What got me through the day...

I know I already posted today... sorry to bore you with more... but I have been having a rough week (and it is only Monday).  My "pregnancy emotions" are everywhere... some things that I'm feeling are super legit and others are not, but either way, it has been a struggle.  

I spent all last night crying until about 3 am then got up today around 8 and cried until about noon.  I feel it's all for a legit reason though... I missed class today, which irritated me because it was my own fault, so I went and got online and checked my email.  I always get my emails from Jay on Mondays, so I always have that to look forward to.  It has been such a trying week, and his letters always make me smile because I am so proud of him.  He wrote something to me that I don't know if he will ever get to know how much I needed it today... it made my whole day.  So I thought I would share, and not for the purpose of bragging, but so I can look back and always remember how He really does know me, and must have known I would need this.  I won't share the whole letter, but he was telling a less-active member about his family and about me and kyle.  How my plans for my life are law school and I am still pretty much a newlywed and I'm pregnant and finishing school and she said (the next bit will be directly from his letter)

"I respect your sister so much for taking all that on at once." I was like you dont even know how legit and stubborn my sister is:) She doesnt give up. It was way sweet. Us LaPratts we are way stubborn thats what i have found on my mission. Most people are so passive but all of us are way fiery:) I love it. 

Today was one of those days for me... I considered giving up... it would have been easier to just say "No school while I'm pregnant.  I'll just work"  or even "I don't want to be mom... I never have wanted that, I wanted a career and this is messing with my plans" and just lived on that depression.  So although he may never see this... thank you Jay for being one of the best men I'll ever know.  Thank you for knowing me and believing all of that in me.  It is definitely what I needed to hear.  And I needed to hear it from someone besides my husband :)  I can't wait for Jay to come home and get married... he is going to be awesome.  He is the only person who constantly reminds me how excited he is for "little baby", which is what I need to hear since it wasn't my first plan in life.  I love you Jay! 

First Day of School...

So my embarrassing story for the first day of school... I messed up the times and missed class!!  So embarrassing!  What a flaky retard I am today!

Happy Birthday Mom!

So today is my mom's birthday, and my uncle Kesley's too :) So I thought I would spend a few minutes and list some of the things I love and admire most about my mom...
1. She has always put her children first. She didn't work outside of our home until all of us were grown up. She was always there to help with homework or to come to our rehearsals or performances. She was supportive of everything that we did. She withdrew from a semester of school after Jay's accident so she could stay home with her "grown up son" and reteach him to walk and how to function on his own. She would not let him give up.
2. She understood that all of us are different and treated us as so. Growing up, I was always the most needy, but she never favored any of us, just knew what we needed.
3. She faithfully attended the temple on a regular basis. I never realized how important this was to our family until I went through myself. I admire my mother for this sacrifice and obedience.
4. She always stood up for what she believed in. She does not let other people walk all over her. She is a strong woman and taught me and my sister that it is ok to be a strong woman and still be a mother and a wife. There is room for it all.
5. My education has become a priority in her life. She has refused to let me "take a break from school" again. She knows how important education is and has made many sacrifices to make sure I finish and I finish well. Along with my dad, she has spent thousands of dollars in the past year and a half to make sure I am where I need to be and able to finish my education. Money has not been an issue in this quest for them.
6. My mother has taught us kids that it is ok for us kids to not succeed as number one, but quitting is never an option. I have never seen my mom quit when times got hard. She has stuck through everything that she has started. Because of her example, none of her children are quitters, we're strong headed and we're fighters.
7. My mother taught me how important it is to save money. She has recently been able to show me that it is ok to splurge on occasion, but savings is also important. It is because of her example that Kyle and I have any money in the bank at this time.
8. She doesn't dwell on materialistic things. Yeah, she lives in a nice home and drives a nice car, but that is not her focus in life... for her, it's not about "competing with the Jones'" She has those things because her and my dad work hard and after all these years, she deserves them. She doesn't have to show off the biggest and the best, and because of her, I also don't dwell on materialistic things.
9. My mom taught us to work hard. Since I have joined the "real working world" I am amazed at how many people have little or no work ethic at all. My mom taught us from a super young age that it is important to be dependable and to be honest. Stealing time is stealing, period.
10. My mom is my best friend. Ever since I was in high school, I have looked to my mom for advice and to be a friend. She gave up many hours to accompany me to dr's appointments, walk in the blazing sun when I needed to get out of the house and to this day, talk to me almost daily on the phone. She is the kind of mom I want to be.


These are only a few of the things I most admire about my mom... I could list for days, but who wants to read that??



So to an amazing mom and now an amaing Grandma... Happy Birthday Mom! I love you! Make 2-9 a great year :)

Changes

So I have been really bummed lately... it has been a rough summer with a lot of changes for me and kyle... Kyle let me go and get my hair done today and look how I came home! I absolutely love it. It is so much different than everything I have ever done before. It's fun and Kyle loves it.

Doesn't help that I'm not wearing any make up... or my contacts... or that I have already slept on it... but you get the idea...

Just lost...

So I never blog this much... but I have more free time on my hands now and I'm bored.  Our dr appointment got moved to Monday, so there will be no info about that until then.  I have been thinking a lot lately... lots of free time equals lots of thinking...

1.  I graduate in May, it's still a long ways away, but I'm on my final haul, and I'm excited about that.  I am excited to go out into the world with a degree in something that is actually interesting and that I can use to help people, which is ultimately what I want to do.

2.  Kyle and I have been researching law schools a lot lately!  Unfortunately not too many of them are near home.  UNLV would be a great choice for me... it is close to home and has an amazing reputation.  However, is it where I want to be forever?  I lived in Vegas my whole life and never actually did any personal growning until I left.  It would be great to be around our families, especially with the crazy schedule and mass amounts of studying I will be required to do, but is it worth going home and risking never leaving Vegas again?  I guess we will just see when I start applying.  I'm really interested in a few schools, no where near Vegas, but who knows.  I am not super involved in "extra curricular" activities in school.  Nothing really grabs my attention, and unfortunately I like to work, so that will definitely hurt me.

3.  With school ending and deciding whether or not I want to pursue my education further into law school, and a few other things that were going on... I sorta put the whole "baby" thing on hold.  Yeah, we're pregnant, but I refused to let myself get excited.  It was so overwhelming and I was super stressed.  I finally decided that it is ok for me to be excited, and I am.  I am really excited!  I can't wait for little baby to come!  

This is not a super exciting thing to blog about, but I'm in a mood today.  It's not a good mood and it's not a bad mood... it's just a mood.  I really need to get out of it!!

Oops...

Oh man... Krista took of her hat for this... I loved the hat!

That's her hat!  The bright pink one... I loved it!

I had some other pictures that somehow didn't make it onto my computer... but I didn't want to not post them :)  So here they are!  Sorry Krista... I knew I got a picture of you... 

Fun Times

It's been awhile since I have posted and since I am starting to feel better on a regular basis, I figured this is a great way to remind myself years from now what we have been up to.  Kyle and I went to the Bulloch reunion a few weeks ago out in Panaca.  There were so many people.  It was like an Andersen reunion, except everyone stayed in the same house and shared 2 bathrooms.  It was quite an adventure.  We took a few pictures... 

Getting ready to leave Cedar... that's our new car that I mentioned but never posted pictures of.

Panaca is great for 4 wheeling

Jill didn't get there until Friday night, so I attempted to take pictures for her until she got there, but got preoccupied and busy, sorry Jill, but here is one of Rob putting gas in the 4 wheeler, sorry he is not looking and completely oblivious that I'm even taking a picture.

Kurt and Quinton waiting to put gas in their "rides"

Our self portrait while on our ride... we totally match that day, which was NOT planned, but really funny!

At the softball game, Kyle hit a home-run on his first time up to bat... that's my man!

Our "family portrait" before coming home...

Getting ready to leave... this is how I helped to load the car...

After coming home from Panaca, Kyle and I each worked for a day and then left for Salt Lake.  My old roommate was getting married and Jake and Mel live up there, so we went up for a visit.  I was completely slacking with my camera while we were there but it was SO much fun!  It was fun to get to hang out with them and their kids.  We went to Seven Peaks one day and had so much fun.  I felt so bad because about 2 1/2 hours after we were there, we wanted to just relax in the wavepool... who would have known that I wouldn't be able to handle the up and down motion.  The day of the wedding, we got up super early and started running errands.  We walked around the Gateway mall, Kyle bouht me a new outfit, which I LOVE!  Ate lots of junk food and had a great day with Mel.  We even got to stop at the Salt Lake Temple.  We came home and I thought I had time for a nap... it's been awhile since I could go all day with no nap, and didn't wake up until past 7.  The wedding was from 6-8 and it was still an hour north of where we were!  Sorry Katie... but congratulations.  The next day we came home.  Poor Kyle!  He barely got any sleep, and aside from me throwing up the first hour of the ride, I know it was a long drive for him.  He is so great to me while I'm pregnant.  I love him for it!  

So it has been a fun few weeks with the "Avance" family!  Unfortunately, we don't know when we will be able to get back down to Vegas, which sucks, but we have been having fun with our family up here!  We have had a great couple of weeks.  My next dr appointment is on Wednesday, so we'll post exactly what is going on.  I have the first ultra sound, I will get it posted around Wednesday, and since I am starting to show... we'll post some more pictures!  So until then...