2011 Life Recap

"Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right." -Oprah Winfrey

As we come to the close of 2011, I have been reflecting on the many surprises and accomplishments the year has brought. Such as...

• Getting pregnant (the biggest surprise of the year)
• Mark gets in to U of A (and did a great job his first semester)
• Andrew came home from his mission
• I was promoted to HR Generalist
• Family relationships going through some life changes
• Upgraded to a smartphone (which I am obsessed with now)
• Finally managed to get out to Portland and visit my old home
• Mark and I finally got to go to vegas...and yes, we will be returning again
• Got to return to San Diego, which was awesome!
• Mark placed 34 place in the country in collegete mens golf
• Marks golf team won 1st in state

2011 has really proven to be a really great year for Mark and I. I am really grateful for everything we were able to experience together, the good and the bad, because it has helped us to discover more about ourselves and our relationship. We are excited to begin 2012 together and we are certain that it will hold more excitement, surprises and possible disappointments than the year previous. At least we are aware of one big change...WE ARE GOING TO BE PARENTS! We can't wait to meet her!

Christmas Joy

Another great Christmas accomplished in the Ontiveros household!

Mark and I had a great holiday today. At 6 am we woke up to open presents and see what Santa brought us. Needless to say, my Santa listens very well! I got EVERYTHING that I asked for this year. Mark got most of the goodies he asked for, but then again, his list is always alot larger than most. He made out like a bandit.

We spent Christmas Eve with the Horton's this year. We made empanadas and attempted to do a nativity...however our Mary began to cry and baby jesus decided to fight the donkey...so it was the strangest version of the Nativity I have ever seen. We had a fun time.

Christmas Day we spent with the Ontiveros. Mama O made a wonderful meal and we enjoyed opening presents. Mark and I recieved iphones, which is pretty sweet. I am finally graduating from a flip phone to a smart phone! Big step for me.

The Baby even recieved some presents this year. She got some very cute out fits, a soft memory foam area rug for her room and the coolest peek-a-boo bear ever from her great auntie clarice. I know that this bear will scare the heck out of me when the baby plays with it, but it made me even more excited for her to come. 8 more weeks!

Her cute outfits.

The Stinky Has Returned!

Andrew returned from his two year missionary service in the Dominican Republic. It is awesome to have him back and I am so proud of him! His next mission is to get married to whitney in the temple.

He is so awesome and I have missed him so much!

And yes...I cried like a baby when I saw him (I blame pregnancy)

This must have been so hard for them. They could not hug or kiss till Andrew was released as a missionary. Andrew is displaying the famous 'Missionary Hug'...I used this many a zone conference with the elders.

My mom is so happy to have her little boy back. Now ALL of the six Horton children have served a full time mission...all because of our amazing mother.

Sick Day

Today I took a sick day from work to relax my body. I have been feeling a lot of stress from work and over did it yesterday lifting some heavy boxes at my moms (bad idea, I know). I feel loads better now. Started off this morning feeling a few contractions (which were more than likley braxton hicks). So that got me pretty scared and convinced myself to take care of baby first instead of going to work.
I hate staying home from work! I was hooked to my email all day trying to get some things done, but I felt so discontected and I do NOT like knowing that my team has to work harder because I am not there. Mark was really good about reassuring me that ONE day would not kill any of my co-workers and that our babies health is more important than if someone got contacted today about their LOA being up.
I need to be more selfish. Allow myself to listen to my body and take it easy when I need to. Who cares if others think that I am being a baby, I need to take care of this pregnant vessel of mine. When it all comes down to it, my child is number one, my work will just have to understand. If I were to loose my baby or go in to pre-term labor because I put my job first instead of listening to my body, I would never be able to forgive myself.
Glad I have a blog to spill it out...I feel better mentally now.

Christmas Photos

This year  I am trying to get some photos for christmas cards. So mark and I went out today to take some pictures with my niece sarah. It was fun, Mark was a good sport. I have some editing to do, but these are the ones I like thus far.

I love this one because Mark is giving the baby a pep talk. He likes to talk to the baby...makes me happy :)

Seriously, he is the best!