Why Giving Matters

A few weeks ago we had Stake Conference. For the adult session on Saturday our Stake President showed a video of a talk by Arthur C. Brooks given at BYU earlier this year. I loved it and wanted to share it because I thought it was so good. Arthur Brooks is a social scientist specifically an economist studying about charity. He wanted to link money and giving together. He thought that once we had money we would give it away but rather found the opposite. Those who are charitable have more money. Not only that but he links charity to happiness and finds those most happy give the most. Surprisingly to me was that he is not a member of the church. Throughout his whole talk I thought he was. This talk is seriously amazing, it is well worth your time to listen to it. I hope you do:)
You can go to this website and watch or download his speech by clicking
here.

New Game

I swear everyday Annie learns something new. I showed her how to spin the rattle and she picked it right up and started doing it herself. She can also sit up without any support now.

Little Aggie

Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year. I went down to visit Derrick and Lucy Friday and Saturday. May and Annie are so fun, they are such entertainment. Saturday night we had a fun halloween party with friends. We decorated sugar cookies, played the candy bar game, and watched the movie Young Frankenstien. Thanks to all our friends who made the party great, even the Laytons who showed up two hours late but Justins costume was worth it. The best part was dressing up Annie, she is the cutest little lion.

Teeth

My little girl has teeth, what? Yep it was not a fun process but she has her two bottom front teeth. Her smile looks so cute with them.

Pumpkin Walk

Saturday we went to the pumpking walk which was totally cool. I have never gone before and it was different than I thought but we both loved it. We got to see the cool scene set ups, fun pumpkins and they gave us a treat at the end. I recommend going to anyone plus it is free so perfect date night!

Sociology of Family

As a sociology major I studied many theories about society. My favorite is called structural functionalism derived by Emile Durkheim. He compares society to a machine, suggesting that each part of society has to work together to function correctly just like a machine needs all its part in working conditon to do that which it is intended to.
The family is important to society, it is intended to perform certain functions for society. The familys basic functions are to be companionship for adults and to reproduce. It can get more complicated than that as everyone has their own definitions of what a family should look like and do in society.
My idea of family is influenced by my religion. The Lds church has a very strong stand on family. Growing up I was taught that families can be together forever. I was sealed to my husband for time and eternity and it is such a comfort to me to know that I can be with my husband no matter what happens to us. I believe the family is there to teach children. The home is a supplement to school teachers, religious leaders and other parts of society. We should continue the learning process at home.
I believe when the family doesn't take the time to properly teach childern and perform their functions it becomes out of whack that in return will effect other functions of society. I strongly beilieve in the family as one of the most important parts of society. I have given up so many things that I want to do with my life so I can be home with my little girl to raise and teach her how I want. I love the churchs teachings and emphasis on family I feel very strongly about its importance. If you want to know more there is always lds.org that can answer questions.

Sharing the Gospel

I was reading an article in the ensign this month about how successful sharing the gospel online can be. Especially on blogs because a lot of people can access and read public blogs and I have found it is really easy to find blogs through the links on the side. The article talked about how some people who are looking for answers turn to the internet. I always do that for various topics but I never thought anyone would do that for religion. Well I am going to try ocassionally posting some of my beliefs and testimony about the church. I hope that anyone searching for answers will be able to find my blog and my posts will help them. To all my faithful blog friends and readers I hope you will enjoy reading more about me and what I think. If you have anyone that might enjoy reading these posts introduce them to my blog.

Weekend fun

We had an excellent weekend. Kade's mom came up to spend time with us. We had fun making watches, watching movies and playing with Annie. With her here Kade and I were able to go on a date. We enjoyed dinner at Iron Gate Grill and went to see Couples Retreat which was hilarious. Today we carved pumpkins, so much fun!

Loving Fall

I just love all the colors of fall. Friday we went for a drive in the canyon to see the beauty. I am sad to say goodbye to summer but am excited for the fun of fall. To kick it off we enjoyed conference weekend. We were able to spend a lot of time with Sami; watching conference, eating yummy treats and watching movies. Sunday we had the chance to hang out with our friends the Laytons. They cooked us a yummy meal and let us crash at their place to watch conference. What a great time!

Daddy's little girl

I come into the room last night and this is what I find...

Funny

Kade got annie to laugh really good the other night but by the time I got my camera out she was pretty much done. I did catch little giggling. Here is a fun video of her, we think it is so cute!

Snowbird / Park City

This past weekend was Kade's moms 50th birthday. To celebrate we surprised her with a getaway to a Snowbird lodge one night and Park City lodge the next. We had so much fun hiking around, riding the alpine slide, playing at the park, going to Ocotber fest, swimming, playing games and watching movies. We had a big 50's party for her with awesome decorations, music and great food. We had so much fun spending a whole weekend with everyone and annie was great, well except that she thinks she needs to always be with mom and dad now, that little stinker. Here are some fun pictures of our great weekend.

Four Months

Annie is smiling and laughing so much now, she is not a newborn any more. We can't believe how big she has gotten already. She is so much fun!

Sleeping in!

When I woke up this morning I realized it was a little later than Annie normally sleeps so I go to check on her and this is what I find...

When we put her to bed she was on her back all wraped up, I didn't know she could even pull herself up onto her side like that. She sure does look comfy and cute.

We've Moved

It was time to move on from Aggie Village now that we are both graduated. We had some fun times there and will miss our fun ward. We love our new place, it comes with a lot of conveniences we haven't had in awhile and more space for our little family. To all our friends in Aggie Village we still want to hang out come visit us!

Three Months

Happy three months to Annie. She is getting so big and fun. I love her little smile!

Family Pictures

Thanks to Camille Garrison we had pictures taken of our beautiful little Annie and new family. We just love them she did such a good job!

Random pics of Annie

It's all gone

and I love it. Now Annie can't pull my hair out!

Annie

My baby Annie

Born May 11th at 11:45 pm

7 pounds 19 1/2 inches
More pictures to come

Happy Birthday Kade

Since we knew I was going to be induced on Kade's actual birthday we celebrated early. We went fishing, Kade did catch a fish. Kade grilled steaks and crab legs for dinner. And then on Monday the 11th he received the best present, our little Annie!

A Final Baby Shower

My Dad's side of the family threw me a baby shower on Saturday. We had lots of fun eating yummy food, giving advice with candy bars then playing the candy bar game. Can you believe this is what our drive looked like through the canyon in April
All the girls went in together and gave me this stroller and carseat, carrier set. They also put together a really cute diaper cake.

We are very ready for our Annie to come, now it is just a waiting game!

Finally Spring

Now that we have some spring weather in Logan we have been able to get out of our apartment and enjoy the outdoors. Friday we had a campfire with friends and made yummy tin foil dinners. Then yesterday we went fishing, not a lot of luck but hopefully the nice weather keeps up so we can try again soon before this little baby decides to come.

Easter Party

We had a fun easter party Friday night with some of our friends from our ward. We enjoyed dying eggs and had a contest for the best egg. Eric the artist won the easter basket. Thanks to everyone that came and participated, this was really fun!

Happy Birthday

I had a fabulous birthday! Sami and I went to Cafe Rio for lunch and then to the mall to pick out a cute necklace. Later Kade and I went to Olive Garden for dinner, Cold Stone for a treat and rented surfs up. It was a very yummy and relaxing day. Thanks to my wonderful husband for making it a great day and everyone else who wished me a happy birthday.
Kade gave me season 2 and 6 of Gilmore girls, I now have the entire set. My parents sent a necklace and earings made out of the stone Larimar native to Dominican Republic, it is very pretty.

And another baby shower

Saturday my mother-in-law threw me a baby shower. We had lots of fun and baby Annie recieved many cute outfits, she will be well dressed. We feel very ready for her and don't want to wait another month. Thank you to everyone who has helped us get ready for this little one.

A Shower of Firsts

On Saturday Lucy and Sami threw me a very fun shower. We had to guess baby foods by smelling or for the brave tasting. Sami won the prize for that. The favorite was decorating onesies. I have some very cute original onesies for baby Annie to wear. I received a lot of really good gifts for all of baby's firsts. I was very excited to get a blanket my grandma spent many hours making. We are more than ready for this baby to come!

Baby Shower #1

I had my first baby shower last night. I am now really excited for Annie to come with all the cute things I got. We had a lot of fun playing games and eating yummy food. Thanks to Nicole and MaryAnne for putting on a really fun shower!

Bedding Set

I finally got the bedding set I ordered for the crib and I love it. It is so soft! I love getting everything ready for little Annie. We also got a dresser/changing table to match the crib. The nursery is coming together, we just need our little girl to get here. We are really excited!

Annie's Crib

After a lot of looking at stores and online we finally purchased a crib for our little Annie on the way, I am very excited about it. Kade spent his evening putting it together for us last night and he did a very good job. I wasn't much help so it took him about 2 hours, too bad we don't live closer to family so he could have had better help. Now I just need to find a mattress and bedding set, yay more things for me to look at online!

Valentines Weekend

Our Valentines started on Friday at our stakes sweethearts dinner and dance. We enjoyed a yummy catered dinner and spending a date night together. Afterwards we went to coldstone for ice cream. Before we went to the dance Kade surprised me with a dozen roses and a balloon. Saturday we went out to luch at Cafe Rio (my favorite). Kade had to work at the restaurant that evening but I surprised him when he got home with homemade chocolate chip cookies, his favorite. It was a great weekend. It is crazy to think that next Valentines we will have a baby.

Time for Change

Once agian I have changed my hair. I was really done being blond and decided to go dark. I love it! Sheena did such a good job.

And We're Having...

A GIRL!
We are really excited and I can't wait to buy little pink things and dress up my little girl.

Baby Bump Update

This is about 20 weeks along. We just love watching my belly grow and feel our little one kick and move inside.

And finally... Our Holiday Season

We enjoyed Christmas eve and morning just the two of us. I spent Christmas eve cooking a special dinner for us and after we decorated sugar cookies. On Christmas we enjoyed spending time with Kade's family. We enjoy seeing our neices and opening presents is a lot more fun with young children.

We also celebrated three wonderful years of Marriage on the 27th.

I finally did it!

I graduated with a Bachelors in Sociology and Minor in Family Human Development. The day turned out to be a snow storm and quite cold but I loved going to graduation. I was happy to have my mother, Kade, Sami and Camaree there to support me. To celebrate we went out to eat and my most wonderful husband gave me a pearl necklace for all my hard work. I could have never finished without him or my family. Thanks to everyone. I can't believe I am done.

Fun with Family

My mom visited for my graduation. We had a lot of fun while she was here. We ate out at the Thai restaurant in Logan and went to Twilight.

My mom loved my pregnant tummy and took a bunch of pictures.
We also had a lot of fun playing with our neice, she is so cute and happy. We can't wait for our little one soon.

It's Becoming Apparent I'm Becoming A Parent

Amanda is starting to get a tight little belly on her. She's growing pregnanter everyday. This picture was taken a week ago and she's even bigger now. Just another excuse for her to go shopping. We're going to head to the store today and pick up a few things for her expanding tummy. I think we should just buy her 7 different colors of sweats and she could wear a different color for each day of the week. Sweats are comfortable, stretchy, and warm. I can't figure out why she doesn't like the idea.

Happy Halloween

Carving my pumpkin, this would have to be my favorite Halloween tradition

Kade's pumpkin is supposed to look like the scarcrow mask from the Dark Knight. I think he did a very good job.

For FHE this week we enjoyed carving pumpkins with our friends Camaree & Eric and Justin & Laura. I have to say we are very talented they all turned out very good. Tonight after school and work we are going down to a party with some of Kade's good friends from High School, which should be lots of fun. I can't wait until next year when we have a little one to dress up for Halloween. Happy Halloween to everyone, hope you have lots of fun!

New Hair

I had my hair highlighted really blonde and did the dark shadow color underneath as you can see. It was a much needed change and I really like it.

Ultrasound and Heartbeat!

Today Kade and I went to the doctor and saw baby Applegate and heard the heart beating (it is so fast). It was the most amazing experience. Sometimes I still had moments I couldn't believe I was really prego but this made it more than real. We are so excited!

Update

So it has been awhile. We had an adventurous summer. We started out by visiting my family in the Dominican Republic for two weeks. We were taken to some amazing beaches including a resort. We were able to do some shopping and experience their culture. I enjoyed getting a manicure and pedicure with my mother. All in all it was a very relaxing, much needed vacation.
We then had my family visit Utah for awhile. We were busy catching up and spending time with them. We had a Jackman family reunion with all of my dad's side. We had a family talent show. and went boating with the Guests, plus many other adventures.
The summer ended with Derrick and Lucy having their darling little baby and unfortunately my family returning to the DR. And now I am a month into my last semester. And I almost forgot we found out that I am pregnant. We are expecting a bundle of joy come May!

Sami's Birthday

Kade's Birthday

Kade's Graduation!

Kade Graduated! For his graduation we were honored to hear from L. Tom Perry and James H. Quigley (CEO of Deloitte and touche). After the ceremony we had a picnic of which I made this delicious cake (thanks mom)!

My Birthday

For my birthday we had yummy peanut butter cup cake and then went to the Eve 6 concert in town with our friends Eric & Camaree, Fred & Sarah and Sami which was amazing!

Happy Easter

Pregnant

Lucy's belly is sooo cute! We are excited for her and to have a niece in the Jackman Family!