Today . . .

Love of the Day:

The Weather!

Mon77°F 47°F

__________________________

Frustration of the Day:

Trying to Prepare for four college exams that must all be taken within a three hour time period. The good news is, after tomorrow I only have three final exams to take in March before I graduate!

Alright, I better get back to studying.

100 Days to Go!

Happy New Year!

I love Celebrating the New Year and the excitement it brings. Usually I have a tendency to be a little over ambitious when setting new goals each year. This year has been different. I think I am already so overwhelmed by the thought of having a child and the changes it will bring to our lives I don't even know where to begin! So, I went easy on myself this year. Here are my New Year's resolutions in a nutshell:

1. Always do my best
2. Graduate from BYU in August
3. Lose weight after baby is born, Do family history, Keep a daily journal, sing in the ward choir, become a better cook, Scrapbook, write family newsletters, keep family calendar to track important events, keep home clean and in order, get a better camera and enhance my photography skills, use my sewing machine often and craft often, be a perfect wife and mother.

That's it! Only three things to work on this year.:) This really is short compared to most years and I didn't even list everything. We also have family goals that we plan to work on. As long as I take things one day at a time I think 2008 will be a very exciting and successful year.



Here are a couple of pictures from Christmas day. I need to work on taking more pictures of everyone when we are together. I guess I should add that to #3 on my goal list!

We had a great time attending various family parties and getting stuck in the snow while in UT!:) It really was the beautiful white Christmas I had been dreaming of. The big gifts we received this year were a videocamera and my sewing machine. Our parents are so great! We feel very blessed. Paul was excited about all of his gifts, but I think the BYU stocking from Grandma got the biggest reaction!

Baby Shower Fun!

It was so fun to get together with family and friends to celebrate the future arrival of our little guy. Thanks everyone for coming and for all of the wonderful gifts! (Thanks Em for taking all of the pictures!) His room is beginning to feel more and more like a nursery as the baby supplies increase. Speaking of his room. We purchased baby furniture just before the Christmas break. I think it is just perfect, and the fact that we got a really good deal on it makes it even more perfect!:)

The Nursery Decor is still in the works. I will post more pictures once everything is up and ready to go.

Tis The Season!

Hey Everyone!

Paul and I are updating our Christmas card list and we need your email addresses. (We send digital Christmas cards.) Please send your email address to paul.w.sheets@gmail.com so we can spread some holiday cheer with you! (If you know that we already have your email address please disregard this request:)

Thanks friends!

P.S. I had a lot of fun decorating for Christmas this year, so I thought I would share some of my little projects with you. . .

I added some decorations to this cute miniature wreath that my Mom sent us two years ago.

I tied my first "big bow" to go on the top of our tree. It took me about a million tries, but I finally ended up with a pretty good one.

This was my big project. I made two nine foot garlands. One to go above our sliding glass doors and one to line our kitchen bar. I still need to add lights to the one above the doors.

Holiday Fun!

Thanks for the awesome ideas everyone! I am so grateful for your input and encouragement! I can't believe I am already halfway through the pregnancy. . .

I had to post this fun video that Paul's brother Dan made. I think it is so cute!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1140485556

Enjoy!

It's a . . .BOY?!

We just found out tonight. I have to be honest and admit that I was kind of hoping for a girl, but we are very excited to welcome a little boy to our family. Paul had that (sorry, but I told you so. . .) look on his face when we found out. He will be such a great Dad! He feels much more prepared to have a boy since he comes from a family of four boys. I come from a family of four boys too, so I guess I shouldn't be nervous either.:)

Thanks for all of your great suggestions on what to get! I am sure there will be more questions coming in the near future. . .

We don't have a scanner so this is as good as it gets for now. This is the best picture we have of the baby's face. ( I had to take a picture of the picture.) He was waving at us with his arm right above his head. Isn't he cute?!:) (His head is on the right side of the screen with his hand curled up next to it and his elbow extending up and out to the middle of the picture.) We learned that he has very long legs and big hands. . . he's definitely a Tikalsky!

Protein! Protein! Protein! So, I got Paul a "Daddy book" and I was so excited when I found out that he was actually reading it! Well, one of the first things that he learned was that protein contributes to the development of brain cells during the first 20 weeks. (I eat protein, but not a ton. I just don't like it that much, especially since I have been pregnant.) Of course Paul wants our child to be a genius so he decided to help out. He did the grocery shopping last week and this is SOME of what he came home with. Yum?! Well I ate it and all I can say is, only 2 more weeks to go . . .(then I'll be at 20 weeks.)

Mommy Question . . .

Thanks everyone for your sweet comments and support! We are hoping to find out the sex of the baby this week!!! It may be a little too early for them to tell, but we will let you know as soon as we find out!

Now for my Question. . .

I am beginning our baby registry at Babies "R" Us and I am wondering if any of you have something that you just can't live without. There are so many things out there, I am not sure what to choose. I think I have most of the basics, but I am sure there are little things that I have never even heard of that you love. Thanks for any input you may have!!!

P.S. You do not have to be a Mom to respond to this post.:)

Yellowstone National Park in October

It was so great to get out and get some fresh mountain air while California was up in flames! I have been craving the real outdoors for quite some time now. California just doesn't cut it for me in that category.

Don't worry this picture was taken from the car.:)
Old Faithful

It was so cold and pooring rain in this picture. We are so grateful for my awesome grandparents who took us all over the park without one complaint of the weather or us:). We had a great time spending the weekend with them. We hope it is not too long before we can go up and visit again!

The new Rexburg Temple.

The Wedding!

(Sorry this post is in reverse order! )

I love this picture of the SLC Temple. It looks so majestic! I took it from the Joseph Smith Memorial building where the wedding dinner was held.

We love our grandparents!

I love my Utah mountains!

About to Eat lunch and play games between the wedding and the reception.

The Idaho Reception





The Idaho Falls Temple
What a beautiful couple! I wish we had gotten a close up of them.

I was in heaven with the beautiful fall colors!
Thanks for being our photographer Matt!

Our BIG News!

Ok, It is time to spill the beans. We wish we could tell our exciting news to more of you in person, but we just can't keep it a secret any longer!

WE ARE HAVING A BABY! We couldn't be more ecstatic. The due date is April 18th and if you scroll down to the bottom of the our blog you can see exactly how far along I am.

We welcome any advice from you experienced parents on pregnancy and newborns. We feel pretty clueless at times, but all in all everything has been great so far.