tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32898448055063544942024-03-13T00:13:01.558-07:00The Hill Family AdventuresMeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3289844805506354494.post-2146073509019144932017-04-05T14:57:00.001-07:002017-04-05T14:57:23.318-07:00Emma's Birth StoryWell, we have been a family of 4 for about 2 1/2 months now and I figured it would be good for me to write down how Emma came into the world.<br />
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Like with Rylee, we have to go back a little way to get the whole picture. It was the last month of my pregnancy and I was going into the Drs for my weekly checkup. It was there that we learned that Emma was breech. I was sent home and told to do some rocking back and forth on my hands and knees to see if we could get Emma to turn around. So I did those things.<br />
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Fast forward a week and were back at the DRs office. We found out that rocking on my hands and knees didn't work. Emma was still breech. So our options were to do a procedure and turn her or to wait until I was 39 weeks and do a c-section. Since I was so terrified of the thought of a c-section, and Dr Winn was confident that we could get her to turn, we decided to try to turn her. So on Thursday that week Ethan and I went to the hospital. I got hooked up with an IV and then they walked me back to the OR where they gave me an epidural. All of this had me a little nervous, including getting the epidural, so I was fighting tears, and to top it off they didn't let Ethan in the OR until after they got me all hooked up to the epidural. Thankfully my nurses were so nice and sweet, that it helped calm me down a little. They finally let Ethan in, and Dr Winn and another OB started to do the turn, or version. I couldn't feel pain because of the epidural, but man could I feel the pressure. I sure wouldn't want to do that with out an epidural. The Drs got her turned and after they were sure that she would tolerate the turn and that I didn't go into labor, they let me go back to my room and wait until the epidural wore off. After which I was sent home.<br />
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Now fast forward to the next Monday night. The next day I had my next check up, and I was laying in bed and feeling Emma move around and the whole time I kept feeling a knob up in my ribs and diaphragm. I was really worried that I was feeling her head. But I kept trying to tell myself that it was her bum and that I couldn't tell what was what since I'm not a Dr. So the next day I went to the DRs and was sure that she was still in the right position. Well, after a quick check and an ultrasound, we found out that she was indeed breech again. We decided to try a version again the next week and then induce right away so that I would start contracting and keep her in the right position. As I left the office I broke down and started bawling. I called Ethan and he reminded me that she was healthy and that was all that mattered.<br />
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So, a week from then found us back in the hospital ready for another version and an induction. Since I had to be induced with Rylee and had already had one version, this time found me much less nervous. After I was back in the OR hooked up to everything again, the Drs came in did the turn and everything was great. We had to wait for about 15 minutes in there to make sure that Emma would tolerate the turn and that she wouldn't turn right back around until the pitocin was started. The whole time Dr Winn had her hand on my stomach holding Emma's head down. The nurse who was checking Emma's heart beat asked Dr Winn if Emma was fighting her, DR. Winn responded with "a little". So, that just shows how much Emma didn't want to be upside down. They took us back to our room where I spent the next 8 hours in the bed in labor, since I had to wait for the epidural to wear off before I could get up. About 6 hours in, I was at a 7 and was beginning to feel a little of the contractions. About an hour later I was feeling them a little more and asked the nurse about getting more epidural. She sent in the anesthesiologist to talk to me. After chatting with him and finding out that he could give me more up to a 9, we decided to wait since I was just getting feeling back in my legs and I really didn't want to go another 8+ hours of no feeling. This was about 5pm and I got the epidural at 7:30 that morning. Back up one hour and the nurses had to start helping me change positions cause Emma wasn't really liking the contractions. About an hour and a half later, they were changing my position almost every contraction. Emma's little heart rate would go down with each contraction and took a little bit for it to come up to normal. So for about a half an hour of being turned every minute, Dr Winn came in to watch a contraction. After a few contractions, she told the nurses to stop the pitocine. Which they did. And then they gave me a shot to stop the contractions that I was having with out the pitocine. I was so confused as to why they were trying to stop my contractions. I mean, wasn't having contractions a good thing that would get Emma out of me? Well turns out that Dr Winn decided it would be best for Emma if we did a c-section since she really wasn't tolerating the contractions anymore. After she left the room to get the OR team ready to go, I broke down. I was so scared. This was the very thing that I was trying to avoid. This was why we did the version twice. I was scared of the thought of being cut open and that I would have to wait until I was back in my room to hold Emma. This last concern I actually voiced in between my tears to one of the nurses. She asked me if I had heard of a "gentle C- section". I said no, and then she informed me that as long as everything went well and that the baby was fine, I'd be able to hold her shortly after they had her out. This comforted me a little. So after getting me back into the OR, again, and given a LOT more epidural, a few short minutes later I was holding my sweet little girl. Emma was born at 6:27pm weighing 6lbs 12oz and was 20 inches tall.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2BN_zWEO7kIt_a5IyCkQg5xAvPPuDSj5vgjKlX5OiZIAFjpP2elLllOgmZs-WdKumbSUpP7RGPDK4eYKuZSm4vGGAN8PvHvCkiabroeEk6KldAEutIpQo9HxRRq33hCArpzk5JMr9EDYG/s1600/IMG_3812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2BN_zWEO7kIt_a5IyCkQg5xAvPPuDSj5vgjKlX5OiZIAFjpP2elLllOgmZs-WdKumbSUpP7RGPDK4eYKuZSm4vGGAN8PvHvCkiabroeEk6KldAEutIpQo9HxRRq33hCArpzk5JMr9EDYG/s320/IMG_3812.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
Ethan was able to cut the umbilical cord a little (after it was no longer attached to me). Which for some reason was another concern of mine, I just didn't want him to miss out on that. <br />
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After they got her checked out and decided that everything was ok, they brought her over to me and laid her on my chest. After getting to hold her for a few minutes, I began to feel like I was going to fall asleep and didn't think it was safe to continue to hold her. So one of the nurses took her and went back to our room where they weighed her and everything. After checking to make sure I was ok, Ethan went to be with our little girl. Once I was all stitched up and back to my room, I finally got to really hold Emma.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgkz2WJ_Mda3nfx-KlWl9QDSA6eQum885F67Fq54AgZGcnGm2abO26xXH5xCb5QH10Yqr3BdB32hxvQlMMfu6jK9w-51YWuXGwoKFqLiu1t28hsoR1AJoK0dpdvxLywziSmi1nbIQIotb/s1600/IMG_3857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgkz2WJ_Mda3nfx-KlWl9QDSA6eQum885F67Fq54AgZGcnGm2abO26xXH5xCb5QH10Yqr3BdB32hxvQlMMfu6jK9w-51YWuXGwoKFqLiu1t28hsoR1AJoK0dpdvxLywziSmi1nbIQIotb/s320/IMG_3857.jpg" width="240" /></a>It has taken me almost 3 months to write this down because every time I thought about how Emma came into the world, it made me mad, slightly depressed, and made me feel guilty. I felt like I had failed her. Like I should have done something more to have had her naturally. It has taken me almost 3 months to accept the fact that I did everything in my power to avoid a c-section. That I wasn't a failure, that it was ok that she came that way because she was healthy. Looking back, I think Heavenly Father knew that she couldn't come naturally. That for what ever reason, she needed to be born c-section. And maybe had she been tolerating the contractions, and we proceeded to natural birth, maybe something would have went really <span style="text-align: center;">wrong. I know for a fact that Heavenly Father was watching out for me the whole pregnancy and labor. Looking back I can see his hand in little ways comforting me, putting someone in my path to help me, me not knowing I was pregnant the whole first trimester. Heavenly Father knows me so well that he knew what I needed before I did. I am so grateful for him and all that he has blessed me with. </span><br />
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We are now, almost, 3 months into being a family of 4. Emma is talking, smiling, and has just started to eat her fists. She wake up normally only 2 times at night and it really super cute. Rylee adores her so much, is such a big help with Emma, and has started to be able to fall asleep without one of us laying next to her. We so love both of our girls and don't know how we lived with out them. I am so grateful to be a girl mom!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6WwhfQ5pxo_7LkyE8pyNLM_BnUY57tvE60Iqr9gqGe9G2K2M_c3VfH46QPKYmctq5FScds1i7N6lQ1gAiT32ooz920BKg6Vurd7mhNKuhiSJyjLC8akbpCu3tZ74MirDw3yHbu7_hTox/s1600/IMG_3941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6WwhfQ5pxo_7LkyE8pyNLM_BnUY57tvE60Iqr9gqGe9G2K2M_c3VfH46QPKYmctq5FScds1i7N6lQ1gAiT32ooz920BKg6Vurd7mhNKuhiSJyjLC8akbpCu3tZ74MirDw3yHbu7_hTox/s320/IMG_3941.jpg" width="240" /></a>Pictures: 1-Emma, before I got to hold her.<br />
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2- Rylee meeting her little sister<br />
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3-Rylee after her fist hair cut<br />
4- First picture as a family of 4 on Emma's blessing day<br />
<br />MeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3289844805506354494.post-64700445367851544362016-10-24T13:35:00.000-07:002016-10-24T13:35:08.803-07:00Busy lives!!It's been about a year since I last wrote a blog, and just felt like sitting down and jotting down my thoughts as Rylee takes a nap.<br />
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Our lives sure don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.<br />
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Ethan has been very busy at work at Gordon's Heating and Cooling. Which is a good things since we need money to keep food on the table. He's gone by about 7 in the morning and gets home around 5 at night, give or take a few minutes here and there. We are always glad when he gets home though. All throughout the day Rylee will say, "Daddy back home soon now." She loves to be able to have someone new to play with by the end of the day, and I enjoy a bit of a "break".<br />
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Rylee keeps me on my toes. She is growing and learning so much so quickly that I am having a hard time keeping up. Our latest adventure has been through potty training. And to much relief, it is going really well. We've only been at it for about a week, but we only have maybe 1 accident a day, she's woken up dry during nap time twice, she can tell me when she wants/needs to go potty, and is liking not wearing a diaper. We had originally planned on doing both day and night training, but after one night of waking up in the middle of the night to change her bed, and then waking her up at 6:30 to find out she was wet, and for who knows how long, we decided to just go with "Nighttime Panties" (Pull ups) and let it work its self out. For the one week we've been at it, I'm very pleased with her progress.<br />
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She is finally like nursery at church! After about 6 months of her crying at the end of sacrament meeting, begging to go home, and Ethan missing his classes to stay in there with her, she is looking forward to going! This is a huge relief to me since my new calling makes it a little harder for me to help her.<br />
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Yes I have a new calling. I was the primary music leader for about 3 years, or at least 3 programs, but am now the Primary President. Trust me, I was as shocked as you are. But I've been at it now for about 4ish months, and am beginning to feel like I have a grip on things. Or maybe I'm just kidding myself. The biggest thing for Primary is coming up next week and that is our Sacrament meeting presentation. All Saturday night I had dreams that our "dry run" went horrible, but thankfully those dreams didn't come true. Sunday, the kids said their parts and sang their songs so well that I was in tears by the end of it. They also sat so reverently during the whole thing. Heavenly Father must have heard my silent prayer for help.<br />
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The last thing that isn't helping our lives slow down any, is that in just about 3 months we will be adding another member to our family. Yes that's right, I am pregnant. As I was helping get Rylee to bed an hour and a half ago, it dawned on me that we are down to just 3 months. The reason this hit me so hard, is that I have only known that I'm pregnant for just about 3 months. This is turing out to be the "shortest" pregnancy ever. I am trying really hard not to complain, cause lets face it, many women are super sick for the first trimester and I had no idea I was pregnant. But now I'm feeling a little cheated cause I wont have had the whole 9 months to plan for this baby. I suppose I will just have to kick it in to gear to be ready for Baby Girl Hill #2. <br />
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Well I think I will just end it there since I should be having a 2 year old waking up anytime now. And so my resting will have to come to an end.MeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3289844805506354494.post-38444213139333881602015-11-15T21:31:00.001-08:002015-11-15T21:31:50.485-08:00Our Lives A Year LaterLate last night, after climbing back in bed from taking care of Rylee, I laid awake for almost 2 hours my mind just running. And I realized that it has been well over a year since I have posted a blog. I have started many, trust me. But, with a very active little girl, I haven't been able to finish one. So I thought I'd try again and see if I could actually finish this one. And I figured what better to write about than how my life has changed since having Rylee a year ago.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsqpwrd9hXeDQeq9e1sQm5ZdEI0Q8vmmzJ8DeZexBzbEGrKfzCUa8xb7O1c42tIBzPGsCafL9A2pigyxBUzxIDZ8alv0VJbyHjRiY_InG0E3nFc3u2PbiaH0-IUjOqCEdatEMl1726doH/s1600/IMG_1886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsqpwrd9hXeDQeq9e1sQm5ZdEI0Q8vmmzJ8DeZexBzbEGrKfzCUa8xb7O1c42tIBzPGsCafL9A2pigyxBUzxIDZ8alv0VJbyHjRiY_InG0E3nFc3u2PbiaH0-IUjOqCEdatEMl1726doH/s200/IMG_1886.jpg" width="150" /></a>Rylee is now 1 and is so active that I have a very hard time keeping up with her. She goes from one thing to the next so fast. I try very hard to keep a clean house. But, by the time I get one mess picked up Rylee has made about 20 more. There are some days that I just don't care, and after she goes to bed I then pick things up.<br />
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Speaking of bed. We have such a fun bedtime routine. For a long time I would let Rylee fall asleep on the couch or me, and then mover her to her own bed. But, recently we changed things up. Rylee was having a hard time sleeping through the night and would wake up and wouldn't fall back asleep until I was in her room where she could see me. That didn't fly so well with me cause I wasn't getting much sleep. So we decided to have her fall asleep in her bed. So now, around 8pm we start our routine. First we get all the toys and house picked up. Then we get Rylee in her PJs. Having the house picked up helps her realize that play time is over and helps her calm down. We then read our scriptures as a family. I know that Rylee doesn't understand what is being said and we only read a few verses. But, when she gets older, I want her to be able to look back and say that her parents tried to have scripture study. I know that it will also help her as she grows. After scripture we have family prayer. Rylee even folds her arms and says amen. (It's very cute!) At this point we generally will just sit around and talk or watch a show, while Rylee sits on my lap and drinks her milk. She sits here until she either begins to doze off or points to her room. I then will ask her if she's ready for bed. If she is, she climbs down off my lap takes out her binky (if she has one in) and goes and gives her dad a kiss. This is probably my favorite part of the night. It melts my heart to watch. We then go into her room where she gives me a hug and kiss as I put her in her bed. She points to her monitor wanting me to turn on her lullabies. And with in a few minutes she's asleep. It may seem like a long routine, but her sleep has improved so much since we have started doing all these things. She will, most of the time, sleep through the night and wakes up around 7am. I really can't complain about that.<br />
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Another cute thing she has started doing is chasing the dog. I'm not exactly sure if Bow likes it, but Rylee sure does. Just the other day I was sitting on the couch while Rylee chased after her, the whole time just laughing her head off. Every once and a while she'd come over to me and give me the biggest smile. She just loves her dog.<br />
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She climbs on EVERYTHING! I am so worried that one of these days she is going to fall off and get really hurt. I try so hard to keep her off of things. But more often then not, I will come out of a room or turn around and find her up on something. Just yesterday I looked up and found her on top of the dog's kennel. I have no idea how she got up there. I am just grateful that we have carpet most everywhere in our house.<br />
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Things really have changed from last year. A year ago Rylee would sleep most of the day. Now she sleeps for about an hour (or more) a day, and the rest just wants to play. We've gone from being able to go to the restroom and come back and Rylee be in the same spot, to Rylee coming into the restroom with me. We've gone from feedings every 3 hours, to eating and snacking like a big girl. Everything is just totally different.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLKKpYSXgC1ALT3EvBX8GtXt-kwieP5ZSEbrIVivcrIHKJRXNtKTt1xUKm2Q5CrHdm6aawimcz6WO9UvxA8QFctsY9T3vxE42Xvtnh-S-sXdUtda-UoYWyLB3Rflyw0tcw_KQ5gNcgsAF/s1600/IMG_1868.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLKKpYSXgC1ALT3EvBX8GtXt-kwieP5ZSEbrIVivcrIHKJRXNtKTt1xUKm2Q5CrHdm6aawimcz6WO9UvxA8QFctsY9T3vxE42Xvtnh-S-sXdUtda-UoYWyLB3Rflyw0tcw_KQ5gNcgsAF/s200/IMG_1868.jpg" width="150" /></a>Rylee truly is my biggest blessing. Don't get me wrong, there are days I call Ethan and tell him that I need a break. But for the most part I find myself saying, on a daily basis, that I have the best job in the world. I love taking care of my little girl. I love the fact that she wants me more than anyone else. She puts a smile on my face everyday with some new thing she has learned to do. It amazes me how quickly she learns. A year ago, the thought of being where we are now seemed like an eternity anyway. Time really does fly when you are having this much fun.<br />
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MeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3289844805506354494.post-66850329857997862282014-11-24T13:50:00.000-08:002014-11-24T13:50:14.072-08:00Our New LivesEveryone says that having a baby changes your life. I always believed that what they said was true, but I never knew how much it changed your life. There really is a big difference in life before Rylee to life now.<br />
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It was so much easier to make a quick trip to the store, now I feed Rylee right before we leave in hopes that she will be happy. A weekend trip to the cabin took a lot less stuff. Now our car is so packed that the back is 100% full, I ride in the back with Rylee (mainly because its more comfortable since her car seat pushes the font seat all the way up) while Bow gets a very comfy shotgun. I have learned that getting a full nights sleep is almost impossible. Mine and Ethan's "date nights" consist of eating dinner at home and watching a movie. (Yes I know we could get a baby sitter, but I'm just not ready for that.) I have learned to take a very quick shower. Before going outside I always check the weather to make sure I have the appropriate clothing on Rylee and extras for just in case. I work like crazy while she sleeps so I can get the things done I need to. I no longer know when I will be able to eat breakfast or lunch. I am always doing laundry. And I'm sure I could just keep going on.<br />
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But even though so much has changed, I wouldn't have it any other way. I am so grateful that Rylee is in my life and that I have the opportunity to stay home with her and take care of her. I love that I get to see all the cute things she does and that I'll get to see her firsts.<br />
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Yes my life has changed and a lot of people wouldn't hate what they have to "give up" for a baby. But Even though I "gave up" things, like sleep, I wouldn't change a thing.<br />
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Pictures from Rylee's Blessing day. Her dress was made by her Great-Grandma Sharp out left over material from my moms wedding dress and both of my sisters and I were all blessed it in.<br />
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MeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3289844805506354494.post-32263047697669758212014-10-08T19:26:00.000-07:002014-10-08T19:26:39.850-07:00The Story of RyleeWell it has been almost a month since Rylee has joined our family, so I figured that it was time to share her birth story.<br />
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We really need to start on Monday September 8th at my doctors appointment. I was heading into this appointment trying not to get my hopes up but really hoping that Dr. Winn would say we can induce on Thursday which was when I would hit 39 weeks. I was so ready to not be pregnant any more. I couldn't sleep well, every night around 2 or 3am I would wake up wide awake and lay there for 2-3 hours. I had heart burn like crazy, my back hurt, my legs hurt, and so on. I could really go on about all that hurt but I wont. Needless to say I was done. I think Ethan was ready for me to be done too, he wont admit it but I'm sure he was tired of getting calls during the day with me crying about one dumb thing or another. Anyway, I go into my appointment and the nurse checks my blood pressure, then waits for a few minutes and checks it again. She then asks if I had a headache or if I was seeing spots in my vision, which I said no to both. My blood pressure was in the 140's/ high 80's. (I can't remember exactly what it was.) She leaves and Dr. Winn comes in and checks to see if I had dilated any more. Which I hadn't and was still at a 1.5, where I had been for the past 3 weeks. This just really dashed my hopes. After she was finished she informs me that my blood pressure was too high for her comfort and that she wanted me to go get some blood work done and then go to the Birth Center to be monitored. I guess she was worried about me having pre-ecalmpsia. After getting blood work done and being monitored for about an hour the nurse at the birth center tells me that Dr. Winn had called and the she was putting me on bed rest due to my BP. Another thing that I was not happy about. I left the hospital with instructions to lay on my left side or in a recliner with my feet up and that I was only to be up to eat and use the restroom and that I was to return to the hospital for my blood work and another non stress test on wednesday.<br />
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Thankfully I have loving family and friends who offered to bring us dinner so Ethan wouldn't have to worry about feeding us after working all day.<br />
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Jumping to Wednesday. As I went to the hospital I was really hoping that my blood pressure had come down and that I would be let off bed rest. I normally don't mind relaxing and not doing anything, but for some reason being told I couldn't do anything really made me hate laying around. I got my blood work done and was hooked back up to monitors for another hour. After the hour was up the nurse came in and states in a matter of factway, "You're going to be induced at midnight tonight." My heart skipped a beat as I thought "WHAT?!" It was what I was wanting but figured it wouldn't happen. I was in shock. She gave me the instructions I would need for the rest of the day and sent me on my way. I ran down to where Ethan was working and told him that he wouldn't be at work the next day, we were both very excited and in a state of shock that we would become parents very shortly.<br />
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The rest of that day seemed to drag on. After taking Bow to my parents that night, we came home and got ready to go to bed, well more like take a nap. As we were getting ready to go to sleep, I began to become more and more nervous about what was about to happen. Thankfully I have a loving husband who holds the priesthood, and was willing to give me a blessing.<br />
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12AM- We get to the hospital and get all checked in. After they got us signed in Ethan wheeled me down to the Birth Center, cause apparently if you have a high BP they don't want you walking too much. I get changed into the beautiful gown that they offer you and get settled into the bed. The nurses came in to get me all hooked up and ready to start the induction. While one was asking me questions about my health history and pregnancy the other was getting my IV started. Do you know where the worst spot to get an IV is? If you don't know, its in your wrist. Which is exactly where mine had to be placed. It felt as though she was digging into my bone, and to top it off I felt as though I could no longer move my wrist. Anyway, after they finished that they gave me something to help get me to dilate, like I said before I was only at a 1.5. After which she came in to check on me every few hours to see how I was doing and if I was progressing. I tried to get some sleep, but since I had so much running through my mind I couldn't sleep. I even turned on a baseball game just so I had something to listen to as I tried to fall asleep, which means I was desperately trying to sleep.<br />
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Around 8 am Dr. Winn came in and broke my water. That was quite the experience. I will never again have to wonder if my water has broken, cause there is not mistaking it.<br />
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A few hours later I was only at around a 3 (I think), so they started me on pitocin. That lovely medicine to help get me to have contractions, and boy did I start having contractions. It wasn't too unbearable to begin with, then they slowly got more intense.<br />
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I can't give times for the rest of the day because it was to much of a blur.<br />
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Early afternoon contractions began to be very uncomfortable. To the point that I couldn't talk or walk while having one. I would just hold on to Ethan until one passed. When the nurse came in to check me I was at a 5 or 6. She informed me that if I wanted an epidural, now would be the time to get one. I had went in thinking that I wanted to try to give birth with out an epidural, not because I wanted to show how tough I was, but because I was scared to death to have a needle put into my spine. After Ethan reassured me that I would be ok, I decided to get one. Did you know that it is really hard to hold still during a contraction? Well it is, and that's what I had to do while the anesthesiologist worked on getting the epidural started. Which felt like it took forever. Poor Ethan's hands must have been killing him because of how hard I was squeezing them. When he was finished (finally) I quickly began to feel my lower half go numb which is such a weird feeling. I also felt so helpless.<br />
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Shortly after having the epidural started we realized that my IV was no longer working. My arm had gotten so swollen that it had stopped working some how. So, about 4 people were in the room, not including Ethan and I , working on getting another IV started. I was really hoping that I would get it in the back of the hand or in the crook of my arm. In fact one nurse poked me in the crook of my arm to see if it would work. Unfortunately, the only place that would work was in the other wrist. Yay me.<br />
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Things seemed to be going well after that. Until they weren't. Because of my epidural, my BP came down to where it normally is. Which I would normally like. However, Rylee did not like that my BP was lower. Because of this her heart rate dropped which was a concern. It really bothered me when I could hear the monitor of her heart beat slow down. Thankfully I had a great group of nurses that were monitoring me very closely. The nurses began to flip me from one position to the next in hopes that Rylee would like one spot and her heart rate would go back up. Which it did. So for the next few hours, whenever her heart rate would drop the nurses would come in and flip me to another position. I have never been tossed around so much in my life.<br />
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Because Rylee's heart rate had dropped they had to back me off of and finally stop the pitocin which really slowed my progress down. After a while of being off of it they slowly started me back on it, while watching Rylee's heart. I was finally at an 8 when Dr. Winn came in and the nurses adjusted me one more time in hopes that Rylee would tolerate it. She seemed to like the position I was in for the time being. Dr. Winn said "We'll see who wins, the baby or me." I'm not 100% sure what she meant there but I'm assuming that since they wouldn't let me eat anything since lunch, that meant she was close to taking Rylee C-section. I looked at Ethan and just said "I really hope the baby wins". I did not want to have a C-section.<br />
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After a couple more hours in this position, which was a sitting up kind of position cause Rylee liked that, my back began to kill me. But because I was hooked up to so many monitors and those stupid IVs in my wrists I couldn't press the call button. So I tried to wake up Ethan. I kept getting louder and louder trying not to yell, but he wouldn't wake up. Thankfully the nurse came in and I told her I was uncomfortable. So she decided to check me and see where I was at. Thankfully I was ready to start pushing.<br />
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By the time she got all set up it was about 11:15PM when I actually started pushing. The epidural must have been slowly wearing off because I began to feel contractions which I had thought were Rylee's feet in my ribs. After pushing for about 45 minutes Dr. Winn said that she was almost there and to just push really hard one more time. I closed my eyes and pushed as hard as I could and all of a sudden I could feel something moving on my stomach. I opened my eyes to see my beautiful baby girl. It is amazing how instantly my love for this little girl grew. I would do anything to protect her. I looked up at Ethan through my tears and could tell that he felt the exact same way I was feeling.<br />
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Rylee Johanna Hill was born at 12:06AM 9-12-14 weighing 7 lbs 9 oz and was 20 inches long. After a very long 24 hours Ethan and I were parents. Almost a month later and we are even more in love with our little girl. I love to watch Ethan hold her and take care of her. I am so grateful for him and for the support that he is to me.MeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3289844805506354494.post-84864466039950390612014-08-23T15:11:00.000-07:002014-08-23T15:11:28.755-07:004 More Weeks!Well I am down to 4 weeks until my due date! Thank goodness cause I'm ready to meet our little girl. I am at 36 weeks and will now start seeing my doctor every week until the baby comes. I am hoping that since I will have something going on each week that it will help the time go by a bit faster. At my last doctors appointment I found out that our little girl is measuring about a week big so maybe she will come a week early(or sooner!!)! I would be more than ok with that! Other than that there really isn't much new in our lives. We have the baby's room all ready so we are ready for her to come! The closer and closer we get to the due date the more excited we get. I had a wonderful baby shower thrown by my sister Jill and friend (adopted sister) Mary. I had so many wonderful friends and family show up that I felt very loved and knew that my little girl was loved just as much. At the baby shower everyone joked about how after the baby comes I wont get any sleep. I don't know what they were talking about, cause I'm not getting much sleep now. Between heartburn and waking up to switch sides every hour I think I average 5-6 solid hours of sleep. However many times, including last night, it is much less than that. Oh well I suppose its just helping me get ready for sleepless nights. I really shouldn't complain, I have had a very healthy, easy pregnancy thus far and I know that I have been blessed. Anyhoo, here are some pictures of the baby's room!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">33 Weeks </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She already has 25+ cute headbands and lots of cute bows!</td></tr>
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MeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3289844805506354494.post-45712960535863813802014-07-23T07:58:00.000-07:002014-07-23T07:58:29.458-07:008 weeks and counting!!!In 8 short weeks, mine and Ethan's lives will forever be changed. We are so excited to welcome our little girl into the world! It is getting closer but I really just wish that time would speed up a lot! Anyway here is a break down of what we have been up to for the past couple of months.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZFdk3PQzuF2MJKW3Il_R5mGIPS0i0OFe1FRxuu7hwpLJHacLWLg6QkE0rRlyuB-tR3boAvEcff_vHIXmjXcflBdEmUprhtHz6CkrOIh3TsLHVWr8AE1OJHs3MA3piRDTY0IohsiDKQlQ/s1600/IMG_0099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZFdk3PQzuF2MJKW3Il_R5mGIPS0i0OFe1FRxuu7hwpLJHacLWLg6QkE0rRlyuB-tR3boAvEcff_vHIXmjXcflBdEmUprhtHz6CkrOIh3TsLHVWr8AE1OJHs3MA3piRDTY0IohsiDKQlQ/s1600/IMG_0099.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>In mid June I graduated from Blue Mountain Community College in the Dental Assisting program, and was able to graduate with honors. (YAY!) I was also able to pass the last couple of board test and now I am just waiting for my certificates to be mailed to me so that I am no longer thinking and stressing over what I still need to do. I really did enjoy my time in the program but was so ready to be done.<br />
Around the same time Ethan and I found out that we would be able to move into our own place! We are, and will always be, grateful to my parents for allowing us to live with them for almost a whole year. We are so lucky to have such wonderful parents. As grateful as we are to them, we were excited to get into our own place and start getting things ready for baby girl. The really cool thing is that we have been able to fix our place up (which is still in progress) and in fixing it up we have been able to choose paint colors, carpet, and what not. So really it has become our own little place.<br />
It took Bow a little while to get used to a new place and I still think that she feels more at home at mom and dad's. Oh well she will just have to adjust.<br />
For the 4th of July we were able to go up to Wallowa Lake with my family for a family reunion. We had so much fun. It was really fun to watch all the grandkids play together. Ethan and Mitch took the time on Saturday of that week to climb up to Ice Lake and then on to the Matterhorn. Ethan was able to get some amazing pictures from being up that high. He absolutely loved it. And they are now trying to find another ginormous mountain to climb.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54IbpayyCjNrPRV-qvy_QCRp1DFjNp3KPY5J8rV6q6EuSWz2hiaajBlngcliqijpNTB5ns1K_866-STtmGOODpDdJW8VHZl3SHrrnflrwgIxqkXE47E70yfSrF9-NIFYTdtSfHi3FO4G4/s1600/IMG_5736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54IbpayyCjNrPRV-qvy_QCRp1DFjNp3KPY5J8rV6q6EuSWz2hiaajBlngcliqijpNTB5ns1K_866-STtmGOODpDdJW8VHZl3SHrrnflrwgIxqkXE47E70yfSrF9-NIFYTdtSfHi3FO4G4/s1600/IMG_5736.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYfho5V3YlEUclzL77s60Ct3oQARYt62TXN0gsxJUg-w2N3mCSB0yRThSq_qfZNMVbPMBEzHp2XCtkkLVe65o3nmUyLPQrpVOA9L5pQLdSWzOnpXjiF-zZcUQQs8k00EPZ1oyeNTk6fN_a/s1600/IMG_5709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYfho5V3YlEUclzL77s60Ct3oQARYt62TXN0gsxJUg-w2N3mCSB0yRThSq_qfZNMVbPMBEzHp2XCtkkLVe65o3nmUyLPQrpVOA9L5pQLdSWzOnpXjiF-zZcUQQs8k00EPZ1oyeNTk6fN_a/s1600/IMG_5709.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
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I had the opportunity to go to girls camp again this year but on the ward level. Unfortunately I was unable to stay the whole week. The Wednesday of camp was so hot, and I was unable to cool off. I have never seen my feet and ankles get that big before. I was drinking water so much that I'm pretty sure that before noon I had over 100oz. It just got to be too much for me. So after about 4 hours of fighting with myself about whether or not I should stay, I decided that I need to be home. I called Ethan and told him what was going on and as soon as I got off the phone with him I instantly felt like that was what I need to do. I felt bad that I was leaving the girls in my ward, but it felt so good to get into an air conditioned car!<br />
And that pretty much brings us to now. Ethan has been super busy at work. With how hot it has been they have been getting a lot of calls from people saying that their AC isn't working for one reason or another. So in order to get their house cool Ethan gets to be really hot working outside. I am so proud that I have a husband whose not afraid to work no matter how hot it is. However, he is enjoying the cooler weather this week. And so am I! It has been so hot lately that we have had to have our swamp cooler on full blast all day long. Poor Ethan doesn't think that it needs to be as cool as I do, so I am always reminding him that our little girl is making sure I stay nice and warm. Normally I would be fine at 70 degrees but now I find it way too hot. I have noticed many times at night that Ethan will have the blankets pulled all the way up to his chin and I am laying on top of them trying to cool off. Thankfully he doesn't complain and lets me get as comfortable as I can.<br />
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Yesterday I was able to work on the baby's dresser I think it turned out super cute! Now I have a place to put all the cute clothes she has already gotten and focus on getting the rest of her room ready. I just really really want it to be september already!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Iiob0IrSsXz1QObzdowJlfWczeoCGFLH1QqxFTKIYB89jB-VZAy9dYEQ4ea7Cb9NS7ibOdtgbnvL6sVUSTMn_vVb6rpG9fq6iTmW57rsSVcTmawFiw01_2FAI2lpYBryKEdPWOXTqHCN/s1600/IMG_0117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Iiob0IrSsXz1QObzdowJlfWczeoCGFLH1QqxFTKIYB89jB-VZAy9dYEQ4ea7Cb9NS7ibOdtgbnvL6sVUSTMn_vVb6rpG9fq6iTmW57rsSVcTmawFiw01_2FAI2lpYBryKEdPWOXTqHCN/s1600/IMG_0117.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bow getting used to protecting her little girl. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Cousin Courtney and I at our other cousin's Wedding reception. <br />Courtney is about 4 weeks a head of me. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">24 Weeks </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">31 Weeks</td></tr>
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MeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3289844805506354494.post-19578668117744697442014-05-08T16:37:00.003-07:002014-05-08T16:37:19.595-07:00We Are Tickled Pink!!IT'S A GIRL!!! And we couldn't be more excited! Ethan and I both began to feel like we were going to have a girl about a week before we had our ultrasound. It was so fun to find out. Our little girl however was not being very cooperative. She was facing my back and therefor the ultrasound tech couldn't see everything that he needed to see to make sure that everything was developing well. He did inform us that what he could see looked great so that made me feel a bit better. So because we have an uncooperative child we will be going back in at the end of the month for another ultrasound. I'm really ok with it cause then I get to see the baby again, yay!. But she better be facing the right way so we can get a good look at her. We really couldn't see much of anything besides the fact that she's a girl, so I have no fun pictures of her to share with you :( Maybe in 3 more weeks. But until then here is a more updated picture of my baby bump :) And how we announced to the world that we will be having a daughter :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsx-w04PwlN6fP5wAJ9HcYteFsEFOIr1nu6otgT83mdyKsfabheKVfw4DxXlG0MF3ilgcZtYhNb1J5I7v1dzBjVbdPK38e_Ovv6pkDl8_ig1Yubei8jXFoMDDeXbaF5ex8js2YZg3f6on8/s1600/IMG_9161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsx-w04PwlN6fP5wAJ9HcYteFsEFOIr1nu6otgT83mdyKsfabheKVfw4DxXlG0MF3ilgcZtYhNb1J5I7v1dzBjVbdPK38e_Ovv6pkDl8_ig1Yubei8jXFoMDDeXbaF5ex8js2YZg3f6on8/s1600/IMG_9161.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bow wasn't sure what to think, she just wanted to chew her new toy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">19 Weeks.</td></tr>
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MeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3289844805506354494.post-31228950291890789762014-04-21T21:28:00.000-07:002014-04-21T21:28:29.943-07:00Our Growing FamilyWell our little family is growing! Ethan and I found out that we were expecting at the very beginning of January, and it was the best late Christmas present that we could ever ask for. With news that exciting we couldn't hold it in for very long. We told both of our parents first then waited a while and began to tell family members after the first doctors appointment. At 12 weeks along we had our first ultrasound. It was Amazing!! We got to see the baby's head, it's little arms and legs, and right as the ultrasound tech was taking one of the pictures we got to see it's little leg kick. We were both in awe as we got to see the little human being growing inside of me. I am still in a little shock that I'm pregnant. Besides feeling a little nauseous here and there and being incredibly tired, I have been feeling pretty good. I am now in my second trimester and am feeling much better and not nearly as tired, in fact I would say that I have most of my energy back. In about a month we will be able to find out if we are having a little boy or a little girl. We will love and be excited for whatever we are having (but we are both kinda hoping for a little boy). We feel so blessed that our family is growing and that we get to become parents. Yes we are also scared to death a little. But our excitement out weighs that fear. Little baby Hill will be joining us September 18, 2014. Well at least that's the due date we'll see when he really comes. :-)<br />
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12 weeks on left 14 weeks on right<br />
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MeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3289844805506354494.post-81513496927223985022013-10-18T09:04:00.000-07:002013-10-18T09:04:55.233-07:00Our Summer Happenings And a Little of Fall.Well I suppose that it's time for a new blog post now that our summer is beginning to come to an end. We sure have been very busy these past few months so there is a lot to share.<br />
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First of all Girls camp was so much fun! I really had a wonderful time and enjoyed getting to know the girls that were in my certification group. But man! No one told me it would be so exhausting! I had decided before I got to camp that I wanted to be the "fun young leader". Well I have to say that I don't think I have ever been that energetic and enthusiastic in my entire life! And I was worn out after the first night and I still had 3 days to go! But I some how survived it and had a great week. The only down side was that I missed Ethan something fierce!<br />
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The next big thing that happened this summer was that we had to move out of the house we were renting :( Our Landlords and us didn't want to see this happen but we both knew it would have to be done sooner or later. It was just sooner than we thought it would be. So on the first of July we started our frantic search for a new place to live. And let me tell you, it was no easy task. Anywhere decent was super expensive and anywhere that was in our price range was always in a sketchy part of town, or so it seemed. Thankfully our search ended after about a week. My wonderful parents offered to let us stay at there house. After talking it over, Ethan and I decided that this was the best place for us since we would be so busy with school and work that we would hardly be there anyway. We are so blessed to have such wonderful parents that are still willing to take care of us even though we are "adults".<br />
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We did have some fun after that though. We were able to go to Priest Lake Idaho, which is my favorite place to camp. We were able to spend about 5 days up there and really enjoyed the lake being able to do a few hikes and spend time with my family.<br />
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We went on a few other camping trips this summer. The most recent was at the North Fork of the John Day River. We had camped there last year and really liked it so we decided to go again. But this time Ethan wanted to do the whole North Fork of the John Day River hike, which is a 25 mile hike, in one day. He left the camp at 5:30am and Bow and I just slept. I packed up camp and went and met Ethan at the end of the trail. It only took him about 9 hours to do the whole hike. I was very impressed with him. I was very nervous for him to be doing the hike by himself. I told him that he wasn't allowed to stop at all. So he only stopped to rest for a total of 20 minutes out of the whole 9 hours. Bow and I were excited to have him back.<br />
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FALL TIME!<br />
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I wrote this post about 2 months ago and never posted it. So I figured I would fill in what has happened since then.<br />
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Ethan started working for Gordon's Heating and Cooling Inc. about a month ago. He is really liking it and is learning a lot. It was very weird the last month because I would go to work without him. I think I really took working with him for granted. But I suppose we knew it wouldn't last forever, and we are much luckier than most newlyweds. We were able to work with each other for a whole year so that meant we were together pretty much 24/7, which I really loved. I miss being with him all day, but it sure makes me happy when he gets home.<br />
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I am 3 weeks into my Dental Assisting program. I am really loving it but am feeling very overwhelmed. I have never studied so hard in my life nor have I made as many note cards as I have in the past 3 weeks. It is a very intense program but I'm loving it and have learned so much already. Only about 7 more weeks and this term will be over, it is crazy how fast it is going. But don't think I'm complaining because I'm not.<br />
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Poor little Bow has to be without her parents some of the day. We have a little out door kennel that we are borrowing from a friend that we are able to put her in so she doesn't have to be stuck in her little crate all day. And Ethan made her are great little dog house that she can snuggle in. We can tell that she really misses us but she seems to be doing good. I wish I could just take her to school with me, but for some reason the school doesn't allow that. Weird I know.<br />
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Well I suppose that's all that has been going on for the past few months. We are staying very busy, which is better than doing nothing all the time. We still love each other very and much and are very happy. We hope that everyone is enjoying this WONDERFUL! fall weather, I sure know that we are! Love to all!!MeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3289844805506354494.post-37742400645802871912013-06-30T15:55:00.000-07:002013-06-30T15:55:43.105-07:00Going, going, gone...This is how our summer has been feeling, and it has only just begun! We have been one busy family the past couple of weeks but we have really enjoyed all that we have done. So I figured it was about time to catch up on what we have been up to that.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSYfElfbTGVsPTXnzBKqttV-l2EoZ-QPvtsiVB3t7Uvh0cGykIo4ueGAy0iQemPtR_P9W_SGCzz-9dWHeNNTikzSPpKQOhhOsr-bj58MsBLtn3N-BgEeFZfYg1OhTweq1qLSBT9fKFAtt/s1600/IMG_5579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSYfElfbTGVsPTXnzBKqttV-l2EoZ-QPvtsiVB3t7Uvh0cGykIo4ueGAy0iQemPtR_P9W_SGCzz-9dWHeNNTikzSPpKQOhhOsr-bj58MsBLtn3N-BgEeFZfYg1OhTweq1qLSBT9fKFAtt/s200/IMG_5579.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally Made It!</td></tr>
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A couple of weeks ago on the 14th of June we went up to Wallowa Lake and camped for the night. We took Ethan's little sister Morgan with us. Ethan had decided he wanted to try and hike up to Ice Lake in a day so we figured that I would need someone to keep me company. We went up on Friday afternoon and just enjoyed the evening. The camp ground was packed with people but it was still very nice. We didn't do tons on Friday night, mainly just relaxed. However, at 5:30 am I drove Ethan and Bow to the trail head so that they could start the hike. While they were gone Morgan and I just hung out. We first made breakfast and picked up camp. Then we decided to go look around at the tourist shops that are up there. We then played a round of mini golf. It was a very cute golf course and was fun, however Morgan wiped the floor with me. I haven't figured out how but I'm sure she cheated or something :). After we were done playing we decided to just hang out by the lake. We relaxed until about 1 when we got a call from Ethan saying that he was back at the trail head. He hiked 18 miles in about 7.5 hours it was pretty darn fast. And man was he wiped out. And so was little Bow. We decided to head down towards Joseph and take a look at the shops there. Then we had a great lunch at R&R. We headed home after that. We hadn't even gone 2 miles out of Joseph before Bow was out. She was one tired little puppy. Ethan made it much longer than I expected him to before he fell asleep. As tired as we all were when we got home we really had a lot of fun.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice Lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mirror Lake</td></tr>
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The following week Ethan and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary! I can't believe it has been a year already! It went by so fast. But to celebrate we went up to the Cabin to spend the weekend. It was a little rainy all weekend but it was still very nice. We got up there on Thursday afternoon and just relaxed for a while then hiked up to Mirror Lake. We had done that hike about year or so before, but at that time it was still covered in snow which made the hike a bit more challenging for me. But this time it was nice and clear and much more enjoyable for me. It was amazing to see how different it looked not being covered in snow. It was over cast but when we got up to the lake it was still very pretty to see. Friday Ethan and Bow went back up that trail to do a little fishing. They didn't catch anything but Ethan still said he had fun and he got lots of bites. Later that day we went on another hike. (apparently we are a hiking family). It was on a the Ramona Falls hike. We had also done this hike last year when we were on our honeymoon, but it's such a pretty hike that we wanted to do it again. The only thing that wasn't as nice is that it was over cast and the year before had been beautiful and sunny. But we still enjoyed ourselves. When we got to the falls we had a little lunch that we packed and then headed back down. I always enjoy going down so much more than up ;). Saturday was our anniversary! And it was beautiful and sunny!! We spent the first part just relaxing. Then we headed down to Gresham which is about a 45 minute drive from the cabin. On the way down we go through a little town called Sandy. And this is where the fun began. To give a little background, I have been bugging Ethan for the past year about getting me a wedding band to go with my engagement ring since he didn't buy a bridal set. Which is just fine, I just really wanted a band to go with it. Well he had promised me that we would do some looking while we were in Gresham. Well as we were going through Sandy, Ethan asked if I wanted to go look at rings at Fred Meyer. So we did. I figured we were just looking and weren't actually going to buy anything. We spent about 5 minutes or so looking at and trying on different bands when I found one that I really liked. I told Ethan that I liked it, and I figured that we would just keep doing some shopping. Well Ethan surprised me by saying "Ok, lets buy it." I was just shocked! But very surprised and happy that he would want to buy me my wedding band. And he had one very happy wife! After that we just spent the rest of the day in Gresham and enjoyed the time together. It was a wonderful anniversary.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJDzdmnkK2iHN8qtHZyLzzozwwAg0Vx4tgvPL5NqPbyY22QbHLn66YCPt7C2JnxKtETLEKOPUIt_0Wg20bA5nysToWfzCIRXzkFiR2gX5i59xJ2xC-AaevohBnt_k6lmKY4jPCocwfq3N/s1600/IMG_0761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJDzdmnkK2iHN8qtHZyLzzozwwAg0Vx4tgvPL5NqPbyY22QbHLn66YCPt7C2JnxKtETLEKOPUIt_0Wg20bA5nysToWfzCIRXzkFiR2gX5i59xJ2xC-AaevohBnt_k6lmKY4jPCocwfq3N/s200/IMG_0761.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Engagement and Wedding band</td></tr>
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Well so far that has been our summer, but we have so much more going on this next month! Next week I will be heading up to girls camp, which has come way too soon! I'm not quite ready, yikes! But I will have to be though I guess. Anyway, I will try to keep up to date as our summer continues. We have a lot more fun things planned and we are looking forward to each one of them. Happy Summer!<br />
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<br />MeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3289844805506354494.post-64433086708479247402013-05-14T18:46:00.001-07:002013-05-14T18:46:15.476-07:00Very Exciting News!Well, It has been a while since I have last posted and there have been many exciting things going on around the Hill house. ..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0gRieoCwlOANJwKv8OUKbinPy-efsdu_o04_3pEqStSvQhqA7X2m99pqytmOC2qDNpIK6T-48R1uySy1N48s_EehpUpiD-GXD7DWZdHSpVFHHkldkPGjroYvrUapvSuU6whp4kRt7XI30/s1600/IMG_1556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0gRieoCwlOANJwKv8OUKbinPy-efsdu_o04_3pEqStSvQhqA7X2m99pqytmOC2qDNpIK6T-48R1uySy1N48s_EehpUpiD-GXD7DWZdHSpVFHHkldkPGjroYvrUapvSuU6whp4kRt7XI30/s200/IMG_1556.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
The first exciting thing that happened was that a couple weeks ago the <a href="http://www.gowallawallafarmersmarket.com/" target="_blank">Walla Walla Farmers Market </a>started up! For those of you who don't know, Ethan's parents own <a href="http://www.cookietreebakeryandcafe.com/" target="_blank">The Cookie Tree Bakery and Cafe in Walla Walla</a>. They have owned it for 23 years! Last year Doug recruited Ethan and I to help him get a both set up for the farmers market.We sold all sorts of goodies: Sandwiches, biscuits and gravy biscuit sandwiches, brownies, cookies, cinnamon rolls, scones, all sorts of pastries and the list goes on. It was lots of fun last year and we are helping again this year. The market started up on the 4th and we couldn't have asked for better weather. However it would have been nicer with out the crazy wind that kept blowing. It was a very busy day and we seemed to sell quite a few things. The best part was that we got to spend time together and with the family. We will be doing the farmers market all summer until the end of October I believe. The booth will be there almost every Saturday whether or not Ethan and I are there.<br />
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The second exciting thing that happend was that I was accepted in to the <a href="https://www.bluecc.edu/departments_dental" target="_blank">Dental Assisting Program at BMCC</a>!! I couldn't be more excited! After a very long, well it seemed extremely long, wait, I finally got a call from BMCC to inform me that I had been accepted and would be getting my letter shortly. Well the letter came yesterday and I finally feel a sense of relief!! I didn't realize at first, but I was VERY stressed out. But now I feel like I can relax and enjoy my summer and get ready for this September when school starts. I will be busy with it through out the summer though as I get background checks and immunization records and such all together so that I can enter the program. I just can't begin to describe how excited I am!!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm65WopJJ1e1ps9hwuM9HPqVEdsk_5yvAilPmGWK-SrAA5N-wvYCd68c2CIFoU87I_1j9k2Ruw0MiYdlWoEadhJ9MhtNfNstqbpKx1lZ_vKhqmRZmJbrW9ZZFuFEs7iaj917qOUyzRs6IR/s1600/IMG_0612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm65WopJJ1e1ps9hwuM9HPqVEdsk_5yvAilPmGWK-SrAA5N-wvYCd68c2CIFoU87I_1j9k2Ruw0MiYdlWoEadhJ9MhtNfNstqbpKx1lZ_vKhqmRZmJbrW9ZZFuFEs7iaj917qOUyzRs6IR/s200/IMG_0612.jpg" width="200" /></a>Well I suppose that is all of our exciting news. It has been very hot this last week in Pendleton. We feel as though we were roasting at work. So one way we choose to cool off was by taking Bow to McKay Park and letting her splash around in the creek. She wasn't so sure if she liked to to begin with, but once she realized that she was cooler in the water rather than out of the water she really had fun. Ethan is very excited to have a "water dog".<br />
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Well that's about it for this post. I'm sure that as our summer starts we will have much to tell about with all of the trips that we are wanting to go on! It will be a busy one! MeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3289844805506354494.post-40204445735308962322013-04-17T21:38:00.000-07:002013-05-14T15:57:06.747-07:00Busy Weekend!Well life at the Hill house this past weekend was very exciting and very busy. But it was very enjoyable.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXYrhR6JoCoCzwXAXV6Hk59eH6OfmxWi0O0K0F4BCMszYtQRsDD5Ziw9zeLYu1EQPG1dJofKe3BzJIRIuZw3KMmd9w1YJHroDdrkqYcMrvUo2E3AcXnMHBvDmFOTyrIscSo_7BEb_lSyk/s1600/image-6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXYrhR6JoCoCzwXAXV6Hk59eH6OfmxWi0O0K0F4BCMszYtQRsDD5Ziw9zeLYu1EQPG1dJofKe3BzJIRIuZw3KMmd9w1YJHroDdrkqYcMrvUo2E3AcXnMHBvDmFOTyrIscSo_7BEb_lSyk/s320/image-6.jpeg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a>This past Thursday my oldest sister, Jill, and I took a quick trip down to Utah to surprise our other sister, Laurie, for her graduation from LDS Business College. We started out by driving to Nampa Idaho where we slept, well more like napped for a few hours. My wonderful Aunt was so nice to let us crash at her house. We got in at around 1:30am, and 4 short hours later we were up and at em and on our way.<br />
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We got to Salt Lake City in plenty of time for graduation. Which was very nice so we didn't feel like we were rushing. We waited for mom and Laurie on Temple Square. When they showed up and Laurie finally saw us, She stopped dead in her tracks she was so surprised. It was a great feeling to be able to spend a big occasion with her. After graduation, we went and celebrated at <a href="http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/" target="_blank">The Cheesecake Factory</a>. I have never eaten there and let me tell you what, it was fantastic! After we all had eaten our main courses, Mom and I decided to share a piece of Red Velvet Cheesecake. When the waitress brought the piece to us, we were all amazed by the size! It was ginormous! And it tasted heavenly! Although, you could only eat a little bit. So the majority of it came back to the Hotel.<br />
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On Saturday, all 4 of us were able to spend the morning in the Salt Lake City Temple. It was the first time we have all been able to do an endowment session together. It was so nice to feel the spirit in the Lords House and to be there with my wonderful mother and sisters. It was a wonderful experience and what better Temple then the Temple that was built by the Pioneers. It was amazing to see all the craftsmanship and skills they had. It truly is a piece of art. That evening Jill and I went and saw the movie "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0453562/?ref_=sr_1" target="_blank">42</a>", which is about Jackie Robinson. It was such a good movie! All the actors did a fantastic job, and the best part was no "F" bomb! I think that is the first PG-13 movie that I have seen in a while that didn't feel the need to add it in.<br />
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Sunday morning we headed out for the long drive home. I was very glad to be out of the car and back home with Ethan. But I am very grateful to have been able to go and support my big sister.<br />
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While I was gone, Ethan spent part of the day on Saturday on a hike at Harris Park in Milton Freewater. He said that he really enjoyed it and we plan to do it again together soon. Bow really enjoyed herself on the hike. She is very much so an outdoor dog.<br />
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Well, that's our weekend in a nutshell. We enjoyed ourselves but are very glad to be back home together.<br />
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For those who are interested, here is a link to the Salt Lake <a href="http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/scaled-model-provides-salt-lake-temple-open-house-experience" target="_blank">Temple</a> to see how amazing it is!<br />
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<br />MeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3289844805506354494.post-79913021395719306902013-04-03T22:01:00.006-07:002013-04-03T22:01:51.377-07:00Our New Life<br />
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Well I decided that I wanted to start a blog so here it is. I'm mainly doing this as more of a journal for myself, but also for family and friends who we don't get to see much. I figured it would be a great way for them to see what we have been up to. I don't know how often I will post, but hopefully I'll be good about keeping it up to date. So to start off I'll give a review of the past (almost) 10 months.<br />
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Right before Ethan and I got married we were offered a place to live from a close family friend. So after we got married we moved in. We are currently in Pendleton and are loving our cute little house. What we really like is being so close to both of our families, and we get to see them a lot. During the summer we helped Ethan's dad with the farmers market in Walla Walla on weekends. It was fun to hang out with him so much and to help the family business. Ethan and I are both working for my brother-in-law here in town and are grateful for our jobs.<br />
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This past September Ethan started school at Blue Mountain Community College here in Pendleton. He is currently working towards his 2 year transfer degree. While Ethan was going to school I was working full time and enjoying being able to come home and be a "house wife".<br />
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In November we bought our first car! It's a Subaru Outback and we love it! It's not a brand new car but it's new to us and that's all we care about. It was fun being able to go and pick it out and then drive it home and not feel like it was going to fall apart, since that was all I was used to in the car I had in High School. It was also a lot of fun to take it up to the Mountains and find a Christmas tree to bring home.<br />
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We really enjoyed our first Christmas together. And since our families are so close together we were able to hit up both parties. Our big Christmas present for each other was a new puppy! We bought a Beagle from a breeder in Idaho and one of my friends was so nice to bring her home to us. We named her Bow and have been loving having her around. It has made things much more fun.<br />
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When January started up I started up at BMCC. I was able to finish my pre requisites for the Dental Assisting program this past term. I really hope that I will be in the program this coming fall, fingers crossed!<br />
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We are both being kept busy with Church callings. Ethan is in the Elders Quorum presidency and is also teaching the mission prep class for our side of the stake. He has been enjoying both very much. I have been working in the primary. Last year I was teaching the 10 year olds and now I'm with the 11 turning 12's. It's been a lot of fun to prepare their lessons and then to talk with them about what we are learning every week. I have also been asked to go to girls camp this summer. At first I was a little nervous about going since I didn't exactly enjoy it when I was a young woman. But now I can't wait to go! I'm so looking forward to meeting the girls and getting to know the sisters in the stake.<br />
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I suppose that is where we are now. We are still madly in love and are enjoying each new day as a married couple. It's crazy to believe that we have been married for almost 10 months. The time sure has flown. But I love being married to my best friend, I am so glad that we are together again after Ethan's long (at least long to me) mission. It was so worth the wait. Especially when we were sealed for time and all eternity. I couldn't think of a better way to spend forever than with my best friend. We have been truly blessed in our marriage. We can see the Lords hand at work everyday. We are so grateful for the gospel and for our Heavenly Fathers love.<br />
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Well that pretty much sums up our lives thus far. Hopefully more great things will continue to happen and I'll have something exiting to post about! Love to all!!MeggieJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150268127173149131noreply@blogger.com0