Happy New Year

Today as Jon was driving me to work we talked about tonight and what we would like to do to celebrate the new year, and it occurred to me that I would rather stay home and spend a quiet evening with Josie in bed, than try to go celebrate with friends or family with a cranky baby. All of a sudden I felt old. Well, my quiet evening started when Jon went to bed early (he worked the grave shift last night, and then watched Josie all day), I then put Josie to bed and took a long bath and read a book...and then Josie woke up. She is now sitting next to me playing with her doll, and I am so happy that I am "old". I live a comfortable, happy life with a wonderful family, and my best friend as my husband. So in honor of the end of 2009 I want to take some time to remember what happened this year, and show my gratitude for what I do have.

At the beginning of the year, Jon was laid off from Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, but then shortly got a job with Chrysalis, an independent living program for mentally and physically challenged individuals. He works in a house where three guys live. He likes his job, most of the time, and since the hours are mostly evenings a weekends, it has been a blessing. In September he started his Senior year of college at BYU, he is extremely anxious to graduate in April. I am so proud of him for his hard work and persistence in his education. In August Jon became a daddy, and took on full responsibility. His fatherhood became official when Josie was 1 week old and left her stamp of approval for Jon as her daddy by pooping all over him. He is a wonderful and loving dad and he has been so willing to take her to his classes, and work grave shifts so we don't have to get a baby-sitter.

Josie was born on August 2nd. She came into the world at 9 lbs 2 oz and she has been growing like a weed ever since. She has quite the personality, and she is one of the happiest babies. If you are ever feeling blue, you just have to talk to her and she will give you one of her contagious smiles, and talk back to you. About a month ago she decided that she didn't want to drink from a bottle anymore. We tried many different nipples, but it's a no-go! This is a problem since I work 10 hours a day (M-Th). But somehow we have managed, and again it makes it a little more bearable with her happy attitude. Josie loves to talk and experiment with her voice (even the high pitched screams). She is almost sitting up by her self, and we have started feeding her rice cereal this past week, and she loves it.

This whole year for me has been devoted to Josie. Between being pregnant, giving birth, and then caring for her, I feel like have haven't done much else. I am very grateful for the fact that I had a healthy pregnancy, and I was able to give birth without complications, and on top of all of that Heavenly Father gave me the most beautiful, happy, and precious spirit to raise.
I have been working for the State of Utah for 2 years now, and although my job is frustrating at times, I am very grateful for my job and the fact that I can provide for my family. Because of my position I see TONS of Utah families that struggle with paying bills, personal relationships, and just life in general. This is an odd blessing in disguise, because I always come home so grateful for Jon, Josie, my family, my home, and the life I had growing up.

Thank you everyone for being such good friends and a good support. Thank you for helping us in our times of need. Thank you for being such good examples. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing you lives with us. We love you, and look forward to spending more years with everyone.

** Well I have finally calmed the dogs down from all the New Year fireworks, and I think it is time for me to celebrate by going to bed!
** I just realized that 8 years ago from tonight (this morning) Jon and I had our first kiss! :D
** I have some super cute videos and pictures to post, but it is too late and I will try to post them soon.

4 1/2 months

I wrote the following about 2 weeks ago and didn't finish or post it.

Our little Josie girl is 4 1/2 months, and just the cutest thing in the world. She is the happiest baby that anyone could ever ask for. She is very alert, always smiling, and loves to experiment with her voice ... even the high pitched screams. We went to the dr. a couple weeks ago and she weighed in at 15 lbs 4 oz and 26 inches, that puts her in the 95th percentile for her height, 90th percentile for her weight, and 55 percentile for her head. She is going to be a tall skinny girl with a tiny head! She is so much like her Daddy in so many ways. She is very social and loves to talk to anyone and everyone (even when she is starving and Mommy is at work and unable to feed her).

3 Months

I can't belive how fast time goes by, and how fast Josie is growing. I had a wonderful 12 weeks off of work, but then reality started again. I started back to work last Tuesday. I am so grateful that Jon has an easy schedule and he is able to watch Josie. I should be approved to work from home any day so that I can be around. Especially since Josie isn't a huge fan of bottles.
Last month we blessed Josie. I had worked really hard to make a blessing dress for her, and I finished at 2 am the morning off. It was a wonderful day. We had a lot of family and friends here to help us celebrate that wonderful day. Jon gave Josie a beautiful blessing, and I was happy that he didn't suprise me with a different name for her.
Josie is such a happy baby. She is always smiling and talking to us, and she is even starting to laugh for us! We just love watching her grow. Last week she rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time! I was so amazed and excited. She hasn't done it again, but I keep watching. Even though I get so excited when she learns something new Im sad that she wont be so little for very long.
Here are some pictures from the blessing, and a few others of the cutest baby in the world.

3 Wonderful Years

Almost 9 years ago my mom introduced me to Bro. Goss, our new home teacher. He shook my hand and told me he had a son, Jon, who was my age. I didn’t think too much about it, but I did hope he was cute, especially since there were no guys in my ward my age. Jon wouldn’t be moving in until after his current school semester, but I was excited to meet him. The day came and all my friends crowded around to meet this new boy. There were 8 girls wanting his attention but somehow I was the lucky one to win his heart. I had no idea how much life would change after that Sunday afternoon when I shook his hand and said, “Hi I’m Rachel”.

I had no idea that…

I would spend the rest of my teenage years growing into a better person because of your example, love, and forgiveness.

You would be the standard that all other boys would be measured against.

As I grew up and moved onto college and you on your mission that I would not be able to stop thinking of you, and hoping that our paths would cross again.

You would forgive me before forgiveness was ever asked.

We would have 3 first kisses. Even though all of them were memorable; 3rd time’s a charm!

I would be happy if we were left on a desert island together.

I would be happy being poor for the rest of my life if that meant I got to spend it with you.

You would get down on one knee and ask me to marry you.

We would plan our wedding together,

We would go to the temple and make a covenant with God to cherish each other forever.

We would make a lot of mistakes together, but that we can laugh at them today.

Our marriage would be the best thing in my life.

You would be my greatest support and motivation.

We would have children together.

You would be the one the one to make me laugh every day.

You would be the one to dry my tears.

You would be the first one I want to tell my news.

You would be the one that I want to grow old with.

You would be the one I get to make and keep traditions with.

You would continue to be my best friend, even after 9 years.

We would have a lot of firsts together.

We would get to learn how to be parents together.

Jon, I am so thankful that I have been blessed to have you in my life. I honestly had no idea that life could be this wonderful. Even at 3am in the morning when I'm feeding little Josie, life is perfect because you are next to me rubbing my feet, or dreaming about rubbing my feet. Jon, I love you so much and I continue to enjoy everyday with you. At night I go to bed excited to wake up next to you and spend another day with you.
-Love you FOREVER

BATH TIME!

Josie lost her umbilical cord yesterday so I decided to give her a real bath. I had been noticing a lot of gunk coming from the umbilical cord and eventually I found it in in her jammies. I have given her a few sponge baths, but it had been a few days...and she probably smelled like rotting milk. I probably smelled(smell) like rotting milk. She was a little fussy when I took her clothes off, but once she felt the warm water she relaxed and really enjoyed it.

Just look how cute she is!!!

Josephine Omeara Goss

Josephine Omeara Goss was born August 2, 2009 at 8:18pm. She was 9 lbs 2 oz and 21 inches. Sunday morning August 2nd I woke up around 5:30am and realized that I was having very painful back labor. Almost immediately the contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. We took our time getting to the hospital because I didn't want to be sent back home. When we did arrive at the UVRMC hospital it was 8am and I was dialted to 3cm. They gave me an epidural around 9am and I was so happy! I tried to take a few naps, but that was pretty unsuccesful. We talked about names and watched Beauty And The Beast to pass the time. At 4pm our nurse came in and said I was fully dilated and the baby was at a +1 so I could start pushing. At first it was a little exciting...it meant that our baby was really about to come. I had prepared myself to push for 2 hours. Well, 1 1/2 hours came and our sweet baby had not moved at all. She was posterior and was hitting my pelvic bone. We also found out that I have a little curve at the end of my tale bone that was getting in the way. The Dr. tried turning her over twice, but she flipped back both times. At this point he told us our best option would probably be to use forceps. We tried for another 20 minutes or so and then there was a shift change for our nurse. Our new nurse had me try different positions but nothing was making a difference. After 2 1/2 hours of pushing we were ready to have the Dr help out with the forceps. Unfortunately, there was another shift change for the Dr. so the new Dr. on staff wasn't able to make it to my room for about an hour. Even though I pushed for about 4 hours, and I was extremely exhausted, I think this was a blessing in disguise. I still was not able to push her out, but somewhere along the line when my epidural was wearing off I could feel the need to push and I found the energy to push her just enough where she turned and stayed. Even with the forceps I think this really helped her come into the world safer and easier. Josephine Omeara Goss was born August 2, 2009 at 8:18pm. Little Josie had already pooped so the NICU was there to make sure she didn't breath any maconium. I wasn't able to hold her right away but hearing her cry and seeing her for the first time was so unbelievable. Josie had a lot of cuts and bruises, but she is perfectly healthy.

Proud Daddy

Beautiful Josephine

Going Home

HAPPY 4th

I feel like I would be ungrateful if I didn't take a few minutes to talk about my amazing 4th of July weekend. Brenda, Rick, Brian, and Callie planned a little weekend in Park City and then invited Jon and I to come along for the fun. We all (except for Jon who had to work) got up to Park City on Thursday night had delicious speghetti, and just hung out in a cute little condo. The condo had an amazing view of a lake surrounded by the mountains ... it was so pretty. Friday we went to the outlet stores. Luckily Brenda's 1 year old has about as much energy for outings and shopping as I do, so I able to walk around the outlets for the prefect amount of time. I spent most my time going into Carter's, Osh'Gosh, and Motherhood looking at all the cute things I could get for my baby. I was strong and only bought the few things I needed off my list ... but it was hard.

Later Friday afternoon Jon was able to join us and we all went swimming. It was awesome to get in the water and feel completely weightless! That night we had delicious potatoes and steak for dinner.

Bottoms Up!

We went to the dr a few days ago for my routine appointment. Our little baby is perfect! She has even turned so her little bumm is up. She is loving my ribs and seems to cuddle up against them as much as possible. Being pregnant has, for the most part, been a lot of fun. It is exciting to watch our little baby grow and feel her moving around. I can't believe that I am down to only 1 month left. I already have her "going home outfit" picked out and her clothes washed, but I still need to organize everything and make our 2nd room a suitable baby's room instead of a storage unit. I have also decided to make her blessing dress. I never thought about it until a woman in my ward showed the Releif Society the Heirloom dresses that she has made and offered to teach classes. Well, the classes never happened, but I fell in love with the style of dress and decided to make my very own. I have had fun trying out new sewing techniques and attempting to make this dress. I really like what I have done so far, but it will definetly be prettier from a distance.

We moved into our new apartment...and we love it. We don't have internet set up yet, so sometimes I feel like I'm disconnected from the world, but in some ways it is really nice. Jon is taking the summer semester off from school since the baby will is due around the time he would have finals. So he is working and enjoying the summer...It is a good break for him. We are both very excited and eager for him to finish up this last year of school.

Expecting...The Unexpected

Time has been going by so fast. I can't believe that I am aleady 32 weeks pregnant. I only have 2 months left to go, and I don't have any time to relax (at least not yet...probably never will).
In May we found out that there was a possibility that we would get kicked out of our current apartment. The house that we live in is not registered as a two family dwelling. Basically we are living illegally! The city put one of those embarrassing yellow "Public Notice" signs on the front lawn...it's amazing how many people actually stop their car and read it. Our landlord appealed the cities decision, but it was denied. He has now hired a lawyer, and requesting the city relook at his case. The soonest we could find out a definite "YES" we can stay would be the end of July. After doing my research and looking at the notes from the meetings, I do not trust that his appeal will be approved ... which would leave us moving after the baby is born. Moving is a lot of work with out a baby, I can't imagine adding that to the scenario. So last Thursday we decided to move now...which was a very hard and stressful decision. Especially since we have two dogs. After spending so much time looking on http://www.ksl.com/ and http://www.craigslist.com/ for apartments, calling to ask if they allow dogs, and then looking at nasty apartments, Heavenly Father answered our prayers. I found a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment that is awesome! I am supper excited because we will get a dishwasher, bathtub, and a few other luxeries that make life easier.
We are moving next weekend, and I am supper excited to get moved in so I can finally set up the babies room and get our home ready for our little girl. We were hoping that our apartment now would be our last provo apartment, but I guess the Lord has other plans for us. Dispite our excitment we are really sad to leave our ward and our calling (Sunday School Teachers for the 12 & 13 year olds).
So that is our unexpected news ... today I am off to pamper myself just a little. Im going to get an hour massage, oh I can't wait.

Garden Time

Jon and I decided a few months ago that when it got warm enough it would be fun to plant a garden. We have a really good landlord that allows us to do pretty much whatever we want. In our backyard there is this 6X6 peice of land that was covered in weeds and small trees, it was just ugly. After all the raining we took an afternoon and dug out all the trees and pulled out all the weeds. We could not believe that we chose to do yard work. Neither of us have ever liked yard work, but as it turns out ... it's not as bad when your parents aren't making you.
Our upstairs neighbors were excited about the idea as well, so we combined forces and planted a combination of plants. We planted 4 tomatoe plants (Roma, Big Boy, Husky Cherry), 3 peppers (green, yellow, red), 1 banna pepper, 6 jalepanos, 1 salantro, 1 basal, and a section for red and green onions.

It's been about 1 1/2 weeks since we planted our little garden and everything is still green and getting better. It definetly helps that we have a sprinkler system to do the watering for us, but Im so proud of ourselves for what we have done. I love coming home from work and just staring at how big the plants are getting. This could be the beginning of a new found love.

I Must Be Crazy

After my ranting and raving about dog hair, I got myself into more trouble. We got another dog! There was a family who decided that they no longer wanted Maggie, a 3 year old female Puggle. Jon and I thought this would be a good opportunity to give Caesar a girl-friend, at least for a short while until we find her a good home.
Maggie is very easy to fall in love with. She is just a sweet heart! She also has a big under-bite so she always looks mad or confused. Caesar and Maggie have a lot of fun wrestling and humping, it is quite entertaining.









Even though we have a baby on the way, this is a really hard decision. I think about how happy they are together and I want to keep her. Then I think about how crazy they can be, and then adding a baby stresses me out.

Tonight Jon and I took advantage of the warm weather and took them to the park. Caesar has always been a very good dog off the leash and coming when called. It is a luxury that we want Maggie to learn. While at the park we tied Caesar and Maggie together hoping Caesar would be a good teacher. It worked pretty well, and it was so cute when they would come and sit together. There were a few times that Maggie dragged Caesar when he was trying to listen and come to us, it was really funny. Poor Caesar, he is such a push-over. I know I must be crazy for even considering this puppy, but just look at her! Anyway, enjoy the pics...we will let you know what happens.

New Vacuum and More

As most of you know our sweet puppy sheds a TON. His hair gets everywhere regardless of how often I give him a bath and brush him. The hair was annoying before but it never really bothered me. Recently his hair has become completely disgusting and bothersome. Not only do I get annoyed with one small hair but then I look at the carpet and the thought of my baby laying on the floor and getting hair in her mouth or even on her clothes really bothers me. Our old vacuum cleaner died a few weeks ago so I decided it was time to invest in a nice vacuum. I wanted to make sure it wasn't just something that moves around on the floor so I feel good for vacuuming, but a really good one that will pick up the dog hair and make the floor a safe place for my baby. I did my research and found a really good price on a Eureka Optima Pet Lover.

After purchasing the vacuum I have found myself almost obsessed with vacuuming, plus it has an awesome attachment that really picks up dog hair off my couch...I love it!!!

It is really weird how this baby has effected my life before she is even born. I find myself thinking about our future in a different light and even the thought of her not being in our future is more depressing than I expected. She is a very active little girl and I can always count on her to jump on my bladder at least once a day. Last week she kept getting the hiccups and it made me have to pee.

Jon is finishing up the winter semester this week. He only gets a break for a few days before he is starting spring semester. He is still on track to graduate April 2010 and he is working so hard to get through school as quickly as possible without going crazy. I am so grateful that I have a husband who is so loving, supportive, and hardworking. He works so hard not only in school and work, but also to keep me happy. I just want to let everyone know how wonderful he is, I can't imagine myself without him.

23 Weeks!!!

I have to admit that I posted a picture of my belly with my previous post, but then I removed that picture because I thought my belly looked too big...silly I know. Im used to looking at my belly by looking down, so when I saw the picture to the side it took my by surprise. So here is a picture of me at 23 weeks.

New Job - New Belly

I love spring and all the wonderful things that come this time of year (weather, flowers, green, rain, baby animals, happy people, camping, etc). Jon and I both have new things to celebrate!

Jon got a job!!! He started working at Chrysalis, this is an assisted living organization that has several homes around the valley for mentally handicapped individuals. There are generally 3-4 individuals (of same gender) living together. Jon's job is to go spend time with them and make sure they get to work, take their meds, or just enjoy life. Jon is really excited to have this job and the experience that he will gain. It is definetly a plus that this gives him the leadership experiences needed for a future resume.

I have a new belly!!! Even though I am half way through my pregnancy I didn't feel like my belly was sticking out until about 2 week ago, and now it is just getting bigger. I was still able to sleep on my stomach, wear my normal shirts, and bend over without thinking. Last weekend I made Jon go shopping with me to find maternity shirts, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I guess since everyone and their dog is pregnant in Provo the stores are picked out. The only thing that kept me motivated to keep looking in other stores was the tight and uncomfortable shirt that I was wearing. On the bright side I can still wear my jeans. Even though I can't wear my favorite shirts it is fun to see my belly grow and it is especially exciting when I can feel our sweet baby moving around.

These are a few other cute pictures that we took when we went hiking with Caesar

It's a ...

Life is so full of surprises and blessings. Jon and I were able to find out that we are going to have a baby GIRL!!! We were able to find out at week 16 because we participated in a study at the Utah Valley hospital for preterm birth. We had previously decided that we didn't care if it was a boy or girl, we just wanted a healthy baby. I worked hard to make sure my brain stayed gender free, so when we were able to find out that we are having a girl it was really exciting to finally start thinking of names and imagining our baby.
Our baby appears to be very healthy, 150/min heart beat, 2 legs, 2 arms, 2 eyes, 1 mouth. It was amazing to watch our miracle moving around on the black and white screen. I even felt her move last week. She has become the center of our world, and we can't wait to meet her.

Since the last time I wrote Jon lost his Job at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, they got rid of all the part time office assistance. He is still looking for a job, but we have a few prospects and are hoping that this will be a good opportunity for him to get a job with experience with youth. Jon is finishing up his Junior year at BYU and he is excited to finally have a break from school this upcoming summer.
I found myself working on various projects and trying to keep my house clean. The "nesting" that people talk about is definetly present, I find myself wanting to clean at our apartment, but I don't always have the energy to do so.

New Year Update

So far 2009 has been extremely good to us.
I hit my 1 year anniversary at work on January 2nd, which means I am off probation, and I have a very secure job. In this economy it is very comforting to not have to worry about my job.
Jon started a new semester on January 4th. We are especially grateful that he past his politcal science stats class last semester so he wont have to retake it this semester...which leaves room for more interesting classes. So far Jon is enjoying his classes.
TODAY - Jon and I went to the dr. office and heard our little baby's heart beat! YUP...I'm pregnant. I am due August 6th. Jon and I are so grateful for this wonderful baby that has blessed our lives. I can't even tell you how excited we were the day I took the pregnancy test and found out. Our joy has only continued to grow each day. Today helped make the whole experience real. I was afraid for a while that this pregnancy was a figment of my imagination, but when the dr put the doppler on my belly and found a strong healthy heart beat (180/min), it became so real. I have been on cloud-9 all day. I can't even go into detail how extactic both of us are.
I personally have had a little morning sickness, but nothing really to complain about. I have learned that I need to eat first thing in the morning and every 2 hours after that. Ironically food is the last thing I want to think about now that I have to be constently eating. But any discomfort that I am feeling is worth the sacrafice for our precious baby.