home for the holidays

**I promise to charge my camera battery before the next blog post**

I finished student teaching (WOOHOO!) and Brent did VERY well on his finals. The last week of the semester was pretty crazy as we finished everything up and got things ready for the break.

The break started with Troy (Brent's little bro)'s farewell. Troy is leaving this week for the MTC then he'll be in Long Beach, CA. We are definitely going to miss him.

The day after the farewell Brent had back surgery. He has had herniated and bulging discs in his back that have caused him a lot of pain the last few years. We are hoping that this surgery will allow him to be full strength before the baby comes. He is doing very well so far. Because of the surgery we have been pretty much home bound the whole break. (With a few visits to his parents who live nearby).

We spend our days playing Mario Galaxy, watching Grey's Anatomy, reading, watching geek movies, and napping. It has been restful for both of us, but we are also going a bit stir crazy.

Pregnancy Update

We had our 18 week ultrasound the week before Christmas. So far things are looking good. We decided to have the doctor write down the gender of the baby for us to open on Christmas Eve. I am so glad we waited, it was really fun to open it with just the two of us. We found out that we are having a BOY! It is fun to be able to say "he" and "him."

coo coo for finals week

Brent is going to be up late working on a Spanish paper. He should be working on it right now, but I was craving cocoa puffs, so he ran to get some.

I love this guy!

Baby Update: things are feeling good. We are going to the doctor on Thursday for our ultrasound. We'll find out the gender, but we are going to have the doctor write it down so we can open it for Christmas.

Grateful

It's been awhile since I added to the family blog, and I think that it's only fitting that I do so now that we're expecting.

This pregnancy is something for which we have prayed very earnestly. I am aware that there are many people out there, very possibly reading this blog, that went through longer, harder, and more soul-wrenching trials in order to have their children than we did. I am also aware of those that are still struggling towards this goal. Sincerely and deeply, I'm sorry. Katie and I went through something this summer that we never thought possible and are only now really beginning to recover from. I can't imagine what it would be like to do it again.

It's interesting how the Lord teaches us. Over the course of the past couple of months, Katie and I have been humbled and tutored from on high. I shudder to think that I could say that I am grateful for these past couple of months (since May), but I am. I would never want to live

through them again, but they have made us much stronger and the trials through which we have passed have drawn us much closer. Though we may not have enjoyed this past summer quite like we had imagined, our lives are better for it. Elder Paul V. Johnson shared something that comforted us through our trial:

Recently a nine-year-old boy was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer. The doctor explained the diagnosis and the treatment, which included months of chemotherapy and major surgery. He said it would be a very difficult time for the boy and his family but then added, “People ask me, ‘Will I be the same after this is over?’ I tell them, ‘No, you won’t be the same. You will be so much stronger. You will be awesome!’”

The trials through which Katie and I have passed together have made us better. Hindsight has taught me that. These tests have made me fall even more in love with her; she truly is the woman of my dreams. More so now than ever, and more tomorrow than today. I don't think that I was out of touch with reality at the beginning of this summer, but I do know that now I am more "in touch" than I have ever been.

I believe the most valuable piece of experience that we gained from our trials was knowledge; knowledge of our Savior and of His love for us. The pain and anguish that resulted from the miscarriage were deeper, more intense, and excruciatingly more real than I ever could have possibly imagined. We never realized how much we wanted to be parents until we lost it. It frightens me to think that this might have just been the beginning of trials that Katie and I face together, but I know that everything has its purpose. Though in the grand, eternal scheme of the gospel this trial will represent a small blip on the radar, at this time it is for us our first, humbling step towards Calvary. We will not ever reach the level of unimaginable suffering and pain through which our Lord and Savior passed; however, I do know that our trials in this life are meant to bring us one step closer to the summit. The purpose is not simply to suffer, but to learn. I learned that we are many times much stronger than we give ourselves credit for. I learned that all those times when I have been fiercely loyal to my wife (and she to me) paid off when it mattered most. Most of all, however, I have learned that the atonement is something that I will never truly understand in this life. However, I know that it is real, and that Christ did do it for us. I cannot fathom to what depths He must have descended in order to feel what we felt, yet infinitely more. I have simply learned to trust in Him. This trust has yet to fail me.

When I wrote my mission president about what had happened, he responded with a scripture that has spoken peace to my soul on more than one occasion:

For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that ^akeepeth my commandments, whether in life or in ^bdeath; and he that is^cfaithful in ^dtribulation, the ^ereward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.

3 Ye cannot behold with your natural ^aeyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the ^bglory which shall follow after much tribulation.

4 For after much ^atribulation come the ^bblessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be ^ccrowned with much ^dglory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand.

5 Remember this, which I tell you before, that you may ^alay it to heart, and receive that which is to follow.

I'm still not 100% sure why I needed to post this blog, but I felt that I did.

I know that Jesus Christ lives. There is no place for doubt even in the hidden corners of my soul that He did die for us. I know that Heavenly Father loves us more than we can understand. They are there for us constantly, and I know that Their arms of mercy are constantly extended towards us. I am grateful for the things that have happened to us. Most of all, I'm grateful for Katie. I love her. If you don't know her, take my word for it.

I am grateful for this summer because it taught us invaluable lessons on how to deal with hardship. Katie and I have learned to roll with the punches, as many of you have, and life has never been better. Ever.

the first trimester

We are THRILLED to announce that we are expecting! We are due on May 19. I am currently 13 weeks along. We are so grateful to be pregnant. It has already been a great learning experience for both of us.

So far in my first trimester I have been feeling pretty sick. Brent has been great at helping take care of me. The hardest thing has been having low energy. I am student teaching right now and it takes all of my energy to make it through the day. Poor Brent has had to get used to me going to bed at 7:30 every night. Our weekends have been great for recovery. I spend most of the weekend asleep or in bed reading.

I'd say I haven't had many weird cravings yet, but Brent might disagree. I am starting to turn the corner on the nausea, but for the last 8 weeks Brent has had to play "guess what Katie can eat today" I have gone through a few different phases so far. For the first few weeks all I wanted were hash browns drenched in maple syrup.

Then one night Brent started to make them and I got sick and said no more. After that all I wanted was cereal and lots of strawberry milk. This week I have been craving sno-cones/slushies/smoothies.

Brent has become the resident chef while I can't stand being in the kitchen. He does a great job :)

Brent has also been good about cheering me on and keeping things light. He likes to tease me about my hormone changes. So what if I cry about Hallmark commercials, episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Bones, Project Accessory, Mormon Messages, Kenny Loggins songs, blog posts that mentions babies, and running out of chocolate milk? Who doesn't?

Despite not feeling well lately, I have been so grateful that I wake up every morning feeling pregnant. I don't want to complain about the morning sickness, exhaustion, nausea or any other symptom. I am grateful everyday that I get to feel this way. Brent has been a rock star at helping me. He's even had a few sympathy cravings (bran muffins and diet dr. pepper).

We had our first ultrasound on Friday and everything looks great. The baby has a strong heart beat and is growing well. We will have our next ultrasound on December 15 and we will get to find out the gender then!

My favorite part of blogs are pictures of babies. So here is our baby's first photo shoot:

DIY chevron table

So this was my August project. You will notice that in almost every picture Brent is doing all of the work. He graciously volunteered to sand and prime the table (all the hard stuff) So I could just add on my design. The coffee table was originally purchased for $10 at D.I. It took us a full year to get around to painting it.

Here is Brent sanding away.

This is a close up so you can see the checkerboard pattern that was on the table originally.

Here is Brent painting for me

The painted coffee table.

At first I wanted to keep the checkerboard design. I spent 2 hours taping this off before I realized that the checkerboard pattern was not perfectly even on the original design.

I bought these cardboard stencils from Walmart that I planned to use in the checkerboard pattern. These were my samples, as you can see they bled a lot. I tried everything I could, but it kept turning out sloppy.

We left it for a week or two and then my sister-in-law Ashley came to visit and she suggested a Chevron design, so we gave it a try. If I were going to do it again I would definitely start with three straight lines to make sure the points lined up. It turned out ok, but it is a little bit crooked. (luckily it is such a busy design it is hard to tell)

Here is the completed table. I LOVE it!

Another angle of the completed table

Here it is with our blue walls.

Overall it was a fun project. We were able to use cheap white paint and a $3 gray paint sample from Walmart for the stripes.

The last few months-- the highlights anyway.

Life, as always, is busy in the Pickett house. This post will probably be super long-- feel free to skim through it for the pictures/ bolded words. usually how I read blogs...

So as promised here is the picture of Dae Dae with us this summer. He had just cleaned the front room and rolled out the yoga mats as a "red" carpet. Totally cool kid and a blast to have around.

After we dropped off Dae Dae we headed to Park City with Brent's family. I forgot my camera and so I don't have any pics. :( We ate at some great restaurants, hit the outlets and spent several hours lounging by the pool. It was a great weekend.

In the coming weeks we wrapped up our summer job working at the summer camp. As always it was a lot of fun and a lot of four square. It's always great to work together in the summer because we get to spend so much time together. Like all day every day.

So then we headed to Cave Falls for my family's annual camping trip. We got to spend a few days relaxing, fishing and playing games with family. Unfortunately the mosquitoes were REALLY bad. So we did not get to camp in the actual campground. (I was completely bummed). We spent my birthday there, which is always my favorite. here are some pictures of our trip (luckily remembered my camera this time)

These are the pics I took of Brent while he fished. I loved sitting by the waterfall.

It was such a beautiful day. Brent didn't catch anything though :(

Just after I took this shot we watched and Osprey and Bald Eagle almost fight over the waterfall. Seriously so cool. Unfortunately my camera was pretty well dead by this point.

Here we are together standing in the super cold water.

One of my favorite shots. I love watching the mist come off of the falls.

Me, Mom and Sammi chillin in the water. Traditionally we have a swimming/float race but this year the water was just too cold. We decided to just shiver in the water for a few minutes instead.

After a few days at CF we decided to head to Jackson Hole. This is where we took our honeymoon, so it was fun to visit again. We'd been married almost exactly 1.5 years in this pic.

here is me holding the nephew in Yellowstone. We drove the park and saw the animals. Corgan loved every minute of it. He's a big fan of animals.

here's the whole crew (minus mom and dad who are taking the pic) in Yellowstone. We really missed Cody & Larkin and Lance & Taylor this year. I am really hoping everyone can make it next year!

A couple of weeks after our big family camping trip we headed down to spend some time with the fam for Maren and Greg's wedding. It was a lot of fun, especially because Greg grew up down the street from us. (seriously this has been in the works for 18 years.) The week before the wedding we came down for temple stuff and bridal shower. Cody and Larkin were in town and it was so fun to see them. Here are some pics of the shower:

here all the sisters :) So many girls in the family now. <3 it !

Here we are again (with Hilary) posing with Larkin's dress fiasco. Ok so it does not look that bad in this picture, but she ordered it from (India I think) and it came and had super puff sleeves and fit weird. It was a big NO vote from all of us. She found a much cuter ensemble for the wedding. The modeling was sure fun though!

Now for the BIG day!

The whole family! I cannot believe how much we've grown in the past few years. I love all of my new siblings. Seriously I have the best sibs in law ever. And the nephews are so sweet. Unfortunately in this pic you can't see the cute skirt Brent bought me for the wedding (gray and white stripes) I absolutely love it.

Here's a shot of the sisters. Could we look any different? Ok I guess with my hair dyed Sam and I could pass, but as always Maren with her gorgeous olive skin steals the show. My bangs are doing something funky, but otherwise a great shot. Maren made such a beautiful bride. It was weird to see her all grown up. Seriously I am so happy for her and Greg, they make a really cute couple!

This last shot was taken after the wedding on a mall excursion. My aunt Amanda, who is way cool, flew out with her two daughters for the wedding. Naturally we partied and shopped with them. I wish it showed up bigger on here, because this may be the first picture of me, EVER, that I look tan. Yep, sepia rocks for me.

** over the course of the two weeks of the wedding there were SEVERAL trips to Taco Amigo. :)

After the wedding it was time to bounce back into school (ok so I did a fun at home project in the in between weeks. PICS coming very soon!)

I am student teaching this semester-- 8th grade US History and ESL classes @ South Cache 8-9 Center. After I teach each day I had to Millville where I run the after school program. Then after that (most nights) I head to class. It's been a bit overwhelming, to say the least, but I am hanging on.

Brent is too busy, as per usual. He works 20 hours a week with his migrant job (which he still loves), is taking a full course load-- physics and Ochem included, is head of the Spanish Ambassadors on campus, interprets at the hospital once a week, continues to serve as EQ president in our ward and helps me by making dinner most nights.

In the midst of all this chaos we are exhausted, our house is a constant disaster, there may never be an end to the laundry piles, and heaven knows the fridge needs to be cleaned out.... BUT we are still happy and in love.

Over labor day we snuck back up to Cave Falls for a quick trip with my parents and Justin & Ashley +boys. It was so much fun. We loved just relaxing by the river. We nearly died on the way up-- but we survived for a fabulous, delicious weekend.

Brent's back started hurting again a few weeks ago. Thankfully this year he is insured (HOORAY!) (THANKS OBAMA!!) And so it is not nearly as stressful as last year. He has already been in for treatments and feels great. We are grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord. We are looking at possible surgery options to prevent further relapses, but won't know for sure for a few weeks.

And that folks is all for now. Will post pics of my lastest project soon. :)

eight year olds and otterpops

** pictures coming as soon as I can find my camera :)

Our summer took an unexpected turn when we got the chance to have an 8 year old house guest, Damien, (Dae Dae) for two weeks. He is an awesome little guy and was a blast to hang out with. Thought I'd share a few of my favorite moments from the weeks.

Brent thought Damien would enjoy seeing Samson eat a few guppies. They went to Petsmart and got some feeder fish. Somewhere in all of this Brent either neglected to tell Damien the fishes' purpose or Damien just didn't care because by the time we got home they all had names. Swimmy, being Damien's fish that he wanted us to keep forever. As Brent dumped them into Samson's tank I got a sinking feeling. A few minutes later Damien was in tears because Samson had eaten Swimmy. Lesson learned. We did our best not to laugh when Damien proclaimed Samson the meanest turtle ever. It took a little while, but Damien eventually forgave Samson for eating Swimmy.

Another great moment came tonight as I was working on homework, packing for Park City, cleaning the house, catching up on laundry, running Relief Society errands, and waiting for Brent to get off at the hospital... (phew I'm tired just remembering it all) I asked Damien to put away the games he had gotten out to play the night before. He went the extra mile and while I did the dishes he cleaned the entire front room. It looked awesome (super impressed). Then he took our yoga mats and spread them from the door for a red (ok blue and green) carpet entrance. Then he spent the next 25 minutes showing me how people should come in the door. "Ok so lets say you got off work and you came in the door you could just walk on it and get your guitar or come over and sit on the love sac..."

The best part of the week for me has been watching Brent having fun with Damien. Brent hates monopoly more than anyone alive, years of being forced to play long games with siblings and lose. When we first started dating I could barely get Brent to play any board game, let alone the dreaded monopoly. So it came as a funny surprise for me when Damien announced his favorite game in the world... Monopoly. We played one or two games every day for two weeks. And Brent, being the great sport he is, did not complain once (ok just once on facebook after I crushed him with the railroads and boardwalk).

Other favorite moments include an otterpop lightsaber duel at the ward softball game, playing the yellow car game EVERYWHERE we went, and introducing Damien to the hilarious world of Pete and Pete.