Trying to get a little caught up

Well I am sitting here it's just about bedtime for me but I really wanted to write a blog entry. We made up a Christmas letter this year but didn't have the cash to send you to all our friends so I thought I'd post it up along with a few more recent pictures of us. I love you all and wish you a very Merry Christmas Season. Remember the real reason for this season.

We have truly been blessed this year, with some amazing miracles and many happy memories. At the very end of December last year we were blessed with this amazing home as many of you know. We love our home and the adventures we are having with it.

On February 17, we were blessed with a healthy baby boy. Braiden William Hunsaker was born weighing 5lbs 11oz and 18in long. He will be turning 10 months on the 17 of December. He is crawling everywhere now and he is generally a very happy boy. He loves to play with his toys and enjoys trying to converse with everyone. He also enjoys watching the dog, Dolly, and cat, Rocko, chase each other. We really can't can't believe how fast the time has gone.

 
Marianne keeps herself busy watching Braiden and being a good wife and mom. Marianne loves the fact that she can just stay home and be with Braiden. In May, Marianne graduated with her AA in General studies and hope to eventually go back to school to get her Bachelors but we will just have to see what the future holds. Marianne enjoys scrapbooking and was able to be on a scrapbooking committee for a breast cancer fundraiser. They came up with the Alice in Wonderland theme and she got to dress up as the Mad Hatter. Marianne is one of two sunbeam teachers in Primary and just got called as the Activity Day leader for the girls 8-11. She loves her callings and loves being in the primary despite having to take little Braiden with her. Braiden is a handful at times but we love him to pieces and don't know what we'd do without him.

Paul is a wonderful guy who keeps busy by going to work at Bridger Coal. He is going on 5 years this coming January. He says it finally has paid off with a new 42” HDTV which he won in a safety drawing. Paul really enjoyed planning the family reunion this year with his loving wife. Though it was stressful at times we really did enjoy the time with family. Paul loves being a dad to Braiden and can't wait to have more kids to play with. He can't wait to have his hunting buddy, Braiden to go with him. Paul got to go hunting this year with his Dad and they both got a big bull elk in October and they both really enjoyed the experience and can't wait to go next year. Paul is the secretary in Young Mens when he is able to go to church that is, but he does love his calling. Paul loves to make Braiden laugh and to see his accomplishments.

We hope to make this next year of unforgettable moments and hope that you will too. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New year full of happy memories.

With Love,

Paul, Marianne & Braiden

Halloween 2011

First Pony ride  Nov 2011

 

Getting Closer

Well we are getting closer and closer to having a new baby in our lives and we are so excited. I don't think we'll completely have baby's room done before he gets here, but that's ok since he will be in our room for the first little while. I am excited to see him but not excited at all for the labor. I know I will be ok but it just really scares me. I don’t know if I have mentioned before or not but we’ve pretty much had a name picked out since about October. The name we decided on is Braiden William. I don’t really know why Braiden was the name that stuck out to me the most but Paul liked it and I felt real strongly that that should be his name but it is for a reason that is not known to me. I liked the way William sounded with his first name and I wanted to use part  I think Paul just agreed with me to keep me happy but he likes it now just as much as me (at least that’s what he has lead me to believe). I really think it’s strange that in such a short time I will be a mom. It’s been a dream of mine since I was really little. From carrying baby dolls to now it’s all just been a dream. I feel him move and it’s just amazing to say the least but it just doesn’t seem real to me. I really don’t know why but I feel him move and know that there is a real person in there one that will be looking to me for answers and to teach him the gospel and everything else important that he needs to know for this life. It is times like these that make me really miss my mom, but I testify that she is not that far away. Sometimes it’s just hard knowing that she isn’t here in person to experience life with her kids, when she really is here we just can’t see her and she is doing her own important work on the other side of the veil. We love and miss you Mom. In no time our little guy will be here and I just really hope and pray that everything goes well. We love you Braiden and can’t wait to see your sweet face.

Another thing I wanted to write about was our cat, Rocko. We found out that our house had mice when we moved in and after a week of thinking about getting a cat we finally decided to get one. We went to the Humane Society here in Rock Springs and spent some time with a few of the cats. In one room they had these three cats. Two of the cats had their front paws declawed and the third didn’t. We needed a mouser but we also wanted a cat that got along with our dog. Two cats actually acknowledged that Dolly existed but there was only one that seemed to be interested in playing with the mouse toy in the room, Rocko. So we made that decision and got the cat.  He is a great cat with a great personality. There are times when we just want to get rid of him but he’s a part of our family now and there is no way I’d get rid of him. I just hope he and Dolly get along well with the baby and that the baby doesn’t get hurt. I don’t think we will have that problem though. 

Dolly got a haircut today and she looks a little funny. She doesn’t like to go outside now for some reason but we still love her.

I think this is all for now, and now is the time we have been waiting for. 9 months and now it’s down to the final weeks. Crazy how time flies!

So Thankful for sisters

Today I want to take sometime to say how grateful I am for sisters. Hannah had her 15th birthday on the 4th and yesterday night she had a visit up to the ER and a night stay at the hospital. Heavenly Father has blessed her and she is doing so much better and is now home. I love her so much and I'm so glad to have her in my life. Sisters are there even when everything around you seems like its falling apart and it seems like everyone else is backing out they are right there to support and love you. I want to thank all of my sisters for everything they do for me and for allowing me to help, love and support them. Love you all. <3

Rollin, Rollin, Rollin,

It's that time of year again when we look back and think about how this year was and what we are planning to do to make it better. 2010 was a year full changes all of them good for the most part so I just hope the good changes keep happening for us. In the last month, we found a different house to buy, got the loan accepted on it and closed on the house on Dec 29.We got all moved in by the end of Dec 30! It feels so good to be in our own home.
Our baby is still staying warm inside me and he is just a rollin' and movin' around. We figured out that to be in the delivery window of 37-42 weeks I have 4-9 weeks left of being pregnant! It really has just flown by I really can't believe my baby is almost here.
We also have a new addition to our family, our new Lhasa Apso puppy named Dolly. She is so happy to be in a home with us now instead of moving from place to place. She is so adorable and sometimes a pain in the butt, but we love her and we are still trying to get her house broke which is interesting trying to do while I'm 8 months pregnant. She is learning and growing though and eventually she will learn .

Another change that happened in Dec was that Paul got switched to Graveyard shift and we knew it was going to happen we just didn't know when. Paul will be able to take off a few weeks when the baby is born which will be such a blessing. I really wish they could have waited til after the baby was born but then we probably would have waited to get a dog and may have missed out on owning such a great dog. She really fits with our family which we are truly grateful for.
We are so grateful for the many blessings we have seen in our lives and we continue to see in our lives. We thank the lord everyday for those blessings and also for the many angels we have in our lives both seen and not seen, Thank you all for your wonderful support. We love you and hope to write more soon :)

A lot of changing and a lot more to come

            Well we are very excited to announce that we have been approved for a loan for a house! Yes, we have the house in Vernal that we are still renting out, but we felt like being in the apartment was just like throwing our money out the window every month, so back in September we started looking for a house in Rock Springs. We found a couple that we liked that we could have fixed up, but they were too complicated to get. Then our Realtor showed us her mother-in-law's house with a cute yard and it was in our budget. We went to two different mortgage people to see if they could get us an affordable loan. the first one said no but the second one said lets give it a try. He really didn't think we could get the loan because of how much money Paul makes but he lets try to find a gray area. Well we found a gray area where we would put a bid on this house and with an accepted offer see what the under-writer would say. Well we waited and waited to hear back and finally last week we got a call. They said it's looking like you are going to get the loan, we just need a few last minute details. We got those all taken care of and on Wednesday they gave us a call, and it was good news! We went and signed some more papers and the mortgage guy said we are going to try and close on this on the 29. That's a really fast closing for a house (20 days) but that's what we are aiming for and we could not be anymore excited! We have truly been blessed by the lord.
            Another thing though was that we really wanted to stay in the ward that we are in right now because we love our ward! We have been so blessed to meet such good people and have made a lot of friends in the Rock Springs Ward. Paul and I both have callings now which is really tough to leave, since I just got my calling as a Primary Worker for the sunbeams two weeks ago. But Paul and I both feel that Heavenly Father called us to these callings, even if it was just for a short time, for a reason and we both feel that if Heavenly Father wanted us move to this new ward that he would make it possible for us to get the house. After everything is signed and we get the okay to move in, I know it will be because that's where the lord needs us to be.
        Once we do get all moved in the change doesn't stop there we still have a little boy to get ready for and once he does get here there will be even more big changes that involve a lot of diapers. : D

Many Good Things

We found out we were pregnant back in June and today we found out that we are going to be having a little boy. We are so very excited. I can't believe how much time just flies by. We feel so blessed and can't wait to see what the lord has in store for us next.

Fishing, Crab and Mud

So Paul and I have a lot of fun on his now four days a week off. This week has been crazy, stressful and fun. Tuesday was Paul's 26th birthday but he still has a lot more energy than I do most days and really brings me to life and I'm so grateful for him. His birthday was really crazy though but we tried to have fun even though everything else was crazy.
On Wednesday we went out to a fishing area right outside of Green River and even though the weather didn't cooperate we still had fun with Dad in the wind trying to catch fish. The fish ended up being about 5 lb clumps of seaweed!

Thursday, we got a call from my Rolfer asking us if we could make it down a little bit earlier on Friday and since we didn't have anything to do we asked her if we could just come down. So we made a trip down to Utah. We went to my appointment and since Paul didn't get a birthday dinner, we decided to go to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. I am not much of a seafood person so we looked at the menu and I found a chicken dish and Paul got crab. I was brave and actually tried it. It wasn't too bad just different. We then went to a movie with Jeremy and Sharae (sister and Brother in law). We got home at 3am. Thank goodness that Paul is use to staying up late.

On Friday we woke up to snow. Paul was really bummed out that he wouldn’t be able to go fishing but we decided to go out to Big Firehole a lake outside of Rock Springs and just look for good spots for fishing. Needless to say it was very muddy and we almost got stuck. It was a lot of fun!

What's New

I know it's only been a few days but it's been a crazy couple of days. Paul put in for a bid at work so that he could go to the surface and work up there instead of down underground. He got the bid! he is now working day shift four days on four days off. This is truly a blessing for us even though he took a little bit of a pay cut (2.00), Paul is liking the job and learning lots. Right now I'm the un-offical camp assistant for our ward. I'm super excited to go back to girls camp and work with the young women. I loved young womens and didn't want to leave it but now I'm glad that I have gotten a taste for Relief society. I've been busy trying to get my Cricut to work so that I can get some of the things done for an activity coming up. I'm also busy just trying to keep up with the house work and my school work. We are so greatful for the opportunites that have come along and hope for more in the future.

Married life

Well Paul and I have been married for 6 months... I can't believe how fast it's gone by! We started going to a family ward in January and we just love it. I really didn't think I would enjoy it but we have been blessed with a wonderful ward. We are living in an apartment in Rock Springs and we're not sure yet when we will move to Vernal. Paul has been moved from the shop at work to the longwall underground. It's the day shift, which is nice in my opinion because then I don't get as lonely and scared at night. I never knew how much time I would spend by myself until we got married but it's nice to be around Paul when he is home. School is getting boring for me and I am just not as into it as I once was but I'm almost done with my AA so hopefully by the fall semester I will be able to graduate and just take it easy. I have been doing something called Rolfing or structual intergration. I have been traveling down to Draper, Ut every Friday to get it done by a lady that does it right out of her home.Rolfing is where they move the facia so that your bones and muscles go to the places that they should be instead of where they have moved over the years. It is painful and wears me out but it has been so worth the travel,pain, and money. I almost have a strait spine and my hips are level and these are thing i didn't think would ever be possible for me. I feel really blessed that we found something that worked. We are so greatful for our family and friends and everything that the lord has given us. We will try to keep you updated. Love you all!