6 months down with 3 more to go!

So...I don't really want to talk about how LONG it's been since I last updated this! Sorry, but this will be kind of a longer post. We've been a little busy to put it mildly. I know I won't be able to catch up on most of what's been going on in our lives, but at least there will be a new post and pictures! :)

Our minds are filled with baby, school, temple, and Christmas! We just got back from a wonderfully long Thanksgiving weekend with my family in Manti, and now we're trying to re-adjust back into normal life.

My little brother made himself a Thanksgiving "mini pie". He was pretty proud of it, 

and I thought it was probably the cutest pie I'd ever seen and had to take a picture. 

Near the beginning of October we were called to be ordinance workers in the Oquirrh Mountain LDS temple. We've been working there on Tuesday nights from 4:00pm to 10:00pm for the past couple of months. It has been such an incredible blessing! It's amazing how it brings the spirit more abundantly into our home and has already blessed our marriage more than I probably even know right now. I have definitely felt the positive effects of being ordinance workers! On Tuesday, I was talking to a few of the sisters as we were eating a snack in the lunchroom of the temple and they were commenting on how blessed we are to 1) be members of the church and 2) have the blessings of the temple so close to us, and that 3) only a handful of members who have the blessings of the temple are able to be ordinance workers. It really got me thinking about what a privilege it is to be working in the temple and especially at such a young age. I have already learned so much and made some connections I might not have made if it weren't for my service there. So many of our fellow workers have said, "What a great way to start off your marriage!" I couldn't agree more, and I know I am only beginning to grasp the true blessing that it is.

Here were our Halloween festivities:

 Some delicious and adorable candy corn sugar cookies

 Here I am carving our Jack-O-Lantern, cleverly named "Jack". :)

 Jack in the making.

Here we are with the finished product. 

 Don't forget to notice his teeth...they took a while!

 Here's Jack all lit up on our porch.

 These little pot pies were our Halloween dinner. We also 

watched "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" that night.

This is Jack in his old age. We both thought it was hilarious that 

his teeth were gone and he was all wrinkly like a really old man!! This

picture was taken not too long before his burial (or trip to the dumpster).

Matt is just about to finish his MBA!! We are SO excited! He'll be all done with classes in 8 days. This is part of what is making our lives a little crazy. Originally, Matt was going to take one class this fall and then save the other one for the spring. He found out though, that instead, he'd have to take two classes this fall. (I can't remember all the exact details of why he has to do this--I suffer from pregnancy memory loss! He'd be a better one to explain all of that.) Anyway, both of his classes started in October and go through the beginning of this month. So basically he's taking two MASTER level classes at once in HALF the time of a normal semester while still working full time! He has been working very hard, and is definitely a hero in my eyes. When we first found out about this change in plans, we both decided that it'd probably be for the better since we have a baby coming in the middle of next semester. (I could just picture me going into heavy labor/needing to go to the hospital while he was in class or taking a final or something! Maybe that's just me being pessimistic...) Things have been crazy for both of us, but we're nearing the tail end of it now, so we just have to hang on for 8 more days!
My classes are also winding down, and it feels good to have one more semester almost finished. Three more to go for me! I'm planning on taking 2 classes in the spring, 2 in the summer, and 3 in the fall. Then I'll be done too! Hurray!!

Our baby girl is growing fast now! It's so exciting to feel her kick, squirm, and get hiccups. We've decided to call her Abby (still haven't thought much about a middle name, but she'll have one). We've started collecting lots of baby stuff to prepare for her arrival. Yesterday I spent a ton of time (too much) looking at different prices for baby supplies, researching cloth diapers (I hear they're not too bad, so we're thinking about doing that), and dreaming about our little one and wishing I knew exactly what day she'll decide to come. I guess I'm a little too much of a planner when it comes to certain things. I always like to know what's ahead, but I suppose this is one I'll just have to accept someone else's timing! :)
For the most part I'm feeling great! I DO have my downer days, but thankfully Matt is here to comfort me when that happens. I've been loving the energy that has returned to me over the last few months, and I'm hoping that it doesn't disappear too quickly during the last part of this pregnancy. I had the glucose tolerance test a few weeks back, and they called me to tell me that my glucose levels were elevated (who knows how much--they didn't say) so I'll have to go in for another test. This one will be a really long one--four to five hours! I'm really hoping I don't have gestational diabetes!
Here are a few of the fun things we've collected so far for the baby:

 My sister and I decorated these letters when they were visiting 

Matt and  I in August. Originally they were going to 

spell "baby", but we like it this way too! :)

 This was an adorable gift from my father-in-law. Abby will be able to

 wear her UCF onesie and matching socks to support her daddy's school! :)

 A friend of my father-in-law made these for us. I'm so excited to use the tiny hat

 and little fuzzy blanket! They even match the colors we chose for Abby's room!

 This cute little bassinet was given to us by an angel family in our ward. 

They also gave us a crib and refused to let us pay. We're very blessed!

My mother-in-law got us these books to read with Abby.

 It will be so fun to read these with her!

"Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat..." Talk about Christmas sneaking up on you! Here I am thinking about baby and school stuff, and Christmas is just around the corner! I've got a few different projects that I've been trying to work on and finish for Christmas during the minutes that I don't have school or housework. Now is when I really have to get going at full speed. I'm sure it will all come together, I'm just not sure how together I'll be by the end!! We're planning a trip to Oregon with my family. We'll be having Christmas with my grandparents on my dad's side. We're all very excited (except for the long drive)! Matt and I still haven't put up any Christmas decorations, but we're getting in the mood with Christmas music. We've also started reading the book of Luke. We'll read one chapter every day until Christmas.

Hopefully this gives you an idea of what things are like around here. We're both happier than we've ever been and are excited for the things life holds in store for us in the future!