Why did you marry Talmage?

Talmage has so many amazing qualities that I like and that I think compliment me. I could go on and on about how wonderful he is. But they are icing on the cake to why I married him. The real meat of why I chose to marry him is because I have always seen something in Talmage and knew that he has so much potential and amazingness. I just knew that he was the one for me. Plus I feel like Heavenly Father was letting me know that Talmage was the guy for me.

It has been the best decision of my life. I am so blessed to have him as my husband!

Walmart Employee

No, I am not working for Walmart. But I was there long enough yesterday to be an employee.

We had a flat on the way home from the Family History Center yesterday (we went to go to the temple but it was closed). We were on the 60 going full speed. So we stuck the spare on. We got home and put the kids down for a nap and I went to Walmart to get my the demolished tire replaced and an oil change. I got there a little after 2:00 and left at 7:30!!!

Why?

• Firstly they were understaffed, ironically overstaffed the day before
• I told them I need a tire replace and they thought it needed repaired. Took a little while to change that around.
• My order form said oil change then tire repair. They repaired the tire first and then parked it in the parking lot. So my paperwork didn't come through because it wasn't done. I pointed it out to them and then they brought it back into the shop.
• My engine cap had somehow come off and black oil was sprayed all under my hood.
• They could not change my oil or do anything to my car unless it had an engine cap because it was a liability.
• They went over security video to make sure it wasn't them that misplaced the cap. It wasn't.
• They felt bad that I had been there for hours now and told me that the oil change was free.
  
• A good Samaritan drove me to an auto part store to get me a new engine cap.
• I brought it back and they changed my oil but took two hours longer because they couldn't find some tool to take off air filter or something. Talmage later told me that they did it by hand.
• An assistant manager (not the manager that I talked to earlier) rung up my bill. It was 140.00. After reexplaining my situation and showing my tire warranty for the hundredth time that day, I came out with a total of 0.00.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't mad at them at all. I just wanted to go home ...in a car that worked. The people waiting with me were so nice and felt so bad that I was sitting for so long. Talmage was so upset but couldn't do come and trade me spots because he didn't have our other car at the time and couldn't leave the kids at home. When all was said and done I was so exhausted and was so glad to be home!

The cherry-on-top was that I was sick all night, throwing up and still am today. I just have been pushing my body too hard for the last week or too and just need to rest. Even if I don't want to, I'd rather organize my garage.

Would you rather spend a day with Steve Jobs or Joseph Smith?

I saw a speech by Steve Jobs that I really liked and I think he has a good perspective and humor about life. He would be interesting to meet. I think he would have a lot of good wisdom. But to tell you the truth I don't know what I would even say to him, I would probably just listen. Which is what I can already do by finding videos online of him talking.
Joseph Smith has a great eternal perspective. I listened to a lecture series by Truman G. Madsen on Joseph Smith. There are so many aspects of him that are praiseworthy in my opinion. His joyfulness and humility would make me feel comfortable in his presents. Hanging out with him would be a life changing experience and I think that I'll pick him.

Which would you chose?

Which Brother In Law is Your Favorite?

After careful consideration I have come to the conclusion that I don't have a favorite BIL. But after thinking about each one I have found that they all have similar attributes that I admire.

• They all work hard to be good providers for their family.
• Good humor and lightheartedness
• They all seem to be good with kids. They make or will make good dads and uncles.
• They all seem to be fairly wise/stable with their money.
• They have an optimistic look on life.
  
• Mostly, I like the example and friend they are to Talmage.
  

Randomness - Blame it on being pregnant

Olive (That is what we decided to name our baby girl) has been moving a lot tonight. Normally doesn't bother me but tonight it is just enough to cause me not to sleep. So here I am typing away instead of sleeping.
The house is quiet. Heber and Hannah are fast asleep and have been that way since eight, there new bedtime as of about two weeks ago, it used to be seven-thirty.
My younger sister and brother who are now living with us, are still out with friends playing glow-in-the-dark ultimate Frisbee. Seth transferred down here from Dixie College in St. George after getting his associates there. Angel decided to come with him and go to CGCC Williams Campus, where Seth and Talmage are. She moved here because my Mom is taking care of my grandma in Prescott and my dad is traveling all over the place for business, so staying with us seemed like a good option to her. They are 18 and 16. They are very good and we like having them here.
Talmage is out doing data collections tonight. He has been spending many late nights lately with his capstone team measuring lights in Phoenix. They take all the data they get and put it into a GIS program to help airplanes fly at night.
Earlier tonight I got to watch my niece and nephews, only for about an hour and a half. I love living so close to family. It is nice. I love their personalities. They are so stinking cute!!! I especially love Brook's chubby baby legs! I can't believe that he is almost as tall as Heber and he is almost a year younger than him.
I am bigger then I thought I would be by now. It's hard to judge because I can't really compare to last pregnancy. All and all this pregnancy has been a lot easier then the last one. I think one key factor is that I am not stressing over school. Nice. I am still so happy to finish school. Don't get me wrong it is still tiring sometimes to keep up with Heber and Hannah but not too bad. I forget that I am pregnant until I see my belly is sticking out.
I am excited for fall to come and to feel that little chill in the air. I hope the rest of my household will be able to handle not having the heat on. That is what happened last pregnancy. I will just have to make sure Heber and Hannah are dressed and bundled well, which shouldn't be too hard.
Talmage is done with school in December. We are both amazed how everything aligned so well for him to graduate a semester early. Heavenly Father had a hand in it for sure. The internship he was hesitant about taking this summer because he was already going full time for school, ended up working towards one of his classes this semester and he got to drop a class. So instead of taking 16 credits he is taking 13. Nice. We are happy he is getting done early. Future details past that still are not set in stone.
We have been looking at a new vehicle off and on for a while now. We have been saving up for the last two years or so. We'll probably get one around when Olive is born. As of now we do not own a car that will fit all three car seats. Plus they are tricky to get kids in because the Bug is a two door car and the Accent has only one back door that works. We are thinking mini van, probably the Odyssey or the Sienna. We'll see. Spencer has been helpful and Talmage got to tag along when he went and bought their new Odyssey the other day.
Um, my mind finally went blank. So, that's all I have for now. Sorry no pictures this time and no editing, not that I really do that anyways. (Talmage later went and edited).

Constitution Day

On September 17, 1787 the Constitution of the United States was signed. This short video was made by the Heritage Foundation. They are a think tank of valuable research and support for the founding principles of our country. Visit heritage.org if you want to see for yourself and learn more about what they are about. Just between you and me, I'd like to do an internship in Washington D.C. in summer 2011. I figure if we go to school on the east coast we'll be over there anyway. Well if you didn't know today is Constitution Day, now you do.

Question: How is it that you're not getting eaten alive by the world?

At church, the men in elder's quorum where telling each other their jobs titles. One man mention that his wife thought Talmage was an FBI agent, maybe because they didn't know what he does. He told them that he was a full time student. Still doesn't explain income though. So how are we not getting eaten alive?
1. Tithing

• First and foremost, I know that without The Lord we could not afford to make it.

2. Income

• Talmage's Work: Talmage worked for Renaissance Sciences Corporation this summer for an internship, he also has worked as an engineering technician elsewhere. Sometimes he works while going to school, sometimes he has too much on his plate to do that.
• Air Force Reserve: He also is in the Air Force Reserve, where he works one weekend a month and two weeks a year (normally sometime during the summer).
• School Funding: The GI Bill or Tuition Assistance (both through the Air Force), Scholarships, Student Loans and Grants pay for his tuition, books, etc.

3. Spending Wisely

• Budget: I think we both are pretty good about not overspending and our budget helps us even more. Talmage normally puts everything into the budget form our online statements.We keep track of everything we earn, save and spend here.
  

Just a bird's eye view of our monthly budget

• Google Docs: We keep track of our budget on Google docs, it makes it so both of us can see the most updated form of our budget at any given time.\
• Food and More Budget: This include groceries, toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc. Although we keep track of Food and More in our monthly budget, I keep track of a more detailed budget of it.
  

Bird's eye view of monthly our Food and More budget.

Disclaimer:
I am not sure if this is what the person meant by getting eaten alive by the world. I assumed they meant how do we make it by finacially. Although, I know people who are financially wealthy and could be considered being eaten alive by the world in other aspects of there life. If I didn't quite answer your question please let me know.