Blessings galore.

I'm the financial worry worm of the family. No surprise there, right? So, as we've been getting closer and closer to little peanut's big debut, I've become more and more anxious about just how we will make ends meet. Well, just like Chuck always says, "Everything will work out." Thanks to so many wonderful people, we have truly been blessed financially in the last couple of months.

1. Papa Woods.

When we first found out that we were pregnant, I was just graduating from BYU and consequently losing health insurance ((bad timing, I know). We had applied to a few health insurance companies, but they denied me because I was already pregnant (darn those pre-existing condition clauses). We tried Medicaid, but weren't able to get any response from them before we left for Fiji. So, we were in a bit of a pickle.

Thanks to Obama-care and my dad's efforts, I was able to hop onto my Dad's health insurance at no additional cost. I make it sound like an easy process, but my dad went through a lot of work and even changed his plan so that I could get affordable care in Utah, not just Kentucky. So, thanks Papa for keeping us insured in one of the most important times!

AND as my birthday gift, my dad offered to pay for my flight to Kentucky for Laura's wedding (this weekend!). Pretty generous birthday gift. Thanks, Dad :)

2. Tammy and Greg Adams.

Tam and Greg just had adorable little Grant on January 2, 2010.

Adorable baby Grant :)

Consequently, they have so graciously offered us loads of baby gear. I'm not just talking baby clothes (extremely cute baby clothes that I look through almost every week) and burp clothes, but a swing, her boppy, their stroller...things that they could have sold, but decided to give to us instead. Thanks Tam and Greg for clothing our soon-to-be son and so much more :)

3. HELP International.

Chuck and I had planned a big trip to New Zealand and Australia after our Fiji excursion. Since HELP pays for our direct flights to Fiji, we just purchased the entire trip (LA to Fiji, Fiji to NZ, NZ to Aus, Aus, NZ and NZ back to LA) through HELP. The cost of the extra flights were surprisingly only around $400/person. We told HELP that we would just deduct that amount ($800 total) out of our final paychecks when we got back.

Chuck's sweet grandma, Twilla Hancock, passed away just days before we were to fly to New Zealand. After a lot of prayers and discussion, we both decided to cut off our trip and head straight back home to attend her funeral. Luckily, we were able to change the flights with no additional costs whatsoever-a major blessing that we weren't expecting. We made it back just in time to spend a wonderful week with the Krebs family and to celebrate Grandma Hancock's life.

The Krebs Family with Grandpa Hancock at Grandma Hancock's funeral

When we returned to Provo, we went into the HELP office to return the various items we had used over the course of the summer (laptop, phones, etc.). The directors asked us just how much extra we owed them for our flights. When we told them that it was around $800 dollars, they dismissed it and told us not to worry about it. Yet another incredible blessing.

4. Corinda Krebs.

Corinda, who happens to be about 3 weeks behind me in her own pregnancy, offered to host and plan a baby shower (with the help of Momma Krebs and Momma Woods and a few others) while we will be in Kentucky. How sweet!

5. Momma Woods.

As we've started to look around more seriously at baby gear and ask other women and couples tons of questions about what's worth it and what's not, we were a little overwhelmed. Momma Woods has graciously offered to get our very first crib for us. Not that it will fit into the place we live now, but she said she'll "hold it" until we find a place where little peanut can have his own room. Thanks, mom!

Not only that, but she has offered to let Chuck and I use her "companion certificate" (a reward through Delta Airlines that allows you to purchase one ticket and then a companion ticket on the same flight for only $99) for our flights home for Christmas. Thanks momma for helping us out more than you know.

5. Medicaid.

Just today we found out that if we apply for medicaid as soon as little peanut is born, Medicaid will pay for 100% of the baby's hospital bill plus appointments, etc. up until age 6. Holy cow!

So, as you can see...we're a pretty blessed little family if ya ask me. And just like Chuck always says, "Everything will always work out." In fact, President Hinckley says it a little better, "It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don’t worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. … If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers."

Just gotta have a little faith (and some really wonderful family and friends ;) ).

The Bump

Pregnancy continues to fascinate me. I'm amazed that God has blessed us with the ability to create life. His trust in us is astonishing. It only makes me more anxious to live up to what He can see in me.

Little peanut continues to grow and move and it's making me more and more anxious to meet him! We haven't hardly posted any pregnancy photos, so I'll give you guys a little timeline of how I've grown in the past six months.

May 21, 2011: 10 Weeks

July 1, 2011: 16 weeks

July 16, 2011: 19 weeks

July 29, 2011: 21 weeks

August 7, 2011: 22 weeks

August 20, 2011: 24 weeks

September 25, 2011: 28 weeks

September 25, 2011: Happy as can be!

Things are going really great so far. Sometimes it still surprises me when I look in the mirror and all of a sudden there is a baby in my tummy! Hopefully I don't freak out in a few months when I  wake up in the morning and there is a baby in my room ; )

Fiji Reunion

So, we've only been back from Fiji for about a month - but yesterday HELP International sponsored a brunch to celebrate the summer's accomplishments, to highlight some of the projects in the different countries and to provide a venue for a sweet reunion. I showed up a couple hours late thanks to a proctored and practice LSAT (I take it next Saturday - pray for me), but I still got to see them all and hang out with them after wards at a park.

Group photo in Fiji! Sorry about the quality. 

Group photo from Saturday... 5 are going without sleep after hiking Timp, FYI. 

It was so great to see these guys who became such good friends over the summer :). Two of them drove down from Rexburg and a whole handful from Logan just to be there on Saturday - what a great team. If you didn't get to see the video we put up of our time in Fiji, you can check it out here. We really were blessed with incredibly responsible and hardworking volunteers - and although I might have given them all a hard time, Emily and I sure do love them.

Darcee, Lauren, Carlee and Taylor

Hanging out at Kiwanis Park - the Timp hikers were tuckered out...

Fiji: In a nutshell...

Emily and I had the most incredible opportunity this summer - we got to live in Fiji and serve the people there for four months with HELP International. We grew to love the people (even more) and to crave the food. We hope you enjoy this video that Emily put together that should help answer some questions as to what we actually did while we were there. It is a little long - but we think you'll like it.

The songs (if you were wondering) were some of our favorite Fijian pop - sorry about the tuning difficulties, Fijians are all about the beat - the notes don't matter so much. If you have any more questions about what we did, or how to get involved yourself -- just send us an e-mail.