Christmas 2011

Christmas! I love it! It was so fun to be in our house and have the dogs. They got presents too. But they were just excited to have the whole thing, they didn't even open them to see what was inside. So Curtis helped them out. Right as our alarm went off that morning Curtis sat right up and was ready to open presents! Just like a little boy. I wonder if he even slept that night... He dragged me out of bed and gave me a chair to sit on so we could open presents. Curtis was good to me this year and got me a keyless entry to my car and remote start as well! I love it! It's gonna be perfect once our little man gets here. Curtis's favorite gift was the cooler I got him along with a tool box and tools from my dad. I swear he was going to sleep with it. Funny guy.
We got ready and drove out to my parents to open presents with them. I was so happy Missy was back! It was lovely to have everyone home and there! It just wasn't the same with out her last year. We scored some good stuff from them as well. Since Curtis works at GoDaddy.com he got a website for my dad to promote his handyman work and services. >> carrollhandyman.com
Christmas next year will be a whole lot different with an almost one year old little boy! I can't wait! He should be arriving any day now! And it's killing me! I can't wait for Curtis to meet him and finally hold him!

Good morning!!

Merry Christmas!

Before

After

Traditional picture

Alec got a LOT of ties this year.

We make this look good.

Thats one big belly!

Return with Honor

Sister Carroll is home from her mission in the Philippines!!! I could have sworn the last 18 months would never get here! And now I'm married and pregnant! What a sight for her! At least she wont miss the day her nephew arrives! Merry Christmas to us!!

Oh there's no place like home for the Holidays!

I absolutely love Christmas time. And I love that we have our house to celebrate it in! It has slowly but surly become our home as we have painted, cleaned, and decorated it. The improvements on it will be never ending I'm sure. I love parking in a garage! Especially with all this rain! The dogs sure love all the space they have now, with out being quarantined. We have come home to a few messes, but no accidents since the first couple of days. Yay! We have indeed enjoyed this house and we are so lucky to have it!

Before & Afters

Living room/ dinning room

My huge, wonderful kitchen!

"The wall"

This was almost an all day project! Took forever but it turned out perfect! I love it! And don't know what to do with it yet! It is modge podged craft paper.

Christmas Decor... I came home the other night to this... Curtis decorating our tree. How sweet! 

TaaDaa!

The Good, the Bad, and the Blessed.

Where has the time gone? November? Really? I can't tell you how much I love the holiday season. This year will be especially special. We have 9 more weeks left until our baby boy will arrive! (holy crap) I'm so excited for this little guy to be here! I already can't wait to show him off to the world, the ultrasound pictures just don't cut it! With Christmas and Thanksgiving I already know the next 2 months will fly by! If you think this last 7 months went by fast, let me tell you about the last year and half! Missy will be home December 14th! Oh I can't wait to see her again! And she'll be seeing a lot more of me with a big belly! I'm so thrilled she will be here for her nephew!

Alrighty so here's what's been happening with us Hofmann's lately...

First and foremost Curtis and I and our precious baby became an eternal family on October 27th. It was such a special day! It was the best decision we could have made for our little family. I love Curtis so much and want more than anything to spend the rest of eternity with him. I know we will be blessed for our efforts and hard work to make it to the temple.

We did receive some news about our baby earlier that week while at the 3D ultrasound. They found that he has a cleft lip, but they do not know the extent of it unless we decide to do a level 2 ultrasound. I didn't like the sound of it, I imagined my little boy to come to us perfect! It wasn't easy to think about while I drove back to work alone. But with many many reassurances from friends and family I didn't make something so small and fixable a big issue. When I told Curtis the news that night he could care less what our child looked like, he was still excited for his son. I felt 100% better about the whole situation the next day. Out of everything that could have been wrong with him we consider ourselves to be pretty lucky. So we look at the good part, knowing we still have a healthy and strong little boy. And know that he will be that much more special to us.

So the 1st of October Curtis and I took up residence with my G & G (Grannie & Grandpa). And the dogs with my mom, and the rest of our stuff in a storage. Our house would be our October 7th!! Whoohoooo....
Hold the celebration folks! It's been almost 5 weeks since, and STILL no house. I knew it was too good to be true. Of course we are all done on our half, It's the owners of the house (HUD) who owe a hefty HOA fee that still has not been paid. SO, until that fee has been paid, we have no house. :( Not fair if you ask me. They aren't the ones living out of a suit case with only a quarter of their possessions at their G&G's home with a baby on the way it 2 months!! Don't make me come down there!!
Can you tell my patience is running out? At first I was ok with the wait. I figured we were saving money, but the closer and closer it gets to Christmas time, I panic. I want to decorate my baby's room. I want a backyard for by dogs. I want our OWN place. Frustrating I tell ya! But our wait will continue, until we find out Heavenly Father has something else in store for us.
In the mean time we do enjoy G&G's company and all they have provided for us.

Pictures to conclude...

Blessed.

That word pretty much sums up the last 3 months in the Hofmann home. Of course I didn't notice it until now. When your among trials it's hard to focus on the good that comes from them & the bigger picture.

Curtis started his job at GoDaddy.com and kept his job with Fiserv as well. What a man! I have been blessed to marry such a hard working man and someone who is willing to do what ever it takes to save money for a house. I also got a raise at work to contribute to our house savings.

August 2nd we received the best and most exciting news yet!! That we are having a BOY!! I knew it all along. Curtis got his boy on the first try. ;) I think I got to the point where I was so convinced it was a boy that I would almost be disappointed if it was a girl! Although the head bows and dresses would be fun picking out I'm just as excited for a little boy. So bring on the cars and dinosaurs!

AND my nausea finally came to an end! Hallelujah!! Would not wish that upon anyone! Not fun. Our apartment would go uncleaned most weeks. That's not me. I've been able to enjoy this pregnancy a little more. It's been fun watching my little guy grow and my expanding belly. Although I feel people still look at me and wonder if it's just a gut or that I am in fact pregnant. Tough decision.

SO, explain to me this... how can we be so lucky as to go house hunting (on day ONE mind you), find the perfect house, and have our offer be accepted not even 6 DAYS later???!!! Really...? Really! It's true, and it can happen people. Or maybe we just have the best realtor. ;) And Curtis though we wouldn't get a house before then end of the year. We do our part and the Lord does his. The end. The only thing I would change about the house is the location. For years I have been against Queen Creek! Thanks to cousins who live out there and dreading the drive every time. And he we are moving to San Tan Valley of all places! With a GRANDCHILD my mom would add. But it was the only reasonable place where we could get the best financing and have a house before our baby boy. We get to move in sometime in October. Which is perfect timing. I'll finally have a baby room to decorate! The dogs will get their back yard! And Curtis gets his OWN bathroom sink! The house literally has everything we wanted.

Blessed, what did I tell you. A little (or a LOT) of hard work never hurt anyone... right mom?!

A few pictures to concluded...

The One.

Baby Boy Hofmann

Precious.

It's a boy!!:D

Bun in the oven.

It's true!

We have a BABY on the way!  I'm still not convinced that's a baby though... We'll see what this little human turns out to be the beginning of January. Curtis is hoping to squeeze him out before then so he'll be on our taxes! I say "him" because I'm feeling it's a boy and from my experience my intuition is 95% always right. Curtis's of course wants a boy too.  I just want to get a few answers out of the way,  because I am noticing  a LOT of the same questions being asked!

1. YES, we are going to find out the sex. How could we not! We want to be prepared for this little one! I am way too impatient to not know what it will be!

2. No, we do not have a name picked out. I'm really picky. It took us a week to name our poor little puppy! Good thing we have 7 more months to go! I don't think we'll get serious about a name until we know if it is a boy or girl. Although I'm super convinced it's a boy, so thats all I have been looking at. Tehee.

3. Morning sickness? YES! Although drop the "morning". I'm constantly nauseous! Which brings me to the next question...

4. Cravings? NO! Nothing has sounded good to me lately! I force myself to eat. Basically if I am constantly snaking, then the nausea is not that bad. I've heard you don't get cravings until later on anyway.

Curtis has already proven himself a great helper. He is always taking care of me & doing so much for me since I have been sick. He never hesitates to do what I ask... or imply. I am not the least bit worried how he will be once the baby is here. We are both VERY excited about this news. And definitely can not wait for our baby to be here!!

A perfect day in San Diego.

Curtis and I had the lovely, and most wonderful opportunity to go to San Diego and see my cousin Natalie get sealed to her man, Chad, in the San Diego Temple!  The temple was beautiful! It was also mine and Curtis's first sealing we have ever been to. I absolutely loved it! It was such a special moment to witness. And I love to be around my family!

Although I think Curtis might have changed his mind over the weekend...
Since we are not the richest couple around we decided to share a car AND room with my Grannie, Grandpa, and mom! Oh it was sooo much fun! Curtis swears he heard cars starting all night.... we had our own bed so I didn't complain.

We left late Friday night, thanks to my mom, and arrived at our hotel at 2:30 in the morning! A little past my bedtime, thank you very much. Breakfast was at 9:30 so I couldn't really sleep in. Bummer. Breakfast was yummy though, Curtis had a little extra in his bagel sandwich that he didn't pay for...

A little wax paper never hurt anyone.

Smiled for a picture non the less. Of course my man Curtis would end up with the paper in his sandwich. :) Oh how I love you!

After many detours we finally made our way to the wonderful Sea Port Village. I love that place! We met up with Uncle B and little Leah.

Baby looks good on you Uncle B!

Who's eating who now?

Now that's a big Croc.

Why not go out on a boat. No pun intended...

Then off the temple! It was a beautiful day!

The lovely couple.

Curtis is so proud of his beard.

We left on Sunday, but not without having breakfast with Curtis's older brother who is so lucky to live in San Diego. He took us up a little mountain in La Jolla to see ALL of San Diego! It was so gorgeous up there!

Well it was a fantastic trip! And just like any other, it has to come to an end. Curtis said next time we are getting our own room!

Makeover!

Hair cut, nails done, and some new bling! No, no, no, not me. The puppies! It was about time too! Look at these monsters....

How did they even see through all that hair?! And not to mention with the heat! They must of been roasting! They have been due for a little trim for a couple of weeks now, so I finally broke down and called a groomer. And a small fortune later..... wahlaaa!

So gorgeous! Caesar was not too fond of his pony, so that didn't last long. He also helped KC remove hers.  They looked totally different when we brought them home. I almost missed their messy faces! I knew they had little legs under all that fluff! They looked taller and thinner! Although a couple of weeks ago we tried a new feeding method with these little piggies. We use to feed them 3 times a day and they would finish their serving with just 3 bites! So one night we tried leaving food down for them... so they ate, and ate, and ate... half hour later they were fat and full! And finally stopped! They learned their lesson. 

So fat and miserable!

They also grew out of their collars. Poor Caesar was probably choking in his. Curtis wanted to man him up so check out their new bling...

I hope this helps! Spoiled rotten babies...