Merry Christmas

I am finally posting more pictures of Abby. It has been forever and I feel like I need to document her growth somehow, so here goes.

The pictures toward the top were taken at 9 weeks (which was just last week). The picture with Ben was taken at 3 weeks. She is ten weeks old as of this last Thursday.

Okay, so the picture on the right looks like it is upside down, so you might have to stand on your head to look at it, but it is so cute that I couldn't help it. Abby loves sleeping with her hands right next to her face. It's adorable. We took this picture when she was 2 weeks old. I can't believe how she's grown. The one in the bouncer was taken around the same time.

Well, Abby is growing like a little weed (I guess I should say daisy or some other more beautiful thing than a weed because she is awfully cute). She is getting to be so much fun! She is really smiley these days and loves to coo and try to hit things with her hands. She has also started grabbing things, my hair included. She tries very hard to talk back when I talk to her. She has been so much fun!!!

As for Ben and me, we are getting ready to move, which pretty much means that life is hectic, but it's great. I worked my last day at the Standard Journal today. We are excited for a new phase of life and all the changes and challenges it will bring. I graduated in April of 2008 and now Ben will be graduating. Ben graduates on December 19th, so that is really exciting!

Merry Christmas!

P.S. To all the dear friends we are leaving behind, thank you so much for everything! You guys have been wonderful!!! We will miss you!!

More cute Abby Pics

More Pictuers of Abby

Here are some more pictures as promised...

Ben here, with some big news. Abby was born!! She is doing just fine and Angie, aside from being uncomfortable, is doing really well too. Abby was 7 lbs 5 oz and 19 in long. She has a real good head of hair and is really quiet. She wimpers some but really doesn't cry much unless we're a little slow at getting her fed. So, everyone is a little tired, but really happy. Well, sorry there isn't more info here. It's been challenging to fit in posting pictures and other things inbetween sessions of conference and feedings, diaper changes and naps. But stay tuned and hopefully we'll be getting more pictures posted soon.

Happy belated July fourth! Okay, I'm having a little trouble getting these pictures into a nice order so we'll just have to go with it. The one of Angie and I with the steam in the background is in front of the Grand Geyser in Yellowstone. The second picture is at the Nature Park in Rexburg as we were watching the fire works at the fair grounds. The camera batteries gave out before we could get a better shot where we're not cutting Angie out of the frame. Sorry about that. The next picture to the right is Angie running the Sawtooth Relay. She is 5.5 months pregnant here.

Pictured above is Angie and baby Hodge on the boardwalk at Yellowstone at 6 months pregnant. We watched the fireworks with the Hulberts at the Nature park.

Baby Pictures, Finally...

Well, Angie went in for her 22 week ultrasound and we got to see our baby GIRL!!! We were shocked and excited. Because so many close relatives have had boys, we imagined our first experience as parents of a boy. So it was a surprise to suddenly realize were having a girl. But of course, we are excited and it didn't take long to readjust our paradigm. Some people are saying she already looks like one of us. I won't tell you who so I don't poison the water hole. We're taking an unofficial pole to see if there is a general trend supporting the prior observations. Just so you know, the picture in the upper left is a front-view with a little arm and hand right up next to the face. The picture in the lower rith is a profile of just the head. These are pictures of pictures so sorry about the quality. Anyway, pretty cool.

Well, as for me, school has been going well. Despite the heavy load, I am still staying on top for the most part. About two weeks ago I registered for classes for perhaps the last time here at BYU-Idaho. I still haven't applied anywere for grad school but I am still wanting too.

The scoop on the Hodge Family

Well, to be honest, since Ben wrote his last post, I haven't had the courage to write one. Seriously, he is so witty, I just don't know what to write without having people drooling on their keyboards as they snooze...just kidding! But, since Ben is so busy with school now, I guess it is time for me to bite the bullet and do my part.

So, the good news is I am hoping to be able to rearrange our blog with new layouts and everything, once I get over my technological impairments (In other words, the next time Keith, my computer-genius brother, gets a chance to show me a few things about how to do it). Until then, I guess we'll be sticking with this one. Just for the hope of great things coming though, I thought I'd share.

Speaking of good things coming, Ben and I are 1 week and 2 days from finding out what we are having...uh not that I'm counting or anything. We are so excited to start getting some baby stuff for our little boy or girl. We're pretty much baby-crazy as most people are at our stage of life, although I must admit the nervousness is kicking in for me a little bit too.

Ben did take the GRE and did amazing! He did well enough that we think his scores will give him some good options for Grad school. I was so impressed at all of the hard work he put into studying for it. We still aren't sure where we'll be going or what we'll be doing exactly after Ben graduates, but I guess the uncertainty adds a little bit of spice to life. We are looking forward to the exciting times ahead, but we feel like we'll really miss BYU-Idaho too. We have a great ward and are surrounded by a lot of neat people, so it will be hard to leave.

Well that's all the news for now. We'll be back with some ultrasound pictures of our little one!

Angie

Once again, I ,Ben, am attempting a post on the blog. Perhaps the most noteworthy news is... Angie is expecting!! She is in her 13 week and is due October 4. To the right is a picture of our first ultrasound. I dare say he takes after his father already, gray and blubbery. ;) Her first trimester started out deceptively benevolent and we thought she might be spared the ravages of early pregnancy. But alas, the morning sickness, in all its fury, finally blossomed. We have been tallying each "kill" on our white board, which is beginning to look like the side of a WWII bomber, and a highly successful one at that if you get my drift. I will leave the telling of the more harrowing occurances to Angie and conclude by saying that she has been handling it all like a champ and I am so impressed by here strength and good attitude through it all. And, we're hoping as she moves into the second trimester that things will start improving. We also acquired our first piece of baby equipment; the indispensable Diaper Genie. And thanks to a hot tip, got it at a really good deal.

This past Sunday Angie and I celebrated our first anniversary of being married. Its hard to believe how fast time has flown by. As we looked back we realized we made some great memories during our first year. On the other hand, we are both breathing a sigh of relief now that the first year is behind us. Everyone said the first year is the hardest. I admit there were some difficult times, but really, now that we are expecting, can the first year of marriage be harder than the subsequent 25 to 30 years or more of raising a family? quoth the ignorant newlywed. Perhaps my skepticism may prove to be unfounded, and that the first year is indeed the most challenging. All I know is, with someone this cute by my side, how bad can it get?

In other news, I am still unemployed, at least in the burden-on-society sense of the word. Since I have abdicated my role as provider in our fledgling household, to make restitution I have become quite gainfully employed as a homemaker. I prepare meals, wash dishes and laundry, tidy up and I have even taken up sewing. While many readers will be quite awestruck at this revelation, it is indeed true. It's the least I can do for room and board. I am not proud of our role reversals and can assure you it has not been pleasant either. If anything good has come from all this, you could say I'm "chomping at the bit," as it were, to get back to school which starts in April. Happily, I have only two semesters left and feel a renewed energy at the prospect of returning to my studies.

During this time, I have been flirting with the idea of taking the GRE in preparation for graduate school. This has been a humbling experience particularly relating to the math section of the test. As an engineering student, I had acquired a certain perception of my math proficiency. That proficiency, I fear, has been sternly called into question of late. But the more I practice, the better I am getting at it. Anyway, I really think grad school would be a great way to go after I graduate. But there are a lot of considerations as well. Angie and I have by no means decided one way or the other, but since I am graduating in December, we'll be needing to come up with some sort of plan.

Well, that about covers it for now. Hopefully we'll be able to write some more soon. We send our love to you all and hope you find yourselves happy and healthy.