Progession

Funny story. So Donny went up to Utah for his sister's sealing. Sadly I couldn't go because I had one more day of school and then girls camp on Monday(stories to come). This was our first time apart since we have been married and it was not my favorite thing to say the least. Well after a long 6 days we met up in Kansas City. All my brothers and sisters planned a trip out to see my parents (pics and stories to come too). So Donny met up with my siblings in Utah and flew out from there and I flew out from Arizona. They asked him how I was looking since they haven't seen me since February. He told them I was HUGE! When they say me they said, she's not huge (thinking I was gaining weight all around) he did his best to did himself out of the hole he had dug by saying my belly was what was huge. Well here are the pictures of progression to hugeness.

Here is 26 weeks.

Progression to 28 weeks.

31 weeks and beautiful scenery to enjoy, if you can see around me.

35 weeks

And to date, 37 weeks

We are alive!

Blogging for me is like writing in my journal. It weighs on my mind like a ton of bricks and I know it is really important to do but I realize how far behind I am and it just exhausts me to think about trying to catch up...until someone calls you out on being a slacker.

We have had some pretty exciting last few months. Donny finished up his second year of law school, only one more year to go YEA!!! We have been searching for an internship for him this summer and it is just not the year. After a lot of prayer and we had something just fall in to our laps. One of Donny's buddies works for a really prestigious law firm in Scottsdale. They were sent over a lot of information pertaining to one case and just didn't have the time to go through it all. So Donny and one of his friends from school were hired on as clerks to go through all the information and see if they could find anything relative to the case. Well they have continued to help out with that case and others. It couldn't have been more perfect if we designed all the factors our selves. Plus they have frequent days where ice cream is given, this is really why Donny loves it. He is like a little kid when it comes to ice cream!

I stayed busy finishing up finals with the kids at Highland High School. Poor things I hate finals and to have to give them is almost worse. I have really grown to love these kids. Every year I teach I love it more and more. This year I learned a lot from my students, sometimes things I didn't ever want to know. I know a lot of people think that the public school system is going to pot and in some ways I agree but this is why I feel so passionate about teaching. I feel if I can make a difference even in just one kid it is worth it. I love the energy and life I get to be around. I love the stories they tell me. I love to see them struggle as they learn. I LOVE to see them help each other out, not just in school work but in the works of life. One of my classes was a very special class, they often referred to our class as a family. It was here that we not only discussed math, but we discussed the things of life. We often spoke about how to make their school better, about what we believed in, and about our struggles in life. I LOVE TEACHING. I thought that due to my placement on the totem pole and the school budget deficit that I wouldn't be hired back on for next year. So when my principal called me in to his office and offered me a position next year I was a little shocked. I asked him if I could go home and discuss things with my husband and get back to him the next day. As I waited for Donny to get home that day and as I attempted to pray it was like I already knew the answer. I knew that I had been blessed with 3 amazing years of being a teacher and being referred to as Mrs. Permann, P-Dawg, Permannio, Perwoman, Pam, Mrs Burnett, Mrs. B, Miss BP, and others that I didn't want to hear, but it was time to take the title as mom. As Donny and I tried to figure in our minds the right decision financially it didn't seem to quite add up but that is what faith is all about. I told my principal the next day my decision but even harder was to tell my students that I would be back next year. As I look back on how my life has unfolded I never thought I would have taught school for 3 years, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Both of us are Growing

We went in for our last ultra-sound to make sure the heart chambers were all good and they also "tried" to solidify the gender of the baby. Well we have a very proper and private little girl. She crossed her legs to tight and told us that that was private. We had a good laugh at that.
She did give us a thumbs up!
She is the cutest thing EVER!

And here I am at 23 weeks, growing strong and loving every minute of it! During conference she was moving around like crazy! This was the first time that Donny got to feel her and the first time I was positive that I was feeling her move. She hasn't stopped moving since then. It is so fun to feel her move inside and think she is right there. She gave a good strong kick one day and since then Donny has been hoping for a soccer player. It is so exciting, we are loving every minute of this crazy life. Donny has two weeks of school left and then finals. I have just shy of 2 months left of school and we don't see any breaks till then. Life is so busy and so great!

Easter Fun!

The Saturday night before Easter we decided to dye Easter eggs. Donny hadn't done this for a while...since he was 12.
Sorry, I can't figure how to get the blasted picture to turn so just turn you head to the right to view our creations. The one in the back that reads, "pick me" kind of creeped me out. Every time I opened the fridge and saw it there crying out to be picked.

In my family we have a tradition of hiding a 'golden egg.' No it isn't really golden it is just the special egg that has a special prize attached to it. As I grew up my competitive nature was instilled at a very young age. As an outcome I found the golden egg about 90% of the time. Now my parents didn't treat the hiding of the golden egg lightly, they took it as serious as my brothers, sisters and I did in finding it. They hid the egg in places like the bottom of the fish tank and inside the piano. The prize wasn't necessarily the incentive to find the egg, it was the pride in saying you found the golden egg. I just found out that some of my siblings (Angie and Rock) still carry a grudge towards my success as the recipient of the golden egg through out the years.

So Donny and I decided to hide eggs for each other along with a golden egg and the person that found their the fastest was the winner. So one person was locked in the bathroom while the other person hid the eggs. Then the person that was in the bathroom would come out and find the eggs. Then the roles would be switched. He hid the eggs first meanwhile I was in the bathroom imagining every possible place he could hide an egg, again my competitive nature coming out. Well the force was strong with me this year. I found the golden egg in 1 minute flat! I think all the pressure put on Donny to find his golden egg in under a minute was too much. Plus I had a really good spot to hide his golden egg. He hid my golden egg in the bowl of our tall floor lamp, a common hiding place from my childhood. I hid his under the hood of the oven. You know where the vent is that covers the fan? Well I slid that over and placed the egg on that, it was still visible but you had to stick your head under the hood to see it. Well it took him a few (8) minutes past my one to find his egg. I reassured him that with time he would get better and to not give up! We had a great Easter together.

Is this Arizona?

This year has been such a wet year for Arizona, we have had a TON of rain. As an outcome the dessert is BEAUTIFUL! We went for a hike a few weeks back with Tom, Ellie, and Lizzy to enjoy the scenery. There was a blanket of green with beautiful wild flowers everywhere.

This is my favorite cactus. They look so fuzzy, that is why they are called the teddy-bear cholla. But don't be deceived, they are still part of the cactus family and are poky like all the others, I had Donny check to make sure.

My favorite part of this picture is the bathing beauty to the right.

There was a little slide in the rocks that went in to the spring. The water was still pretty cold but it looked so fun.

Adorable "Unique" little girl!

So we went in for our second ultrasound to check to make sure the baby is doing well and also to find out the sex of the baby. I was 19.5 weeks and usually they do it at 20 weeks so the technician said she was 85% positive it was a girl. We had a pretty good shot but then again sometimes I wasn't quite sure what we were looking at. For example Donny and I thought we were looking at the head, nope it was her bladder. We got to see her move around in 3D mode and it was the most amazing thing. She was pretty camera shy and had her little fist up by her face for a lot of the time. At one point she rubbed her eye like she was sleepy. So CUTE! It was amazing to see her move around and have the reassurance that she was alive and moving. The reality of parenthood really set in for me at this point. She was moving all around and all I wanted was for this little beauty to be safe and healthy.

On a more up close and personal point. I discovered something last night as I was looking at the ultrasound pictures. We got a cute shot of her little feet. Well she has this little toe that is sticking out to the side all funny like. Now is where the personal side comes in. I have toes that are...well let's call them "unique." One time I was making a poster at a summer camp and we stepped in paint and then walked across the poster. Someone explained, "who only has four toes!" I looked down at my own feet to make sure that my roommate hadn't lost it in the middle of the night and cut off one of my toes. But to my relief all five were there. Well something I discovered soon there after was that all though I had all five of my toes, only four of them touch the ground. I really think I should be given a special handicapped parking pass for this "unique" trait. So our little girl might be bestowed with this "unique" trait as well, only time will tell.

By the way, you are not allowed to click on the picture of my feet to enlarge it!

It is a...

If our baby was born in Ireland it would be called a baineann!

Much over DUE update

Ok so some (Robinson) think I have slacked off from blogging so I have repented...well I am in the process of that repentance. It feels like ever since the holidays began we have been going like crazy. We had a great Christmas break. We feel so blessed that circumstances allowed us to spend so much time with family and friends. Donny finished up his finals on Tuesday the 18th of December. We are half way through!!! He studies so hard and is such a devoted student so this break was much deserved for him. I still had two days three days of school left so he was busy packing things up and taking our Christmas decorations down. I am always so sad to take the decorations down, this time since it was before Christmas it was ten times worse.

We returned home and resumed our fabulous and crazy lives. I remember one time when I was still living at home as a teenager thinking my life was so busy and thinking that as one progressed in age their lives got less busy...ha! My dad even warned me, but I wasn't a believer then. We do love all that we get to do. I was just called to be the ward camp director! I have always wanted to go back to YW's camp, as the director wasn't always in my plans but I'll take it. I get to work with some amazing women that are over the ward's YW. I have just under three months to get things together and well pray for me;) I absolutely love the YW of this ward! They are such great girls and just love each other. I am excited to spend that time with them at camp and play a few pranks on them as well. I am my father's daughter.

My parents were called to serve a mission in Adam-ondi-Ahman. So the entire family went home for one last crazy party. It was the first time in a long time that all nine kids were together. We have grown a bit since then so the house was full of excitement. Donny and I were so blessed to get to go home and be there from Thursday through Sunday. Some of the time we were home was spent going through all of the closets and storage. It was so fun to go through things with my brothers and sisters and remember when we wore that costume or made that hideous dress for 4H. As usual the little kids loved Donny and were always wanting to play with him as this picture shows.

It was a hard goodbye to make to my parents but I am so excited for them. Most people go on their missions and work harder than they ever had before. I don't know how one could work harder than they already to do. I think this is going to feel like a vacation for them:) They will be amazing at whatever they do!

Another fun adventure was having Kim come down to visit. We didn't get to see her for very long but it is always so fun to have family visit, hint hint. Tom, Ellie, little Lizzy, and the two of us met up with Kim and we hiked Squaw Peak, not the one in Utah. That's right Arizona has it's very own Squaw Peak, but I think Utah has other uses that was AZ uses theirs for;) It is so fun to have the beautiful weather at this time of year, it feels like summer.

At last but not least WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!! We are so excited and a little nervous to soon be parents. I am in my 19th week and loving pregnancy! Over the Christmas break was a different story. My mom was quick to pick up signs of me being tired or not feeling like eating a certain food and would say, "is it because your pregnant." I guess your mom knows you best and it was hard to keep the secret from her for very long. My students have been the funniest with it all. It's kind of a tricky thing to ask a girl if she is pregnant or not and they have been trying to find the "appropriate" way to ask me. I would hear them whispering things between each other about it. They would say things like, Miss B you don't have any kids do you, or how many kids do you want. Finally, when it was pretty apparent that I was pregnant, or just gain weight in a very concentrated area, one girl mustered up the courage to ask me the question. Still I will have to admit it was pretty gutsy. In front of all the class she said, "so there's a rumor going around that you're pregnant." I just smiled and said, "huh." They were all sitting on the edges of their seats (if only they listened that well when I was teaching them). I told them that I was and they all cheered. Then the word spread like wild fire, it is so fun to enjoy it with them. This second trimester is AWESOME! Besides my clothes fitting snug things are great. Donny is so great! He is so good to do all that he has to do and then help me when I need it. We are as happy as can be!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Turkey Day

We got to go up to the cold land for Thanksgiving and we learned that we have turned in to Arizona pansies...ok I have always been a pansy when it comes to the cold but I just forgot how cold Idaho and Utah can get. We drove up on Tuesday after I got out of school. Donny was so good to drive the entire way. I don't know what it is with guys and driving, they just don't ever seem to get tired. I am like a little kid, I get in a car and it just rocks me to sleep. We made it to Spanish Fork at about 12:30 and crashed at my brother's home, that is after we ate all their food, tried on all their clothes, and went through all their personal belongings. Just kidding ;) We woke up and I felt like a little kids on Christmas morning. I looked out to see the beautiful snow capped mountains, frost on everything, and husband to scrape it off the windshield. We stopped by and got to see Donny's parents. It was so good to visit with them. Then we went on our way to Idaho. It was the on year so the house was full when we got there. All but Paul and family were able to fun and it was nothing short of crazy fun. We began the Thanksgiving festivities with a turkey bowl. Donny and I are still sore, it is pathetic. Donny showed everyone his mad skills, they were all amazed by his speed, I just smiled and thought, that's my husband ;)

Next the feeding began. I don't know what we are going to do in two years, we packed everyone in and it was a tight squeeze. It was so fun to have everyone together.

Then next day we went and took family pictures. I think we set a new record for the Permann family. We were in and out in about 30 minutes!

Then as tradition goes we set out to get our Christmas trees. We hike up and down the hill sides trying to find the perfect tree. This is like the official kick off of Christmas. We did find and tree and squeezed it in to the back of our car and hauled it down to Arizona.

Finally the icing on the cake was when we got to go to the BYU vs Utah game. As always, this game was played to the end. This time in overtime...sudden death. But don't you worry the Cougs came out on top. We rushed the field and joined in the celebrations.

Sunday we went to church with Shaun in Provo and then set off for Arizona. This drive was not too bad. It was fun to listen to Christmas music, Harry Potter, and just talk. This drive has some beautiful sites, anyone is welcome to make it...I know of some great people you can stay with;) It was a great Thanksgiving with many adventures.