit more wholesome. And hats off to its success - two seasons in it already has almost as much romantic success as ABC's version. The first season's couple recently got married and another could be one in the works. So, if you want a little (or long) entertainment break, check this out. The new season starts soon.

Days of May

2011-05-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

May has been full of really fun celebrations. First up, on May 3rd my dad turned 51! He is such a sweet, loving father and grandfather and has raised amazing children who have followed his example in serving the Lord. My dad has so much faith. Growing up he would consistently reassure my anxieties with the message everything will work out, which is much like Pres. Hinckley's quote: Things work out. And it always has. He was my seminary teacher and bishop for a few years and I admit, I was not the most respectful daughter. Yeah, yeah, you probably can't imagine me as a bratty little teenager (or maybe you can...) but I was very critical of my father at times and I sorely regret it. With maturity you realize that your parents are very human and have emotions and are doing the best they can. Parenting is hard, and I hope I can instill as much faith in my children as my father has.

As a teacher he loves his students and sees the very best in people. Every student was a "good kid" at heart, even when we tried to correct my dad that no, they really weren't a good kid. God sees our hearts and our potential for good, and I'm so blessed for his example in my life and the legacy he has left in the Raleigh name.

Another birthday in May was Claire's uncle Richard! Like the rest of those Bennion boys, he's great with babies and it's been fun to have him close until we move.

And we can't forget Mother's Day. I talked about my mom recently in this post but I truly am blessed by her faith and love for her children. I also am so grateful for my mother-in-law Lorraine (aka Mother Bennion). She has always been very welcoming and loving as I entered the family and I am blessed by her spirit which shines through. And I realized kinda late that wait, I'm now a mom too! That meant I got to justify getting myself a gift this year :) Here's a pic of mom and happy daughter.

And on Mother's day we got to chat with this fine young man. Dave-o my bro! I love him so much. He is extremely talented and I am edified weekly by his emails from his mission in Chihuahua. He is growing so much and I know this mission is molding him into the incredible man he will be the rest of his life. So grateful for missions and missionaries.

Now that we have basically missed spring here in Utah, I'm looking forward to our last Utah summer. Yay, warm days and barbeques!! Bring it on.

Jellybean/Spring Shedding

2011-04-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

Here's some new pics of our easter jellybean. Can't wait until she can hold an easter basket find eggs next year!

Roll over!

Photo by Anna Jeffries

So, I'd heard that you shed a lot of hair after giving birth, but in the month or two after I had Claire, I was surprised that my head was still holding on to its pregnancy-induced volume. However in the last couple weeks, bam! Handfuls in the shower, strands everywhere after blow-drying, and the constant picking of hair off my clothes, the carpet, etc. Sorry if loose hair grosses you out, but I need some hope. For those of you with experience, when does it end?? At this rate I'll be bald by Memorial Day.

The following people may look great bald, but I don't think I'm one of them:

Best Friends

2011-04-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was able to attend the wedding reception of my very first and one of my best childhood friends - Alyssa Rhodes (now Andrus). We started playing together when we were only two and three years old. We lived down the street from each other for four years, but in that short span of time we spent LOTS of time together doing what preschool and kindergarten age kids in the 90's did best:

Fighting over My Little Ponies

Watching Little Mermaid and Cinderella over and over again

Recording our voices on my Fisher Price tape recorder

Lots of playing pretend (house, hair salon - including actually cutting our hair, library, store, etc.) In fact I have a tape where we recorded ourselves playing house and I assigned us to be the mom and sister - but we had no dad because he died of AIDS. I must have been listening to too much news, yikes!

Getting in trouble together. Once when we were really little we drew all over ourselves with markers. When my mom came in and discovered us, before she could get angry I started to sing the Primary song, "if you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay..." We also enjoyed making prank calls and definitely got reprimanded for calling 911.

When I moved to a different part of Salt Lake and then to Oregon, we still made sure to have sleep-overs during my visits and wrote each other lots of letters on Lisa Frank stationary. When I was nine I even named my first pet goldfish after her.

March 1990 - Alyssa age four, me age three

My fourth birthday party (Halloween-themed of course)

Isn't it crazy how some memories stick in your mind? I can even still remember her phone number. Wow, she made a big impact on my childhood - thanks for being such a great best friend Alyssa Rhodes!

At your service

2011-04-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Last fall I went through a three day training to become a certified Child Passenger Safety (CPS) technician (aka: car seat installation nerd) I learned so much great car seat information which became especially relevant as I had a baby coming my way. On the heels of the recent updated American Academy of Pediatrics car seat recommendations, I wanted to mention how much I love child passenger safety and how much I'd love to answer any questions you have on the topic. Confused on what seat to use or when to switch to a new one? Don't know how to get your car seat to lock in tight with the seat belt? Car seat tipping at a weird angle? Feel free to ask me any time - I'd love to help! In fact, there's a car seat check point the afternoon of May 7th at RC Willey in Orem. More than 80% of parents install car seats incorrectly - Come and have your seat checked by a professional for free! You can also find a local inspection station anywhere in the US by going here.

Some interesting resources:

Recommendations: Ages and Stages

Top Ten Ways to Reduce Car Seat Safety/Common Errors

Why rear-facing is so important:

Booster seats - not just until age 8: http://boosttil8.org/

Haha, it would be ideal if I had a picture of her happy and content in her seat, but the reality is they sometimes would rather not be in it! With patience and consistency we can make sure our kids always ride safely. Kids: We do it out of love - we promise!

Me and Nie/Special Birthday

2011-04-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

Not too long after I had the baby, I started reading the blog the NieNie Dialogues. The author is Stephanie Nielson of Provo. You may have even seen this beautiful Mormon Message about her. Well, reading her blog was like reading a book I couldn't put down. I re-wound in time back to her and her husband's tragic plane accident in 2008 and read going forward. For hours over a span of a week and sometimes late into the night I read, finding comfort in her hope-filled messages during her times of extreme physical and emotional pain, smiling at the cute pictures and stories of her four adorable kids, sighing at her love story with Mr. Nielson, and gaining motivation to live life with more faith in God, more beauty, creativity, and more expression of my womanhood and motherhood. Well, after reading her triumphant story, I fantasized about meeting her - running into her at Target or the mall. She felt like a character in a book, but she was real and living only miles away from me! I got my wish last night. I attended the premier of a student-made film about a 12 year-old burn survivor (read about him here) which she promoted on her blog. She mentioned she'd be in attendance and so I made sure to go meet her and her husband Christian afterwards. I told her about our family's eery similarities (which I talk about here). They smiled, laughed, we chatted for a sec and she gave me a hug. She is spunky, fun and such a sweet person. It's easy to feel kinda dorky meeting someone you admire in real-life, but she was extremely kind. I'm so excited I didn't let this opportunity pass by. Love you Nie Nie!

_______________________________________________________________

Before I go, I need to mention the most important event of the day: the birthday of a special someone.

Who is...

beautiful

spunky

loving and forgiving

creative

loves learning and teaching

likes organization and beautiful things

is an amazing preschool teacher

loves playing tennis

was born in SLC on April 6, 1965?

If you haven't guessed yet, Pamela Denise Johnson Raleigh - my mom!

I always loved having a cute, young mom. Growing up kids would always tell me, "your mom is so pretty!" I thought it was cool to tell people she graduated high school in 1983 - which at least to me doesn't seem like that long ago! Beyond the exterior, my mom has constantly served her family. She has cooked innumerable family meals to foster precious family moments, instilled in me a love of learning by reading to me from a young age (I still remember her reading Alice in Wonderland and other classics to me in first grade), and supported and encouraged me when life was difficult. During some especially tumultuous middle school years she sensed my need and started reading the Book of Mormon with me every morning. That began my understanding of the crucial nature of the scriptures in our life and I've read the Book of Mormon over and over again since that time. She was quick to forgive and give hugs which communicated a very special motherly love. She's spent countless hours sewing Halloween costumes, a prom dress, and other special things. Her 20+ scrapbooks of our family have preserved a history which is priceless. She is intelligent and has a very special spirit and spiritual sensitivity which blesses her family. It's been fun to see her raise my amazing brothers and sisters and I've learned so much that I want to implement with my own family. I love you so much mom!!!!

Christian Bennion: Second Lieutenant, US Army

2011-03-31T19:14:00.001-07:00

Christian getting sworn in

Well, we did it. We are now a part of the US Army! Christian received the Health Professions Scholarship which will pay for all four years of dental school plus books and fees as well as provide monthly living expenses - a blessing considering I will not be working. He has no commitments to the Army during school but afterward will attend a six week Basic Officer Training in Texas and then begin four years active duty working as a dentist for the base he's stationed at. We will spend our time stateside on or near a base but if he does get deployed overseas we would come with him unless he's sent to a war zone (where he would work on teeth away from enemy lines - no fighting thank goodness). Of course no one wants to be separated from their family, but you have to be ready for such a sacrifice. We could experience some of the greatest hardships we've every experienced, but also some amazing blessings as well - being debt free a huge one as well as having a job straight out of dental school. We have thought and prayed about it a lot and feel this experience will bring blessings and growth to our family.

After 4 years active duty he will serve 4 years reserve where it is extremely uncommon for dentists to be called up. Then you're done unless you decide to make the military a career (which I highly doubt we will but I can't speak for myself 12 years down the road).

So, big decision but the reality of it all is four long years away - the moving around and ups and downs that come with military life. Right now we're just focusing on school which isn't too far around the corner. We'll be moving around the first of August.

Lots of crazy changes in our life just keep coming. Life is great and our Claire becomes more special to us every day. Here are some smiley highlights from the last month of her life:

A dress to be blessed in

2011-03-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

Look at that angel! Oh I love her so much. Claire was blessed on Sunday February 27, 2011. A special day. And to make it even more special, she wore the same dress that I was blessed in.

December 7, 1986

On that day in 1986 two young parents blessed their oldest child:

And 24 years later two more young parents blessed their oldest daughter:

Everyone except Claire's uncle David who is preachin' the word in Chihuahua

A power is passed down through the generations. Especially when successive generations are righteous and keep their covenants, a powerful love and bond is present which ties us together.

Four generations of oldest children in their families: Grandma Maurine Johnson, Pam, Stephanie, and Claire

I am brought to tears when I look into Claire's radiant eyes during her calm happy moments and she smiles right at me. A wise soul is gazing back. I'm in awe. I feel taken aback that I get to raise this intelligent daughter of God. She has so much to teach me.

And now for some more fun pictures. We can't get enough of this cutie:

This pic is entitled, "Having Fun with Daddy at 3:00 in the morning"

This pic is entitled, "I just threw up all over dad and I think I'm pretty awesome"

We're trying to get her to play with us even though she doesn't really have fun yet.

First time tryin' out the Bumbo

And these were taken a couple weeks ago, but here is Claire's betrothed: Andrew Jed Sybrowsky. Future prom date, boyfriend and possibly Future Eternal Companion (F.E.C.) :

Their first date. It doesn't look like it's going very well

And here are the parents that are gonna make it happen:

Coincidence

2011-02-23T21:11:00.000-07:00

So, many of us know of Stephanie Nielson of the NieNie Dialogues. Her blog is inspiring and beautiful and loved by many. But did you realize how much we share in common? First off we share the same name. And our husbands share the same name. And our oldest child also shares the same name! And strangely, her new life began the same day as mine. Although I don't want to make light of such a tragedy I find it interesting that their plane accident occurred the evening of August 16th, 2008, the same evening I began my journey with Christian Bennion.

Maybe I'm reading too hard into things, which would not be surprising as I find her the epitome of beautiful and cool.

ps...Claire is growing up beautifully and smiling at us more and more. I love her bright eyes which beam out her beautiful spirit.

Bellissima Baby

2011-02-08T18:35:00.000-07:00

So, Bella Baby is one slick photography company. They come to your hospital room and take pics of your day-old baby and then show you the adorable pictures to tempt you to buy them. We fell for it hook, line, and sinker. How could we give up these precious pictures?

Our baby is more than bella, she's bellissima!

Here are a couple other pics I couldn't help but post. Look how big and alert she's getting! And even though she's sporting her classic concerned expression in almost every picture, she has started to smile at mom and dad :)

Time flies when you're having fun

2011-02-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well, fun except for the sleepy night-time feedings. But time does fly once that baby is outside of you. The two weeks prior to birth - an eternity. Two weeks since - I feel like I'm in a weird time-warp. Babies do that to you I guess. Here's her progression over the last two weeks:

Just days old. One floppy, squishy little bundle of baby

Features are still soft and hard to define

Uncle Matt with niece Claire

Her face is finally starting to mold into its own unique little self

This is who our Claire is today!

I try to remind myself to enjoy the journey - every moment. I'll someday miss the sweet smell, innocent eyes and tiny mouth that make up our infant, but it's fun to see who's she's becoming too.

Claire

2011-01-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

Our baby is here: Claire Oletta Bennion. The last week is kind of a blur, but I'll do my best to recap her birth story:

We went in for an ordered non-stress test on Friday the 14th (day after my due date) to make sure baby was still doing good and had enough amniotic fluid. Baby looked great and the midwife said that it looked like I was more than ready for labor and even offered to induce me. We thought about it but decided to wait it out to let it happen on its own time. Before we left she stripped my membranes (basically an aggressive pelvic exam that separates the amniotic sac from the rim of the cervix). As soon as she did that I started getting more crampy and I could actually feel my contractions that were beginning to come more regularly (6-20 min apart). Saturday was a frustrating waiting game. I obsessively timed my contractions (a watched pot never boils!) hoping they'd get closer than 5 min apart consistently. The contractions were uncomfortable and I'd pause to breathe through them, but were still manageable. That night they started to hurt a lot more - enough that it scared us into going to the hospital, even though they were 5-6 min. apart and not terribly consistent. Of course, we got sent home :( It was especially frustrating because they were starting to hurt so much, but a nice shot of demerol and morphine helped me get through the night.

Sunday was climax day. Once the pain medication wore off I started to get a little panicky. I'd cry through contractions even though I was trying to breathe and stay relaxed. The cycle of crying and tensing and fear leads to more pain and is not an effective coping mechanism. Things changed 180 degrees after we called Christian's mom for some advice and when my mom came over. We turned on some peaceful instrumental church music, my mom massaged my back and talked me through contractions, and then Christian and I put into practice some progressive muscle relaxation exercises we had read about. It made a HUGE difference. By 2:30 contractions had finally begun to work in my favor - they were under 4 min. apart consistently and getting closer together. My mom told us she thought it was time to go to the hospital, and even though Christian and I were hesitant because we didn't want to get rejected again, we were quickly convinced.

At the hospital I was at a 5 and 100% effaced. It was go time! The anesthesiologist was called and three hours later I was ready to push. Something I never thought much about beforehand was the physical endurance it takes to push! Especially when you're pushing for 2 1/2 hours! There are times where I was tempted to give up, but when you're so close and you've worked so hard already, you give yourself no option but to keep going as hard as you can.

When I heard that little baby cry and saw her on my belly, I was in awe. I used to think I would cry out of pure joy when I saw her, but I started to cry from a mixture of joy and exhaustion! She was finally here - beautiful and perfect.

I'd like to leave the story at that, but unfortunately I experienced a little trauma in the days after Claire's birth. I was the lucky 1% who experienced a complication of the epidural. When the anesthesiologist went in with the epidural needle, he overshot his target and punctured a hole in the dura which surrounds the spinal fluid. That leads to leaking spinal fluid which messes up the pressure which surrounds your brain leading to massive headaches when you sit straight up or stand. That meant it was extremely painful to feed Claire or take care of her. It was debilitating to the point of crawling on my hands and knees. At the hospital we decided to try and wait it out so it could heal on its own, but after less than 24 hours at home we decided to go back in to have another procedure done - a blood patch - which is 90-100% effective at fixing it. Injecting 20 cc's of my own blood back into my back did the trick and I'm now headache free. Whew! I have to say how blessed I am to have such a loving husband who did so much during that difficult time at home and who still does so much - I love you!

Having a baby is hard work - from morning sickness, discomfort in the final months, and then labor and delivery, but when you look at that innocent little face that depends wholly on you, you know you've done one of the most important things in your life. I love you Claire!

Born Jan. 16, 2011, 9:21 pm. 7 lbs, 9 0z, 20 inches long

What happens when mommy can't dress her baby and dad has to step in :)

And the winner is....

2011-01-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

ARIZONA!

Christian was accepted to his top pick - Midwestern University in Glendale, AZ. We are SO excited. It's is unbelievable to count the many blessings we've received this past year. From zero acceptances our first year of applying to four interviews and four acceptances this year - crazy. We'll be moving the end of July or first part of August. We're very ready and excited for an adventure on our own outside of Utah, but it will be difficult to leave family behind, especially with a little one under a year. I've been spoiled to live close to my family my whole first 24 years of life, but I know this will be a wonderful, growing experience for our little Bennion clan. The good news is that we have friends and family in the Glendale area too!

Like I've said, changes come in waves, and this year is one big wave. I'm due in 7 days. I'm mentally preparing for her to be past her due date but definitely won't complain if she makes her debut early (I just better wrap up some important things at work..time is ticking - yikes!) A busy week at work has definitely been nice to make time pass faster. It's hard to comprehend what it will all be like. I just know I'm probably going to cry when I finally hear and see her. Any time I see a video of a baby being born, I cry. When I listen to the Saturday's Warrior song, I break down. It's overwhelmingly wonderful. So, stay tuned...we'll post pics on here hopefully not too long after the birth.

As for Christmas, it was great. Since I found out I was pregnant I looked to Christmas as a landmark in time. When Christmas was here, the baby would be not far behind. Now that Christmas feels long gone, the long-awaited date is staring us in the face.

Check out some of our limited Christmas pics:

A sleepy Christian next to our first full-size tree

We celebrated Christmas together on Christmas Eve morning

Christmas Eve we went to Temple Square.

And Christmas morning was spent with the Raleigh fam. Christian surprised me with a video camera! I had spent December transferring Raleigh family videos to DVD as a gift for my parents and had commented on how we needed to capture Claire's early moments for posterity's sake. Well, now we can!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too and I look forward to sharing the next couple exciting months with you!

Waves of Change

2010-12-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

So it seems that changes come all at once. We're five and a half weeks away from holding our sweet Claire (which will change our lives forever) and on top of that, we just found out that Christian's been accepted to dental school!!!! He was accepted to Temple University in Philadelphia and Midwestern which is in a suburb of Chicago - Downer's Grove. We are so blessed, I can't even describe how joyful and excited I feel about our future. There are lots of blessings we've seen from our extra year in Provo, and I know Heavenly Father always knows what will be best for us.

So, we need to make our decision by the first week in January! Pressure! They require a $1,000 deposit so changing our minds later would cost us big time. His first choice is Midwestern in Arizona, but we haven't heard from them since his interview, although he felt it went well. Univ. of Southern Nevada's new South Jordan, Utah campus may interview him as well this month - they're way behind the rest of the schools. If we were to hear from any of them before our deadline, options may change. In the meantime we'll have to seriously pray and weigh the pros and cons of Temple and Chicago. For any of you who've had to choose between job offers or graduate school options in different parts of the country, what helped you make your decision?

On to other news, we got back last week from our trip to California for Thanksgiving. It was so fun as always to spend time with the Bennions - and nice we could squeeze in one last trip before my pregnancy winds to a close.

Christmas tree at Pier 39 in San Francisco

Christian and his mom :)

34 weeks.

Now on to Christmas! We've got the house decorated (and bought our first big Christmas tree) and are ready for this beautiful, special time of the year.

Philalicious

2010-11-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

Philadelphia was delicious and amazingly fun!!! This was probably the best trip we've been on together. We got to see family but we also got plenty of time to explore the city and do whatever we wanted to do! Thank goodness for our GPS - it navigated us to all of the following awesome places:

First up we traveled to Amish country in Lancaster, PA. So beautiful! Enjoy the scenery:

Us sneaking pictures of carriages going down the road. It is actually considered sinful for Amish to pose for a picture - a graven image.

Next we went to Valley Forge:

The home Washington and Martha lived in during that cold winter

Beautiful valley forge - filled with colorful trees, deer, and lots of open space

Old headstones falling and sinking into the ground.

Laurel Hill Cemetery

Rocky Statue at the Museum of Art

Looking out at the city from the steps of the museum

The triumphant Rocky pose

Standing in line at the famous Geno's Philly Cheesesteaks. They were so yummy. Especially ordering them "whiz with" = cheese whiz with onions

Elfreth's Alley -

The oldest homes in the US where people still live!

31 weeks - beginning my eighth month

Nephew Jonah loved us. This is him laughing at Christian

The boys standing underneath a statue of a man with a familiar name :)

Some other highlights: breakfast and lunch at Reading Terminal Market downtown. AMAZING blueberry pancakes at the Dutch Eating Place :) Also, I got to stroll the museum of art while Christian was at his interview. Four and a half hours and there was still lots I didn't get to see. So much amazing history. It's making my reading of John Adams a lot more meaningful.

After two trips to Philadelphia in a year, I'm really growing to love the east coast! Going to dental school out there would be quite an adventure but at least we have some of mine and Christian's family a couple hours away. His interview went well but only time will tell if it's meant to be.

The Countdown

2010-11-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

When you were pregnant did you find yourself paying a lot more attention to babies at church, friends' babies' pictures on facebook, random babies in public, etc? I can't wait to hold our little Claire in my arms!!! Only a little over two months to go! (69 days to be exact). I know Nov. and Dec. will fly by (they're crazy busy) but I can't help being impatient. Just can't dwell on it too much.

The things that will be keeping us busy? Back to Philadelphia!! I used to complain to my parents all the time how I was so deprived because I hadn't been outside of the western US, but college and work has brought numerous opportunities to travel. Christian has a dental school interview in Philadelphia at Temple so we're going on a babymoon to the east coast. While we're there we'll get to see Christian's twin bro and wife Ida and their beautiful baby Jonah. When I went last spring I was there for work and didn't have much time to enjoy the city (and when I did I was by myself :( Now we'll get to party it up! Can't wait.

A week later we leave for Monterey, CA for Thanksgiving! It was our turn to go out there for Christmas, but that's not happenin' at 38 weeks pregnant! I can't wait to enjoy the beautiful coastal weather out there again.

Oh, and work just doesn't stop. Whew - before I know it I'll be saying "where did time go?" Until then, 69 days and counting.

Jonah and dad John

A Spooky Birthday

2010-10-31T20:37:00.000-07:00

On Halloween Eve 1986, Stephanie Raleigh entered the world. Twenty-four years later here I am - now Stephanie Bennion and pregnant with my own little goblin. Well, she'll be more of a snowman since she's due in January. So Saturday was my birthday but the combined Halloween/birthday celebrations began on Friday with work. Since the summer we've been talking about how fun it would be to decorate our office 80's Prom-style for Halloween. It actually happened and with the theme "Almost Paradise" (the Footloose love song for you youngsters) we won third place in the office decorating contest!

I decided to be a pregnant cheerleader. Standing in the picture area at our office-turned high school prom.

Me, 80's yearbook-ified. Do it yourself at: http://www.yearbookyourself.com/

Our PIO (aka media guy) as the school bully giving nerd-boss Eric a noogie

The awkward refreshment table. No one asked us to dance.

The whole crew.

My cubicle decorated for my b-day

Each cubicle/office got designated as a classroom at "Health Promotion High School"

At our friend's Halloween party. Back row L to R: The old couple, Dog the Bounty Hunter and his wife, Mr. Pirate, and couple from the 1960s

Trevor and Katelyn made me a birthday cake!! Way too nice of them.

One of my favorite (if not favoritest) costume of the night - Christian's sis Sarah and bf Christian as the most authentic old couple I've ever seen (they stayed in character almost the whole night - no joke).

The brother-sister rivalry went to the very end in the finals where they competed for donut-eating champion

And just for good measure, check out Christian yearbook-ified below:

Festivities continued on Saturday - my birthday! Christian surprised me by taking me out to breakfast and then to pick out some maternity shirts. We later met up with my fam at the Trafalga's in Lehi for some mini-golf/laser-tag fun:

And one of my favorite presents: a bee costume for Claire!!! (oh by the way, that will most likely be her name) I can't wait for next Halloween. I've been drooling over all the cute baby costumes this year. She will be beyond bee-autiful :)

Update

2010-09-26T11:56:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since a post, so here's a little wrap-up of the last month in our lives, starting with the belly shot progression:

This was back in June (9 or 10 weeks) when I thought everyone must be noticing I was pregnant. But alas, I was not even close.

Big jump to 22 weeks. Yay! Finally a baby bump

24 weeks.

No baby bump for Christian - he's just posing in front of the steps at Tuacahn outdoor amphitheater near St. George where we saw Tarzan - so cool!

In front of our friends' cabin near Pinedale Wyoming. We got to hang out with some of our best friends for the weekend. The weather was gorgeous and we had a blast.

At the lake Christian and the boys decided to create a work of art.

The girls: Me, Katelyn Phillips, Julie Bagley, and Chelsea Sybrowsky

The war has begun. In retaliation to having a delicious-looking fish head thrown at them (see below), the guys decided to fight back with mud and oars.

Julie with the secret weapon.

A much-too-close close-up

The adventure on the way home. Blown-out tire in the middle of nowhere.

Good thing Chelsea and I had our men to fix the flat for us.

My bro Matt wearing his favorite item of ours: Christian's moped helmet

Me trying to learn to cut Christian's hair

At the Festival Latinoamericano promoting Hispanic highway safety. Christian was nice enough to help me out that weekend.

We met up with our Hermiston friends the DeLong's at the Hogle Zoo. We grew up with their family and have lots of fun memories together. Pictured here is Bailey (aka the B-Woman) and dad Matt.

Me and Bails!

Ultrasound

2010-08-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

It's a girl!!!! Wow, we are ecstatic. First hearing the heartbeat made it real, now it's gone up another level. My placenta is currently located on the front (anterior) wall of the uterus so it's been cushioning her kicks a little, but I do feel a dozen or more strong ones every day. I'll feel more and more over the coming weeks.

We already think she's beautiful. Take a look!

This shows her spine and cute little legs folded up in front of her.

A profile shot

We even got the 3D machine at the hospital! They're so skinny at only 20 weeks that the view isn't quite as good and the cord was in the way. It doesn't show her nose, but look at her cute mouth and chin!

I know who I am, I know God's plan

2010-08-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

I just had to share something wonderful I've discovered lately: Mormon.org. I've always known about and liked the site, but their recent unveiling of a re-design came as a pleasant surprise. During my first visit I spent over two hours watching the videos under the "Our People" section, reading the beautifully laid-out pages on doctrine and trying out all the interactive stuff they have available. So cool. I felt energized through reading other's testimonies and gained a deeper appreciation for the people that make up Christ's church here on the earth. So many beautiful and diverse people - I love it. Then I realized I could create my own profile! I would encourage you to do the same - what a wonderful way to spread your personal beliefs and testimony to the world. Just make sure to get your membership number from your ward clerk before you begin. You can even check out my profile by clicking on the "my faith" button on the RH sidebar.

Another sweet faith-builder was this recent Mormon Message for Youth: Two Brothers Apart. It chronicles the growing-up years of two brothers with a very rocky relationship and shows how they finally come together. I know I'm probably just extra emotional as a pregnant woman, but this video struck personal chords in my own life - I've experienced difficult sibling relationships that have ended up sweet as we matured and mastered the personal demons in our own lives.

I also have to express my disappointment in one of my favorite Mormon celebrities (well, actually Kirby Heybourne is my favorite): Will Swenson. You know the dark-haired main guy in Singles Ward, Sons of Provo, etc (he also wrote and appeared in pretty much every other Mormon movie in the last ten years as well as Capitan Moroni and Namaan in the Seminary Videos, not to mention the voice of Christ). Well, he recently enjoyed a successful Broadway run as a 2009 Tony-award nominee for the West-end production of Hair. Exciting success, yet according to a 2009 interview he's openly abandoned active membership in the church and is doing things you wouldn't want to associate with his past roles as scripture characters. If you saw silly Singles' Ward - he's becoming his character Jonathan Jordan literally. I don't doubt he's still a great father and friend, but from a Latter-Day Saint perspective, seeing someone who once represented your beliefs to the world leave it behind is a little sad to me.

Among those who allow fame and worldly recognition to diminish their LDS faith, we have those who are putting their life's work into using the mass media for spreading Christ's gospel. I love it so much and I encourage all to spread what they believe in dearly - whatever it is - with the world. Hold firmly to your beliefs and don't be ashamed!

Population explosion

2010-07-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

You know how a kid outgrows their cuteness at about 6 or 7? Well it looks like my family won't outgrow a cute kid for a very, very long time. The babies just keep on coming on both the Bennion and Raleigh/Johnson sides. I'm the oldest cousin by quite a bit on my mom's side (the Johnsons) so my kids will be growing up with my cousins (see the first pic below). Christian's family is keeping pace by introducing a new member at least once a year. Among Christian's siblings there will be four babies born in a little over a year and we're all just starting our families! Not to mention, two more siblings with marriage potential in the not-too-distant future, so it won't be stopping any time soon.

Christian and I enjoyed this plentiful abundance of children by spending lots of time with our families this weekend. We got a random free hotel stay at the SLC Hilton from Christian's mom who stayed with littlest brother Porter across the hall. The oldest Bennion sister, Laura, and her family were finishing up their Utah stay and we spent lots of fun time with them and their adorable girls. I really absolutely love my nieces, nephews, and little cousins and melt over getting to see them or seeing the blog pictures when they're away. On Pioneer Day, we spent the whole day in Spanish Fork with all the Johnson cousins. Uncle Jeff and his wife Kerri and their three little girls were in town from Virginia and I also got to see my newest cousin Benjamin.

Pregnancy p.s....I'm starting to show to other people - just a little bit - and I'm feeling normal again! Bring on the calories!!

All my Johnson cousins age six and under (except for four)

Matt and cousin Ruby enjoying Spanish Fork's famous Hawaiian Style Shave Ice (as good or better than Hawaii, I promise)

My adorable nieces Audrey and Jane, sporting their new bonnets at the Pioneer Village in SLC

Jane washing clothes, pioneer-style

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes....

2010-07-13T16:46:00.001-07:00

You guessed it! A baby in a baby carriage. We are pregnant!!! Here's the stats:

How far along I am right now: 14 weeks

Due date: January 13th (wouldn't it be cool if the baby was born two days early on 1/11/11?)

When we'll find out if it's a boy or girl: last week of August.

Where I want to have the baby: Orem Community Hospital

What we're guessing the gender is: I'm leaning towards a girl, Christian a boy. Who knows!

Oh wow, I don't know where to begin. We are so happy. It's such an exciting time filled with joy, uncertainty, a little bit of anxiety, dreaming, excitement, and trying to believe it's real! So, to back up, while it was still too early to take a pregnancy test, we suspected that we could be pregnant. Christian was more certain than I however. I didn't want to get my hopes up. I even ran that half marathon a couple weeks into the pregnancy (I wonder if I can blame my slow time on it....) Well two days after a missed period we took a home pregnancy test and it was positive. One test was all I needed. I believed it. I told Christian right away and the emotion hit us. Wow, it still does (combined with the hormones, I'm getting teary quite often...).

I won't bother putting up belly shots since anyone besides myself would not think I look pregnant at all. The midwife I'm seeing says I won't look pregnant for awhile. Great. But I sure feel pregnant. I never threw up during my 6 week-14 week morning sickness period, but I felt like it almost all the time. It's been a long time since I've been hungry - I just get sick when it's time for my body to eat. When I would get discouraged or frustrated for my lack of appetite I'd remember that this is nothing to be frustrated about. This is an enormous blessing and I'm just so glad things have been going smoothly so far.

After two months of being grossed out by most foods, I think I'm swinging back towards a hearty appetite. I'm not as sick feeling when I wake up, I can go longer periods after eating before feeling sick again, and I can eat more at each sitting. Yes! Here comes a joyous second trimester.

So, here we are, ready for the crazy ride of pregnancy. Isn't it amazing how quickly life can change? It was just yesterday I was fantasizing about my FEC (Future Eternal Companion for those of you who don't know) and bam - I'm married and pregnant! It's crazy how quickly life sneaks up on you.

Us right after we found out.

What our baby could look like at 14 weeks. It's about the length of a peach right now.

What do you think our baby will look like? Here's baby pics of Christian and me:

A Stereotypical Summer

2010-07-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

What's summer without the stereotypical delights of fireworks, parades, family get-togethers, barbecues, picnics, and camping? Well, we've been making sure we check all of them off our list:

Hike to the Grotto up Payson Canyon with friends Spencer and Julie

Me with Spencer and Julie

Payson Lake. Ooh baby it was cold.

Camping up Payson Canyon.

Spencer and Julie's tent. Look at that ingeniousness - once there they realized they had none of the original poles that go with the tent. So, Spencer used his scouting skills to lash together some poles then Christian suggested they tie the top of the tent to a small bendy tree to hold the tent up.

It worked! It event kept off the rain that hit us off and on all night.

Our lovely tent site. Not to brag, but thanks mom and dad for the new tent!

Family time: Celebrating Father's Day with the Johnson clan. L to R: Christian, Grandpa Johnson, Dad, Uncle Derek, Uncle Jeff, and my Uncle Brian holding his little girl in front.

The girls reading Grandpa's Father's Day gift: A memory book from his kids and grandkids

Strawberry Days Parade in Pleasant Grove (my mom's hometown). My sister Sam's on that float!

Sam as Spanish Fork royalty waving at us.

So, this summer's been stereotypical but at the same time there's something that's been quite different about it. That exciting post is coming next!!!

Back from Paradise

2010-06-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

We're back! Now I understand why people who have lived in Hawaii love it so much. We stayed in Laie on the north shore, right by BYU-Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center. We stayed for seven days and enjoyed sun (I did not get sunburned - quite a feat for skin like mine), the waves, the sand, the cool breeze, snorkeling, shave ice, and Polynesian culture at the PCC.Awesome experience (except for the red eye flight on the way home. I don't do well with little sleep).

To get a better idea of the beautifulness we experienced, check out the pics below!

The perfectness of Waimea Bay. Christian and I snorkeled there and saw a sea turtle! The snorkeling at Shark's Cove was our favorite though.

Pearl Harbor

Beautiful mother Bennion doin' the hula

Luau at the PCC

Waimea Bay

Hawaii Temple

With my friend Kylee. We met up at the Dole Plantation. It was so good to see her!!

Pedicure with the girls

Headin' to our backyard beach

Our beach house

Sarah and I strikin' a pose on our way up Diamond Head

Honolulu seen from Diamond Head

Now back to the daily grind, but it's good to be back. A fun summer in Utah awaits...

Oahu, two days to go

2010-06-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

So, two days down until we're literally standing in the place above! We're so excited. Christian's been to Hawaii before but not to Oahu. It's my first time. We'll be hangin' out with some of the Bennion clan and here are some places we'd like to see:

A list of beaches (Sunset, Lanikai, Waimea Bay, etc)

Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay or Shark's Cove

Matsumoto's Shave Ice

Dole Plantation (especially for the pineapple ice cream!)

PCC

Pearl Harbor

Chinatown

Diamond Head

Eating at places like Irifune (Japanese food)

Duke's and ordering Hula Pie

Swap Meet at Honolulu Stadium

etc.

Thanks to my good friend Kylee and my travel-fanatic boss Eric for the suggestions!

Have you been to Oahu? Any tips for us newbies??

Rain, snow, sleet, hail, and 13.1 miles

2010-05-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, I endured all of the above to run the Provo City Half Marathon on May 1st. It was my sixth race at this distance and although it wasn't my fastest time and I was very wet and cold, I'm glad I did it. Besides the weather it really was beautiful. The course started at the Provo Tabernacle, wound around Provo Towne Center Mall, to Utah Lake on country roads, then back on the Provo River Trail. I even went right by my house with a mile to go but I wasn't stopping there! I finished strong and to the love of my husband and family.

In the last seven and a half years of running and racing my family has always been there to cheer me on to the finish line, and now Christian too! Three years ago I ran the Moab Half Marathon and my dad, little bro Daniel and I camped out the night before. My dad said to me, Who knows, maybe next year you'll have a boyfriend or husband taking you to this race! Well it wasn't the next year and it wasn't the same race, but it wasn't too far from the truth. Now it's a reality! I have my sweet, funny husband to drop me off, motivate me and make me smile before I run my guts out. I can't describe how happy it makes me that he supports this part of my life and that my family has been there all along the way :)

Another awesome part of running spring road races is how it keeps you motivated through one of the most difficult exercising times of the year (Jan-April). It's great to feel like you're in good shape - physically and mentally. Satisfaction is an understatement - and that's why I do it.

And while we're on the topic, I have to share this article that made me smile: the unspoken rules of running. If you're a runner, it will make you laugh. If you're not a runner, we will become weirder to you than you already thought we were.

This is before the race, when it actually looked like it was going to be a nice day

John and Ida Come to Town and.....Graduation!!

2010-04-23T17:56:00.001-07:00

Haha, before I start I have to say I think it's funny how typical it is right now: I'm on the couch with the laptop blogging and reading blogs and Christian is next to me watching basketball - classic :)

SO, John (Christian's twin brother) and his wife Ida came to visit last weekend from West Virginia! Yay! Not only them, but mother Bennion and Christian's little bro's were there too. It was such a great weekend. One of the best parts - throwing a surprise baby shower for Ida and John. And they were totally surprised - it was great.

Now a week later Christian has graduated BYU! Yay!! A new chapter in our lives is beginning. What's in our future?? Well, we really don't know, but it may include moving to a new apartment by the end of the summer (if you know a good place that's opening up in the Orem/Provo/Springville area, let us know), re-applying and crossing our fingers for dental schools (did you know that the first dental school in Utah is opening up in South Jordan?? Exciting!), and working/volunteering. On another exciting note, Christian got interviewed and selected to be a runner in the O.R. at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center (UVRMC) - a coveted volunteer position, or so they say.

Life changes all the time and it's exciting ride. What makes it even better is taking it with your best friend!

Isn't he handsome?! I'm so proud of all his hard work :)

John and Ida - some of our favorite people. We miss them a LOT being so far away, but at least we have Google video chat - that gets us through.

Okay, I gotta explain this one. One of John and Ida's favorite games (and ours too) is the Dice Game. It involves dice, cups, and a dare. Dares in the past have included running over icy snow, getting fake tattoos drawn on your arms with permanent markers, drinking A LOT of water, sticking your hand in the toilet and flushing it, and asking a neighbor for a cup of sugar...because we needed to make pizza. So, at the shower we played on teams and guess who lost? This was the punishment.

Sarah and her boyfriend Christian! No joke. My dad's name is Christian too in case you didn't know.

Christian's little brothers: Porter and Samuel. They're real troopers and very good boys.

Philly - cheesesteaks and all

2010-04-19T19:33:00.001-07:00

Well, I didn't actually get a good picture of an authentic Philly "steak" as they call it - but I did get a sandwich from DiNic's Beef and Pork at Reading Terminal Market...just as authentic I've heard.

The trip was beautiful!! Blossoming trees, warm weather - couldn't be better. And what got me to Philly you ask? An awesome trip for work. I attended the Lifesavers Conference which focused on national highway safety priorities - very informative and got lots of good information, but you'll notice most of my pictures are from the beauty of the city and its history.

Enjoy the pictures below!

THE Independence Hall. George Washington sat in that chair in the middle. That very chair.

Outside of Independence Hall

City Hall with William Penn on top. My hotel room at the Marriott Downtown looked out to City Hall.

Masonic Temple

Philadelphia Hospital - oldest hospital in the U.S. and SO gorgeous. I was there all by myself and it was peaceful, walled off from the rest of the city. One of my favorite places I found as I explored the city by myself.

The pork sandwich from DiNic's at Reading (pronounced Redding) Terminal Market. This indoor market is one of the most famous places to eat in the city. The sandwich has a favorite local topping: spinach and broccoli. I had to try it and it was delish. DiNic's and Bassetts Ice Cream (which I also tried) have been featured on the some of Christian and my favorite shows on the Travel Channel.

The giant poster I created and presented at the conference

China Town

Watchin' the crepe-makers make my Nutella/banana/strawberry crepe at Reading. Heavenly.

The inside of the market.

Fruits of my labors

2010-04-19T19:17:00.000-07:00

In the last month two successful events have brought great satisfaction to my life. First one: Walk a Mile in Her Shoes last Saturday. Two hundred people attended and $1000 was raised for the Center for Women and Children!! Such a success and it will only get better in the future - a LOT of credit goes to my intern Lindsee and Erik Westesen for so much hard work, planning, and promotion. :)

Secondly, a couple weeks ago we were able to announce the winners of our Hispanic Highway Safety YouTube Video contest. We presented at the Latinos in Action Regional Conference - over 700 teens and 800 people in total were in attendance! The representative from the Mexican Consulate as well as a number of other partners were able to connect with us afterwards - hopefully contributing to the success of this outreach in the future.

Yay for public health!

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes...high heel shoes, that is!

2010-04-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

Last summer, I had the opportunity to help write a grant that would allow the Utah County Health Department to carry out a rape prevention campaign. During the research process, here are some of the shocking stats that I learned:

Rape is the only violent crime in Utah which is above the national average.

College women are more at-risk for sexual assault than their non-college bound peers.

In three quarters of all rapes and sexual assaults, the perpetrator and victim know each other.

Sexual assault is the most underreported violent crime in America

^{In the college environment, less than five percent of attempted rapes reported}

^{Sexual assault impacts everyone – regardless of age, race and socioeconomic status.}

After learning these stats and realizing how much it affects our community (and how much people don't want to talk about it) I gained some passion and motivation for the cause. Our team made a plan, got a coalition together, and realized we had a lot of positive energy for the project. So much energy and support, in fact, that when we didn't get the grant, we decided to go ahead anyway. I hired an intern and we started plannin' away last November. Now, this Saturday our planning and efforts will come to fruition with "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes". It's exciting what motivation, collaboration, volunteer effort (and a little help from a grant from UVU) can do!

If you're in Utah, come be a part of this too!! Come make a difference this Saturday, April 10th at University Mall in Orem. There will be a band, tons of sweet prizes, and some local mascots will make an appearance.

Or check it out in the news! We're already had some newspaper articles and the media will be there Saturday morning. I actually won't be there (I'll be in Philly at the National Lifesavers Conference for work) but I'd love it if you're able to check it out!!!

http://walkamileinhershoes.pbworks.com/

http://girlinthebubble.wordpress.com/

Daily Universe Article

Deseret News Article

24 hours in California

2010-03-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was a crazy one. Memorable, but crazy! We flew out of Utah Saturday morning to be with Christian's youngest brother Porter for his baptism. He called Christian and asked him to speak and Mother Bennion was able to use her flight benefits to get us down there. We spent the afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather, green rolling hills, flowers, and fragrant clean air (very different from Provo right now).

That night was the baptism. Christian and Richard's talks were awesome and the meeting was simple and sweet. There was a wonderful spirit there and we could tell Porter was very excited and happy in his own quiet way :) It also worked out for their grandma, aunt, and some cousins to be there as well. They even wrapped the meeting up after the closing prayer with the family singing Love Makes the World Go Round, a Marilyn (Grandy) and Harden Bennion family tradition (Christian's grandparents). I kept thinking, what a great family - and I made sure I told Grandy that by the end of the night. She and her late husband have left a great Bennion legacy and I'm so lucky to now be a part of it!

Sunday morning we left the house at 3:30 AM to be dropped off two hours away at the San Fran airport and arrived in Provo at 9 AM.

I love the Bennions so much and I'm so happy we were able to be a part a special family event. We love you Porter!!

Oops, sorry about your head Christian. Samuel's still refining his photography skills

Blooming trees and flowers!! I can't wait for Spring to hit Provo

The green rolling hills of the Monterey/Salinas area. This is literally in the Bennion's neighborhood.

Hittin' up the scooters.

The exciting traveling's not over.....April 10-13 Philadelphia for the national Lifesavers Conference (work trip) Also June 4-11 Laie, Hawaii. North shore baby!!! We are very excited :)

Beautiful video - poignant reminder

2010-03-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

Every time you get in the car, remember to wear your seatbelt, ¡use el cinturón!

This video is a beautiful demonstration and reminder

Marriage is not a noun, it's a verb: tips for dating your spouse!

2010-03-15T18:54:00.000-07:00

So, my cousins Kristen and Bridget are part of a writing team for a new blog: Dating Divas! Check it out for creative, cheap ideas for dating your spouse, marriage tips, and gift ideas.

Some other great blogs I've discovered lately (or have been following for a while) that have tons of creative tips about life and love are listed below:

The Idea Room - crafts, cooking, organization

It's a Girl Thing - Crafts

Pocket Full of Posies - Meal planning, crafts, other fun ideas

Love Actually - Dating ideas

Somewhat Simple - crafts, other fun ideas

Let Me Count the Ways - Valentine's for the ones we love

Cowboy Phraseology - Home decoration, cheap and easy furniture re-finishing

Nesting Place - Home decorating and inspiration

Loving You - love and romance inspiration

My sister, the princess

2010-03-08T19:42:00.000-07:00

Sam did awesome at the Miss Spanish Fork pageant on Saturday night! I wanted to take pictures during her performances, but of course my camera had no battery in it. She rocked her piano piece and was very poised during everything else she did on stage - plus, she looked stunning in each of her four outfits and hair-do's! She finished as a runner-up which means she gets to do the floats this summer, gets a crown, scholarship, etc., but she doesn't have to come all the way back to Spanish Fork next year from Southern Utah University for ribbon-cutting ceremonies, meetings, small-town festivals etc. that the winner has to do. She's an awesome girl and a wonderful example to me of friendship, love, faith, living life with happiness and energy and of pure joy. She's a ray of sunshine in our family. I love you Sam!

Sam's platform was understanding people with disabilities. Her Little Miss that got to walk with her on stage was this cute girl.

L to R: Kip (aka: Kathryn), Sammie, Miss Utah 2009, and Sam's best friend Aubray

With last year's winner and the other finalists

The fam :)

New look

2010-03-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

So, I decided I was in the mood for a page re-design. What do you think?? I love it! Christian thinks it's a little femme, but when the girls are the bloggers/decorators/designers, what do you expect? No, he actually likes it. I got the background (SO many cute backgrounds, wow) and other things at:

http://shabbyblogs.com/index.html

Speaking of things that are sugar and spice and everything nice, I'm on my way to my little sister Samantha's debut at the Miss Spanish Fork Contest! I'll take pics and post soon :)

Sweet sweet weekend

2010-02-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe another week is almost over, it's crazy - almost a week since Valentine's Day! Well, last weekend was amazingly sweet. Every Valentine's Day growing up my mom and dad would get us a little gift or make a fancy dinner for us, or even surprise us with balloons and flowers at school - a tradition that is special to me. However, it's no replacement to having a special someone once you hit dating years. Last year was my first year to have that special someone in my life. Valentine's Day was a week before we got engaged and we were happy and giddy in love. This year, however, it means so much more because our relationship is so much deeper -I'm starting to understand more and more each day what love really is.

The weekend started off with an Olympics opening ceremonies party with my fam. We spent the night so we could wake up and celebrate a birthday breakfast with my sis Sam. Eighteen this year!! Can you believe it?? Then off to my Film Maker's Workshop I put together at work. Read more about it in the Salt Lake Tribune (they only mention my last name once, they must have put my first name and more info about me in the beginning but then took it out later....disappointing but whatev)

Valentine's weekend really got started that evening when we went out to dinner at Macaroni Grill and went to Comedy Sportz!! Oh man, i LOVE that place. SO funny and they keep it relatively clean. I love improv and went on YouTube one time to watch old clips of "Whose Line Is It Anyways" but there was SO much innuendo! I had forgotten and as a kid a lot of it goes over your head.

On Sunday we had our share of surprise flowers, cards, and heart attacks. That afternoon we got together with Christian's brother Richard, his girlfriend Amy, Sarah, and Wes Marriott and played some mean games of Boggle and the face-drawing game - one of my favorites. Then off to dinner club with more of my favorite people! I usually leave d-club drained from laughing so much. The weekend wasn't over yet. A beautiful three-day weekend (and paid holiday!) wrapped up Monday. The d-club boys decided to surprise the girls with a delicious and beautifully-decorated (thank you Christian) dinner back up at the Sundance cabin.

Whew! Another wonderful weekend. Christian and I were talking the other day about how good our lives really are. We have such good friends and family so close - we can't take it for granted.

Here are some pics of dinner and our beautiful drawings of each other :)

The daily routine

2010-02-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

So, what's a day in the life of Stephanie Bennion like?

1. Wake up and run or sleep in a little longer if it's at all possible

2. Drop Christian off at school and go to work or have him drop me off if it's his work day

3. Busy busy busy at work. Phone calls, emails, managing websites, getting Hispanic teens motivated to enter a YouTube video contest (the winner gets $1000 people! spread the word by going HERE), getting work sites to implement tobacco policies, getting docs and dentists to counsel people to quit smoking, trainings, more emails, coordinating meetings between universities and the health dept., printing and delivering posters and fliers to schools all over the county, teaching classes, coordinating a rape prevention campaign, updating student internship and volunteer opportunities, counseling students on opportunities in public health, attending conferences, writing grants, coming up with ideas, reading research.....the list goes on and on. Don't worry it's not all in one day...though sometimes it almost is. And I really do love it :)

4. HOME. This is a great part of the day. Start my news-watching routine, make dinner, read, watch one of my addicting reality shows (take your pick: Bachelor, American Idol, and now...Survivor. We'll see if I have the energy for that. And don't forget The Office)

5. Christian comes home!! Usually in the mix of events mentioned above he gets home from school. I feel extremely extremely blessed that he's in my life and incredibly lucky that he chose me.

6. Bedtime.

Then it all begins again.

The weekends though really make fulfilling - packed with friends, family, religion, and maintaining order in the home. Don't think we could survive without it. And it really is crazy how life goes on day in, day out in such a routine. It makes you think, "so this is life?" but this wise quote puts it all into perspective:

"Anyone who images that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed.

Most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high level of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise.

Life is like an old-time rail journey - delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

Saturday is a Special Day...

2010-02-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

...it's the day we are insanely busy!

Here is Christian and my itinerary from Saturday:

9 AM - 12 PM Last session of my RAD class for women (Rape Aggression Defense)...sounded corny but I definitely don't regret it - especially since I'm working on a rape prevention program at work that will focus on the college community. All you gotta know is that you better not mess with me now.

The red guy is wearing the actual suit our instructor wore on the last day when we got to beat him up. Add those crazy transformer-man pads to the fact that he's at least 6'3'', very large, and says scary things to you as he's grabbing you and throwing you to the floor. Intimidating? Yes. Did I get away? Yes.

12:45 - 1:25; Ran. It's so nice to run in the daylight! The rest of the week I choose 6 am cold darkness :(
2-4:30; Play at BYU, Tartuffe. A quirky, modernized French comedy from the 1600s. We got free tickets from Christian's sister Sarah and we couldn't refuse. I love BYU performances.
5-6; Temple. A beautiful blessing in our lives

7:00; BYU vs. Utah basketball game!! We got free tickets on Friday afternoon from my awesome intern Lindsee. It was SO loud and SO fun.
After the game: Magleby's for free cake.
10:00 pm THE END. We were exhausted

...Last but not least...exciting announcement!!

My dad was called as Stake President in a brand new stake: The Spanish Fork River Stake!! We are so happy and excited for him. He is a good good man and although it's gonna be a lot of work to organize this new stake, the Lord will bless him and he has some awesome counselors - men I look up to even though I haven't known them very long or well. He'll also be there as they build a new stake center and new temple in Payson. Exciting stuff.