Three Years of Wedded Bliss :)

As of yesterday, Morgan and I have been married for three years! THREE YEARS! Holy cow, it seems like we just got married. A lot has happened in the last year. Morgan graduated with his Master's Degree. I have finished another two semesters and I am so close to being done. Morgan got his first real job working for an online program as an instructor. We have gotten much closer as a couple because frankly we have been put through the wringer. Morgan lost and gained jobs on an almost monthly basis, and I was dealing with tons of health issues. If we hadn't tried to look at each other in the best light possible than we could have blamed each other for problems that were simply out of our control. However, we are stronger for the trials that we went through TOGETHER. I think the key was that we talked constantly to make sure that we didn't lose touch with one another. I know that seems like a rather basic idea but on some days it is really hard to get any communication with each other. There were days when I was in school all day and would come home long enough to see Morgan and have dinner before he went to work, and he wouldn't be home sometimes until after I went to bed. On days that happened we tried to have a family prayer via phone and I really believe that it made a huge difference. I am so happy to be married to such a wonderful man. He takes care of us the best he can. He works hard as a father, watching Lorraine during the day so I can finish my education. He works hard trying to find jobs that will better provide for us. I am just happy that I married HIM. I love him and he LOVES me!

Just another post

So I haven't written in a while but things are looking up! Morgan has a good job as an online instructor but he doesn't get paid until the middle of the semester but we know we will be fine until he gets paid. The church is going to help us with next month's rent and in September I will be getting the excess of my student loans. I know I will have to pay back those loans but it will definitely help to get us back on our feet completely. Besides financial issues everything is wonderful in this house.

Lorraine is happy and healthy, except for bumps and bruises because she is very clumsy and falls all the time. She has her 18 months old checkup today, and I am excited to see how much she has grown in the last three months. She will also have to get vaccination today so I hope she doesn't become too cranky.

As for me, I am returning to school tomorrow for another summer semester that only last 3.5 weeks. The classes are crazy during the summer because you go to class for 5 hours a day and then spend another 4-5 hours on homework. It is going to be tough but it will get me 6 more credits closer to graduating. Which comes to another thing, I will be giving my senior recital in March (although the date isn't set in stone yet). It makes me really nervous because I only have two pieces ready somewhat learned but they aren't close to being performance ready. I have to learn another 3-4 pieces still. I hope and pray that I can find the time to practice but it definitely isn't an easy thing to do. When I have so many other responsibilities, it is easy to do those instead. And then there is a bit of guilt too, because I want to spend time with my family and the longer I am at school the less time I have with them. Anyways, I will just have to do what I must do and hope that it will be good enough.

Below are some great pictures that I have taken this week.

Yesterday we didn't get home from church until 5pm and she didn't get a nap earlier in the day. She fell asleep in her high chair, thankfully not right in her food.

Just a fun picture of my two favorite people

Every time we open the refrigerator door Lorraine thinks that she has to sit down inside.

And she gets everything out of the door and sets it beside her.

I am very happy right now, and life is really good.

Trying Times.....But they won't last

It has been very hard for Morgan and I the last week to be very cheerful. We've been given ALMOST more than we can handle. However, we are dealing with everything the best we can. We are so grateful to good family and friends. Tonight I was so sad because of our situation and I couldn't stop crying, but I got myself together and called a friend to give both Morgan and I priesthood blessings. He stayed with us a while and talked before giving us each a blessing. It is so wonderful to see the priesthood power in action. We each were given peace of mind and that is all that we needed, or at least I needed. I might even be able to sleep tonight, I hope. I also got a call from my Sister-in-law. I am really glad she called, I really needed to talk. Last night, I called my sister and I am glad that I was able to talk to her too. I found that I need to talk about my problems to more than just Morgan sometimes because with each person that I talked to I found different perspectives. Am I making sense? Probably not, but oh well. I can only hope that life can only get better from this point on!

ABC's

I was tagged to do this by Renae. I hope that it comes out interesting and maybe even have some surprises.


A -Age: 21

B - Bed size: King, but I think it's too big....next one will be a queen.

C – Chore I hate: All of them, but especially laundry just because it takes so long and we have to go to the laundromat to do it.

D - Dog's name: I wish we could have one, Lorraine loves dogs.

E - Essential start your day item: Shower, most often

F - Favorite color(s): blue and red

G - Gold or Silver: silver

H - Height: 5'8"

I - Instruments you play: Viola and violin and a bit of piano

J - Job title: Mom, Housekeeper, Cook, Wife, Mary Kay consultant, violin teacher, full-time student....

K - Kids: Lorraine Emily

L - Living arrangements: I live with my husband and sweet daughter in a rather small upstairs apartment (another reason I hate doing the laundry, carting it all down the stairs)

M - Mom's name: Kalyne Scott Utter

N - Nicknames: Boo-Boo, Shannanana

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None.

P - Pet Peeve: Morgan asking where things are before he really looks for them

Q - Quote from a movie: Moses supposes his toses are roses....etc

R - Right or left handed: Right, though in playing both violin and viola you must have lots of dexterity in your left fingers.

S - Siblings: 2 sisters and 1 brother

T - Time you wake up: Whenever Lorraine gets up

U - Underwear: Garments

V - Vegetable you dislike: Most of them....though I do try and eat some vegetables.

X - X-rays you've had: shoulder, head, foot, hand, dental, and probably others that I can't remember

Y - Yesterday's best moment: Seeing Jason and Renae and their two boys.

Z - Zoo favorite: Cats...lions, tigers, mountain lions, bobcats....etc

Another Post...about my little girl this time

I've been busy on my blog the last couple days. I think it's just that I've got so much to share. Well Lorraine has not had the best week here in Virginia. She has not felt well due to cutting teeth and getting lots of bumps and bruises from falling on the hard cement floors and lots of concrete walkways. I am glad that I didn't bring the stroller because it would have been useless on this campus. There are stairs EVERYWHERE! So I've carried her a lot lately, but I've also let her climb the stairs too, which is where she has fallen most often. But yesterday while I was on the computer and Morgan was sleeping on the bed she tried to climb onto the bed and fell hard. We didn't think it was that bad of a fall until her face started to swell and bruise a half hour later. I feel bad that she got so hurt. So here is a picture of her poor face, and it actually looks much worse in person. Though she became a bit infamous with the event staff here, they ask about her every time they see us.

Almost a graduate!

Today was the hooding ceremony where Morgan got the funny thing hanging around his neck! It was quick and simple and afterwords we took pictures with all his favorite professors.

Morgan, Lorraine, and Dr. House

John "Capstone Czar" Greenier

Morgan and Audra with ALL of the professors, ask Morgan for their names....I don't know them all

Audra and Morgan

Audra, Shelley(yes that is a guy), Morgan

The happy family

The "Almost" graduate

Morgan and Dr. Broom. Dr. Broom was his adviser with his thesis.

Walking past at a quick pace! I almost didn't catch him!

I am so proud of Morgan for what he has accomplished. It was a tough two years because of the birth of our daughter, two moves, and a multitude of other challenges that we faced. I am proud that he graduated with good grades and good reviews that will get him into a great PhD program. I don't know what the future holds for him or us but I know this isn't the end of the road with his education. He is so intelligent and genuinely loves to learn. He would love to be a researcher at some think tank or a historian for the military but those jobs require a PhD so onward and upward through more education we go.

Mormon War

Morgan has his own blog, www.mormonwar.blogspot.com, where he discusses the historical accuracy of the Book of Mormon. He focuses mainly on the war chapters on Alma. He has written a post recently that moved me. It talked about the relationship between the 2000 stripling warriors and their commander and how it related to an ancient chinese tradition. He can explain much better than I. SO go to his blog and check it out!

Vermont!

We are in Vermont for Morgan's graduation. Today we went to Sharon, VT, to see the birth place of Joseph Smith. It was beautiful and serene. I would have enjoyed it more if Lorraine wasn't trying to tromp all of the beautiful flowers, but hey she was pretty good otherwise. It was great to get away from campus because there is no cell phone service nor is there much for Lorraine to do here.

The 12-hour Trip

We made it here!!!! It was a long couple of days but we made it here. Lorraine did quite well on the trip, we thought that she would have some major meltdowns but she didn't. Our car ran well the entire time, I was a little worried about the car because it was such a long drive that we would have trouble. Thankfully though nothing went wrong. Hopefully going back to Virginia will be the same way. We only made one stop the first day and one stop on the second day. However on the first day we happened to get off the exit where my friend, Autumn lives. We didn't plan it that way but it just happened. So we got some gas and food and thought we pay Autumn a visit. At first we didn't see any cars in the driveway so we thought that they weren't home. So we sat down on their front porch to eat. Thankfully though, Scott, walked by and saw us sitting there. We are so thankful that they let us come into their home and get out of the car for a while. Lorraine loved their two little border collie puppies as well as their swing set and trampoline.
Lorraine going down the slide for the first time.

Having fun

Happy in the car after getting to stretch her legs.

After we stopped in at Autumn's we had about another 3.5 hours to go. We stayed overnight in New Hampton, New York. Then we got up early and had another 5-6 hours to go. The drive was beautiful. Lots and lots of LUSH greenery! Thankfully, Lorraine slept most of the way. We are happy to be here.

Morgan officially graduates on Friday morning. I can't wait!

Awake again

All of this stress is keeping me awake again. I have spent the last several nights awake with thoughts of what I need to do for next week's graduation, for Morgan's conference next month in PA, what must be done before the end of the week, how I can get Lorraine to eat better....and the list goes on and on. The crappy part is that by the time I get to sleep I can only get a few hours of sleep. When I finally drag myself from my bed I am too tired to put any of those great ideas to work. So now what do I do in the middle of the night? I can't go do laundry in the middle of the night at the laundromat. I can't book Morgan's hotel room for the conference because he probably can get a better rate with his work discount. I can't clean out the car to get it ready for the 1400 mile journey. I can't pack clothes because they aren't clean. I can't go to the grocery store in the middle of the night to get Lorraine some food that I think she actually might eat.

I am rather just frustrated that this vicious circle of insomnia keeps coming back. I've dealt with it before. While I worked at Ruby Tuesday, I wouldn't get off work until usually 12am, and many times later. I would have to come home and unwind at least a little, and then try to get to bed for my 6:30am wake up call to get Morgan from work, and then class for the day. Yet I found it very hard to get to sleep at all most nights because I would obsess over what I could have done differently to get more tips. It's stupid, I know. Now, the same thing is coming back. I am obsessed about what I need to do because of the busy schedule that I have and can't get any rest and I hate being a walking zombie the next day. I can't get anything done in that state, and yet here I am awake and staring at my computer screen.

WHAT DO I DO?

Sorry, just needed to rant.....