2016... Year In Review

It has been quite the year for Kurtis and me. As I sit and look back on 2016, I have a lot of smiles and a lot of tears.
In February, my grandma passed away unexpectedly. She had been in the hospital for a surgery, and was in recovery when all of a sudden, she collapsed while walking around the ward. Her heart gave out and she was gone after that. It was a hard time for me, but I'm glad that she's able to be with my Grandpa again.      

On Valentine's Day, Kurtis and I found out that we were expecting! We had decided to stop all kinds of birth control because we weren't getting a clear answer in our prayers on when to start a family. Turns out I got pregnant almost immediately, and I am so grateful for that.

In March, we lost Kurtis's granny. Although she had been in poor health for a long time, it was still an extremely hard time for Kurtis. She and Kurtis had been close, so losing her was rough.

In April we found out that our baby was gonna be a girl. It was kind of a shock to us, because we were convinced it was gonna be a boy. However once we started getting some little girl clothes, it made it so much more real to us, and looking back I can't imagine how I ever thought we were gonna have a boy first.

In May, we had yet another death in the family. My great-grandfather passed away at 99 years old. It was a little surprising to me, but seeing how old he was, it wasn't too much of a shock.

In June, Kurtis quit his job at Anvil and in July, started his new job at North Ogden. He enjoys his job there and what he does. I think it's made huge difference to have him working outside. It's made him so happy! I think his favorite part though is his enhanced farmer's tan and calluses.

In September, Kurtis's sister Courtney got married (and to a Courtney!). That was a moment of sunshine for the family. We were so excited to have Court join the family!

However, that happiness didn't last too long, because within two days of Court and Courtney getting married, Kurtis's gramps passed away very unexpectedly. I think this death was the hardest for Kurtis. Gramps was a huge influence in Kurtis's life and I think it hit him hardest.

On October 27th, our sweet daughter Annie was born. She was the highlight of our year, without any question. She brings so much light and joy into our lives, and reminds us to be our best selves.

On Halloween, we had the final death of this year. Kurtis's Grandma Flinn passed away after a year of poor health. Although he wasn't as close to this grandma as he was to his granny, I think this took a toll on Kurtis as he realized that he no longer had any grandparents around.

We spent both Thanksgiving and Christmas with Kurtis's family this year because of them being close to us. Kurtis was on call for both holidays, but was called in on Christmas to help plow snow. That was hard for the both of us to spend the morning and early afternoon apart on the holiday, but luckily they let him go home for the day around 1. I was definitely grateful for that!

Annie's blessing was on December 4th, and I was so lucky to have almost all of my family come. It's hard to have them live so far away, but I'm glad they were able to make it.

If there's one thing that 2016 taught Kurtis and me, it's that life is short. With the 5 different funerals we've been to this year, plus the birth of our baby, it reminds me that this life is temporary. There's so much more than just being here. I'm so grateful for the knowledge that we will see those who have passed again. I know that families are forever.

Goodbye, 2016. I can't say that I'll miss you, but I'm grateful for what I've learned from you.

Hello 2017. :)

Annie Ray Flinn

So our little girl has finally arrived!! (Almost 3 weeks ago now... Sorry it's taken me so long to update this blog. I've been busy!) Before I get started, I'm gonna post all the bump pictures I took. Just to show how big I got!

21 weeks

23 weeks

29 weeks

35 weeks

 38 weeks

40 weeks

So here's a quick rundown of the birth story. At my 40 week appointment, my doctor determined that we were going to induce, which was fine with me. I liked knowing when she was coming, instead of having it be a surprise. I felt like I was able to plan a little bit better and prepare myself a little more before she came.
We arrived at Brigham City Community Hospital at 4 am on October 27, 2016. We checked in and got our room and things got going. After careful thinking, I had chosen to have Kurtis, my mother-in-law LillieAnn, and my sister Allie in the delivery room, and I'm so glad that each of them was there. Kurtis was as excited as could be, while still being super nervous. LillieAnn didn't come right at 4 am (and who can blame her? she didn't have to be there that early), but when she showed up around 7 with chocolate milk and donuts, I knew I had made a good choice. Allie is the sister that I am closest with, and I was so grateful to have her there. She was there as my doula, and she definitely knew how to keep me laughing. My favorite point was when she showed me Shia Lebeouf's "Just Do It" video.
But anyway. They immediately set up my IV (I had tested positive for Grade B Strep, which basically meant that I had to be on antibiotics during labor and delivery, which was fine), although they had a hard time placing it. They poked me 4 or 5 times, and I didn't hold back when they finally got a vein. I had blood all over the little mat they had placed under my hand. Haha! They also got the baby monitor all set up, along with my blood pressure cuff. Then the nurses disappeared for a while. Around 6:30 am, they started me on Pitocin, which causes your body to go into labor.
I didn't feel contractions for a while, but once they hit, they didn't hold back. They definitely got more and more painful. I had decided before going into the hospital that I wanted to labor naturally as long as I could before getting the epidural, and finally around 12-noon, I asked for an epidural.
Getting the epidural placed was a blur for me. I remember that they kept asking me to lean farther forward, but because of the bump, I couldn't go any farther forward. I also remember vomiting a couple of times, which made Kurtis have to leave the room. But after what felt like 100 uncomfortable minutes, they finally had the epidural all in place and I was able to lay back down.
Once it kicked in, the epidural was nice. I was able to take a nap, which I hadn't anticipated. I was asleep for a couple of hours, and it was really good for me.
However, I kept waking up to a pain in my right hip. I kept pushing the epidural button (which basically gave me more pain medicine), but nothing was letting up on the pain. I finally called the nurse in and complained about the pain, and she brought in the anesthesiologist to bump up my dosage. Still nothing happened. After a while, he came back and bumped my dosage up again. Still nothing. However by that point, I was basically ready to push, so it was too late.
I started pushing between 3:30 and 4 pm. I don't remember a whole lot except that I kept accidentally repositioning my bed and my hip was hurting so badly! Apparently, it was extremely funny because I kept complaining "my hip, my hip!" Kurtis still teases me about that, but honestly, it was probably the worst pain I've ever felt. I was also able to feel the contractions coming. What I think happened was that my epidural wasn't placed properly, so I was completely numb on my left side, but felt EVERYTHING on my right side.
Pushing was rough. After what felt like forever, the nurses finally said, "Well, it looks like it's time to call Dr Ferguson!" I hadn't felt so relieved that I was almost done in my entire life. When he showed up, he was in the process of getting his gown on and some gloves, and I thought I had heard one of the nurses say, "Okay, push!" So I started pushing. Immediately I hear Dr Ferguson say, "WAIT!! I'm not ready yet!" And he reached out with his hand with a glove halfway on it to hold Annie's head. I apologized over and over again, and finally one of the nurses was like "Stop apologizing!"
After another 10 minutes or so of pushing, I hear oohs and aahs and Dr Ferguson says "Look, Jessica, it's your baby's head!" He held her head up over my hospital gown and my first thought was "Whoa, that's a big head." When Annie was the rest of the way out, they put her immediately on my chest and it was one of the most remarkable feelings I'd ever had.

I, of course, started crying. I couldn't believe how something that perfect could've come out of me. The nurses started cleaning her off and then we went right into skin-to-skin, which was amazing. Annie calmed down almost immediately when she was placed directly on me and that made me feel so good!

So there she is! Our sweet little Annie Ray Flinn, born October 27th at 6:01 pm, weighing 7 lbs 13 oz, and she was 20 inches long.

Carrie Underwood describes it very well in her song, "What I Never Knew I Always Wanted", when she says, "I never pictured myself singing lullabies, Sitting in a rocking chair in the middle of the night, In the quiet, in the dark, You're stealing every bit of my heart... What a sweet surprise, and Now I'm holding what I never knew I always wanted, I couldn't see, I was blind 'til my eyes were opened. Didn't know there was a hole, something missing in my soul, 'til you filled it up."

We absolutely love our sweet little girl. And she's almost 3 weeks old now!! How crazy!! I really had no idea how much my life could change, but I seriously have never been happier.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of her.

At 1 day old

2 weeks old

 Family Picture, taken when she was a week old

Two More Weeks!!

It has been so crazy the last few months!! We are down to the wire on waiting for the baby to come. I'm 38 weeks now!! That means only TWO MORE WEEKS until Little Miss is here! Kurtis and I couldn't be more excited! I spent all day yesterday getting the baby's room ready, including setting up the monitor and making sure all the baby clothes have been washed. It was an emotional day, but it was so good!
There really isn't much else that is new for Kurtis and me. We still live in Brigham City, although we aren't sure how long that's going to last. With Kurtis working in North Ogden, we are strongly considering moving closer to his work. But I like our little apartment and I would be happy if we stayed here for a while.
We had yet another death in the family a few weeks ago, along with several other life-changing events. This time it was Kurtis's Gramps, who Kurtis looked up to like no other. His passing was and has been extremely difficult for the Crittenden family, and it's amazing to see the kind of legacy one man can leave on the world.
Kurtis's sister Courtney got married a few weeks ago also. Her wedding was beautiful, and it just made me keep thinking about how lucky I am to have married someone like Kurtis. He truly is one of a kind and I'm the luckiest girl alive to have him for a husband. This Little Miss is gonna be so lucky to have him as a dad, and I'm so excited to see him take on that role. He even made a blanket for them to use when they snuggle. (I'm not allowed to use it! haha It's just the "Daddy and Baby" blanket.)
Oh! We also bought a new car!! Because of Kurtis having to commute to work and he and I having conflicting work schedules, we decided it was time to get a second car. After several months of looking and saving, we were able to get a 1999 Ford Expedition, and Kurtis was just thrilled! He wanted some sort of truck, but we couldn't find one in our price range, so he was willing to settle with an SUV, and we got a really good deal on this one, so we got it. It is really nice and we love having it.
So that's it for today. Next time I write, we will have our little girl with us!! :)

^Our Ford Expedition

^My 35 week baby bump!

^Ultrasound of the Little Miss from week 36

Our Baby Girl ♡

I've had a lot of people recently ask about my cool pregnancy experiences, and since I really suck at keeping a journal, and I don't mind telling people, I figured I'd write it all here.
When we first found out I was pregnant, we thought it was a boy. We had a name picked out and Kurtis would talk about how he would teach him to go hunting and shooting and how he was so excited to have a hunting buddy.
When we found out that we were having a girl, I was shocked, but immediately I knew that she was supposed to come first all along. I always had secretly wanted a girl first, and I felt very blessed to have that become a reality.
I still don't understand Kurtis's reaction to finding out it was a girl. I told him over the phone, so I didn't see his face. When I said, "It's a girl", he was quiet for a minute, and then said, "Are you serious? Wait really? A girl?" The longer he talked the more excited he became. He still is planning on teaching her the ways of hunting and shooting, but he doesn't like the thought of the pink camo she might want to wear. Lol!
The first time I felt her move, I was at work and I didn't know what had happened to me. I was in the process of lifting fried chicken out of the deep fryer, and I felt my entire stomach shift. I had been expecting the gassy, butterfly type feelings that everyone had told me about, but that's definitely not what I got. It felt like my stomach had lurched, like it does on a roller coaster, but instead of going up and down, it went side to side, and that freaked me out. I turned to my coworker and was like "What was that?!" She laughed and told me it was the baby, and I don't think I was able to take my hands off my stomach for the rest of my shift.
I didn't feel her move hardly at all over the next couple of weeks and it really worried me. I kept nudging my stomach trying to feel something, and I never did. I had a doctors appointment and during that appointment, we noticed that the baby was indeed moving around a lot, but I never felt her. My doctor went on to explain that the placenta had settled on the top of the uterus, meaning that her movement was being cushioned by it. I was relieved of course, knowing that everything was okay.
A few weeks ago, I started feeling her move more and more. It is seriously the weirdest sensation. There are times where she kicks hard enough that it's painful, and other times where parts of my stomach twitch where she moved. I'm thinking that the placenta must have moved, because I seriously feel her ALL THE TIME now.
The most interesting thing I've realized though about this baby girl is the patterns of her movement. She hardly moves during the day, which I'm told is normal. But it doesn't matter what time of day it is, whenever Kurtis and I are talking, she is moving around like there's no tomorrow. There are times when I can't get her to move, so I'll ask Kurtis to try, and every single time without fail, she moves when she hears his voice. If his hand is on my stomach, she nudges in that direction. There is an obvious connection between Kurtis and our baby girl. And watching Kurtis get that cheesy grin on his face everytime she moves for him is one of the greatest joys for me. Kurtis said to me the other day, "I'm definitely already wrapped around that little finger."
When we went in for our last ultrasound, we had quite the experience. We go in and once Dr Ferguson started the ultrasound, we were able to get the funniest picture. Once we found her face, she literally posed for the probe. Dr Ferguson started laughing and said, "Oh look. She has a clown face."

Kurtis and I were a little in shock at her personality, but it was very funny for us.
Dr Ferguson also said that she's a little snuggler because she has been snuggled up into the placenta for the last 3 or 4 ultrasounds (we get one every month). Kurtis immediately says, "Well I'm okay with that!"
I'm 6 months along now, and we keep getting more and more excited. Pregnancy is a rough experience, with being sick and all the other weird side effects that nobody ever tells you about. But when I feel her move or see the smile on Kurtis's face when he feels her move, it makes the whole experience worth it. We can't wait to meet our little girl!!

Never Play Uno With Your Husband

I love games. I always have. They were a huge part of growing up for me. My family would always gather Sunday afternoons to play games together. Five Crowns, Scattergories, Phase 10, even improv games like Clue and Late for Work.
I always thought that Kurtis didn't like games. He would always have an excuse as to why he didn't want to play with us. When my siblings and I played a game, Kurtis wanted to play with the nieces and nephews. When it was just us, he was too tired.
However, today I had had it. I wanted to play a game with my husband, and I wouldn't take no for an answer. After several minutes of trying to come up with the perfect game to play, Kurtis finally agreed on Uno.
You can imagine how shocked I was to watch Kurtis KICK MY BUTT round after round. He was so ridiculously good at this silly card game! He always claimed that he wasn't any good, but trust me. He beat me like 6 rounds in a row.

Here's what I've learned from playing Uno with my husband.
1) Never believe everything your husband tells you.
2) Never let your husband play Draw 2 cards on you. Because he always has a collection of them in his hand, and you will always end up drawing multiple cards at a time.
3) Game nights with your spouse are so fun, and SOOO worth it!!

Up To Date!

Sorry it's been so long since posting last. Kurtis and I have stayed pretty busy for the last month.

So here's a little update on us. We found out that our baby is a girl!! Here are some pictures from the gender reveal!

Her due date is still October 24th, and Kurtis and I are getting more and more excited. We can't wait to meet our sweet daughter!

Another item of news is that Kurtis got a new job! Instead of working for Anvil, he will be working for the Storm/Water Maintenance Department in North Ogden, UT. He starts July 1st with full benefits, and a higher wage than he's earned before. We are so blessed!! We aren't looking to move to North Ogden or Harrisville anytime soon, but I'm sure we'll probably move down there eventually, seeing as we only have the one car.

My Great-Grandpa passed away at 99 years old last week as well. We expected it to be coming soon, seeing his age and health problems, but it was still a very sad time for us. He was an amazing man and I miss him terribly.

Anyways. I think that's all the update on us! Until next time!! :)

Coming Soon!!

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. Life has been crazy busy!

But here's a little update on us. I'm pregnant!!! Whoohoo!!

It has been quite the first trimester. We found out I was pregnant when I was only 2 weeks along! (Can you believe that?) Since then, things have been moving in slow motion. I'm getting super impatient, which is ridiculous since we aren't even close to halfway there yet! But anyways. Morning sickness hasn't been as bad as I thought it was going to be, but probably because I have this super awesome anti-nausea medicine the doctor gave me, which is wonderful. My mood swings have been outrageous, according to Kurtis lol.

But overall, we are so excited to meet this little alien inside of me!!

Flinn Jr coming October 2016.

Life and Death

If there's anything that I've learned throughout the course of my life, it's that life is very short. There are days that seem to last forever, months that never end. But there are always those moments in your life to remind you that this isn't a permanent thing. Tomorrow is never guaranteed and sometimes we have to be grateful for the day we are currently living.

I was very firmly reminded of this fact last night. It was a regular night at work when I get a phone call from my dad. He told me that my Grandma Pam passed away earlier that afternoon. She had been in the hospital, recovering from surgery, when she collapsed while taking her evening walk. They tried reviving her, and she never came back. This was a shock to my family and myself.

Grandma Pam was a lady I will never forget. When I was little, she would always sing to us. "I love you a bushel and a peck." And when I was a little bit older, she would pull out her makeup bag and allow us to give her makeovers. Although she always turned out looking like a clown, she would always make us feel special by telling us what a wonderful job we did. She would always sing at church full heartedly (even though it was loud and obnoxious at times). She had an amazing testimony of God and Jesus Christ.
And one of the biggest things that my Grandma did for me was take several months making my dream wedding dress. It was complicated for her at times, but she did a wonderful job.

As sad as I am about Grandma leaving, I have to be happy about a few things. Her husband, my Grandpa Ron, died in early 2014. I have to be happy because they are finally together again. My biological mom died in October 2000, and she got to be with her again too. The reunions in heaven must be very joyful right now. I love my Grandma, and I will miss her.

And just because I'm a huge Potterhead...

Happy Thursday, everyone.

Pamela Dee Whitlock Nelson
December 19, 1942 - February 3, 2016

Intro

Seeing as I've ditched my other blog, I decided I should start one that includes my wonderful husband. :) So here's a little info on the two of us.

Kurtis and I met while we were serving a mission in the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia area. We became friends very quickly, and after Kurtis got transferred, we stayed in touch as best we could while obeying the rules. Kurtis returned home to Harrisville, UT in July 2014. We started writing each other and before I finished my mission in November 2014, I knew we would get married. When I came home, Kurtis sent me flowers and we made plans to see each other. When he finally visited me, we kissed that first night and got engaged three days later.

After a long nine month engagement, we finally married on September 12, 2015. It was a wonderful sunny day that I will remember for the rest of my life.

So anyway. That was almost 5 months ago. Here's a little glimpse into the life of the Flinns currently.

Kurtis is working for Anvil Cabinet and Mill here in Brigham City, UT. He hates working there, but he's pushing through. He is looking for another job currently, but is sticking with Anvil until we find something else for him. Kurtis is 24 years old and LOVES hunting and anything to do with farming.

I am currently working for Smiths Food and Drug in the Service Deli. I've worked there since October and I am growing to love it. The girls I work with are so funny and amazing. I am 22 and love binge watching Netflix whenever I get the chance.

Well that's pretty much it. There isn't much else to tell about us right now. We are very happily in love and we are anxious about what life has in store for us. Stay tuned for more adventures!! :)

-J