HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our countdown for 2018 didn't end at midnight last night. . . 

We'll be counting down until May 2, 2018 - or until our baby GIRL decides to show up! 

...my heart still kind of sinks/somersaults every time I let someone else in on our secret, because I have so many mixed emotions with this pregnancy (obviously grateful is the biggest one!!!), but then I try to remind myself that my uterus doesn't know when I announce that I'm pregnant, so to stop worrying, you big weird! Plus, this little miracle deserves to be celebrated, too! Even if it scary for me and Chris.

We are so so SO grateful that everything has gone well so far during this pregnancy and pray that it can continue to for the next 17 weeks. The one true "resolution" I have for this year is to have this girl arrive here safely. Okay, and maybe not eat so many freaking carbohydrates + read "The Infinite Atonement" (thanks for the recommendation, Whit!), but that's it! I swear. 

Even though 2017 brought on the hardest trial I've ever gone through, it also brought me some of the happiest moments of my life - my time with Jett and Graham, drawing closer to my Savior, growing closer with my family, and of course, getting pregnant again with this baby girl. A good word to sum up 2017 would definitely be G R A T E F U L. 

Here's to the new year! + hoping I'm a better blogger in 2018 (ha!)

small paychecks, big memories

Did your mom and dad ever tell you stories about their "struggles" when they first got married? Well, my mom and dad did. They would tell me about their teeny tiny apartment where they lived as newlywed teenagers, and how they would turn the lights off and immediately hear mice crawling inside their walls. I also remember my dad telling me he still to this day can't eat Campbell's Vegetable Beef soup because they ate it so much when they first got married. That + scrambled eggs + fried potatoes. Oh, and if they really wanted to splurge, they would walk across the street and buy an order of potato logs to share.

I used to be convinced that when I got married, I would want to go through that struggle, too.

That's so cute! I want to be poor and just live on love with my husband! 

Yeah...that was until I got married, and I went probably two weeks eating a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. Every.single.day. I remember just losing it in the car on my way home from somewhere with Chris and I looked at him all teary-eyed and said, "I can't eat one more damn peanut butter sandwich! I just can't!" and of course, Chris just laughed. He now refers to peanut butter sandwiches as "damn peanut butter sandwiches," and always says it with a little smirk. Punk.

Obviously, Chris and I have never had to go through the kind of struggle my parents did. Actually, when I think about it, we haven't had to go through very many struggles at all (which I'm very grateful for). There have been some times throughout our marriage that I have thought, "I can't wait to tell my kids about this," though. Tonight was one of those times.

I was scrambling through our fridge and cabinets trying to find something to throw together for dinner. The final product: semi-freezer burnt tator tots and fettuccine alfredo. Well, if we're being technical here, it was spaghetti alfredo, since we only had spaghetti noodles. Normally, I would just suggest going across the street and getting a $5 hot-n-ready, but for some reason, I was kind of excited about having to get  creative and work with what we had. Am I finally growing up?! Probably not. But as I was making dinner, I just couldn't help but think about the other things I'll get to tell our kids about to convince them that we were once "poor newlyweds" too.

Here's the list that I have so far...

• Our fridge for the first month of our marriage was a little mini fridge that sat on top of a bar stool.
• The dryer we got on KSL has a high-pitched squeak that doesn't stop until about 20 minutes into the drying cycle.
• Chris had to walk to the church parking lot to use wifi.
• We can't use the shower in our hallway bathroom or it will set off the fire alarm.
• For the first 6 months of our marriage, we shared a car and I had to bum rides (mostly from my brother) to school. One time I even rode the bus. Guys, big girl pants!

I know half the things on that list are things I've complained about, but today, I'm grateful for them, because I know that this is the time in our lives where we get to trade in the small paychecks for big memories.

 So for now, I'm going to try to enjoy the random dinners, the little quirks about our home, and the many, many bowls of Spaghettios that lie ahead of me as Chris and I finish school .

To the stranger who paid for my gas yesterday

....thank you.

Thank you for reminding me to not judge others. I've worked in retail and fast food (at Sonic, because I'm sure you're just dying to know!), so I've seen my fair share of people who's cards were declined. Every time I would have to tell someone their card was declined I would feel so bad, but then I'd immediately judge them. I would think things like, Stop buying things you can't buy! Quit being irresponsible with your money! Do you really need that 44oz diet Coke?!  -by the way, I totally get that now, you really do need that 44oz soda. If I would have known just how embarrassing it really is to have a cashier tell you that your card has been declined, I would have never said anything to those customers. I can't remember the last time I was that embarrassed, especially since I was so dumbfounded by the news! I'm sure my cashier thought I was just pretending. I wouldn't have blamed him for thinking that... I thought like that too.

But after yesterday when I found out my card was declined because of security issues and I was receiving a new one, I immediately felt terrible for all those people I had judged in the past. Even if their cards were being declined because they couldn't afford it--who cares?! Who am I to judge? Why didn't I step in like you and offer to help them? So for that, thank you! I'm grateful for your random (and pricey) act of kindness, because I'm reminded of how powerful service is. I hope that when I find someone who can't pay for their gas, I'll be as quick as you to jump in and help them-no questions asked.

It's comforting to know there are still good people out in the world--I'm ready to be one of 'em.

a tribute to my mama

Since my blog is the only form of social media that my mom looks at (or really knows how to look at), I thought I would write a little tribute to her, ya know, since she wouldn't get to see an Instagram picture of us at my wedding and the caption being something along the lines of, "I don't know what I would do without my mom. She is the most selfless person I know, she is always there for me..." blah blah blah. Plus, blog shout-outs count as Mother's Day presents, right? ;)

In all seriousness though, I have so much love for my mom. I think everyone needs a Jelynn Sanderson in their lives! The older I get (especially now that I'm married), the more I realize how much I have taken her for granted. All those years of home-cooked meals, folded laundry, trips to the dentist that were always followed by Purple Turtle or Taco Amigo, letting me lay in her bed when I was sick, and just her constant friendship and support in general! Keep in mind, this was all happening while she was working full time, too.

Even today there are times I find myself taking her for granted. Hey mom, what's for dinner tonight? Could I come and borrow some apricot jam? (which always results in me leaving her storage room with two grocery bags full of food and cleaning supplies), and Oh, that's a cute shirt! Can I borrow it? You'd think after asking her all of these things 947+ times she'd finally crack and say, "No Shayli! Grow up and do things by yourself already!" but she doesn't. She just smiles and replies in the affirmative enthusiastically. This just goes to show that motherhood is a lifelong job, and not just until your kids grow up and move away.

Mom, you are my best friend. I know a lot of people use the expression "I don't know what I'd do without you," but when it comes to you, I know exactly what I would do without you--I would curl up in the fetal position and cry in a corner everyday of my life. Thank you  for teaching me that rainy days are for baking cinnamon rolls and that it's okay to have just fries for lunch and that Doris Day movies are the best and popcorn is mandatory at the movies and that you can never have too much butter/sour cream/cream cheese/anything that really isn't good for you. You make me so excited to become a mom someday! I only hope that I wear motherhood as beautifully and as effortlessly as you have. I love you, mom.

Happy Mother's Day!



p.s. it's time to start taking more pictures together.

Thanksgiving Break Recap

I feel like our Thanksgiving break was jam-packed with fun this year! So, naturally, you'd think I have tons of fun pictures to post on the blog, right? Spoiler alert: I don't. For some reason, picture-taking Shayli decided to take a break herself, or maybe she just couldn't discipline herself to wait an extra second longer to take a picture of all the delicious food in front of her before eating it? Anyway, here's a recap of our weekend! Minus lots of pictures.

Thanksgiving dinner. This year was our year to eat with my family (my family + all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins on my mom's side), which means that I got to see how hard my mom goes on Thanksgiving! Also, if you've ever been to an event thrown by my mom's side of the family, you know that there is going to be freaking delicious food. And a lot of it. Food and family... two of my favorite things! Could I ask for more?

Black Friday Shopping. I'm almost kind of embarrassed to let blog world know that Chris and I bought a TV on Thanksgiving. Especially since my last post was on gratitude...ha! But in my defense, I wasn't really planning on buying a TV--let alone a 55 incher! I also didn't think Chris had it in him to spend that much money on a TV ;) But when Chris texted me about getting a 55" TV from Best Buy, I wasn't about to say no! My favorite part was watching the guys from Best Buy squeeze the monster-sized TV into our little Sentra. Chris says it fit like a glove, so it was obviously meant to be our TV. Chris was giddy the whole drive home. Behold:

Pure joy...

The Fault in Our Stars. OH.MY. I could not put this book down over the break! I'm pretty sure I would have finished it in two days if we didn't have so much family stuff going on this weekend. I was so sure I was just going to cry through the whole thing, but I actually ended up laughing more than crying! Which is weird, since I cry at everything. Anyway! If you haven't read this book, just read it. Humor, drama, and a love story--this book has everything.

Frozen. My grandma Walker paid for everyone to go to the movies! So, not only was Frozen a free movie, but it was a good one! I loved it. I was so worried Chris wasn't going to like it because it had so much music, but even he liked it! I'm still singing the songs...

Putting up Christmas decorations. First, you should know that my mother has ingrained in my mind that Christmas decorations go up the day after Thanksgiving. Not a day before, not on Thanksgiving, only the day after. So when I didn't get my Christmas decor up, I felt like a little piece of my mom that lives inside of me died. Oh, the shame! But when I finally did get my Christmas up I was so happy! Even though we don't have a whole lot to put up, it's still fun to just sit in our living room with our Christmas tree lit up. Plus, it doesn't hurt that we bought two bags of Candy Cane Kisses to go in our treat bowl, which is half empty now (not half full...there is no such thing as optimism when there is a decrease in Candy Cane Kisses). The Christmas decorations got me so excited, that I actually attempted to take a  "Look! I put Christmas up, and me and my husband are cute"  picture that turned into an epic fail. You can see why it didn't make the Instagram cut...

Bless our hearts...

Salad and scones. Let it be known: my mother-in-law makes THE best scones. It's become a Gourley tradition to have salads and scones. Some people might think that's a weird combination, but I think it makes perfect sense. You eat a butt-load of scones, and then you eat salad to feel better about yourself after consuming your body weight in scones. Amirite or amirite?! 

I'm so glad we got to start and finish our holiday weekend with family and delicious food! I love this time of year because I get to see how blessed I am with such amazing family and an amazing husband (especially when he agrees to ride to Swig with me!). The break made me even more excited for the upcoming holiday and all the time we'll be spending with our families. 

Hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

TWENTY TWOsday! (see what I did there?)

Yesterday, I turned 22.

[insert Taylor Swift's "22" here]

As you can see, I definitely got spoiled yesterday. And no, I didn't just make my bed so I could neatly place my birthday presents on it and take a picture for my blog, ya silly.

Chris asked me yesterday if I liked my birthday better as a single person or a married person. My answer: definitely as a married person (are you even surprised by my answer?). You just have such high expectations for your birthday when you're single, ya know? But now, going to Texas Roadhouse, Yogurtland, watching a documentary on Netflix about gangs, and falling asleep before 9:30 is all I'd ever ask for on my birthday!

I think one of the  highlight's of turning 22 was when Chris took me to Texas Roadhouse and was thwarted by our waitress when she asked him if he'd like grilled onions on top of his steak, and failed to mention that it costs $2.99 extra. What's even better was that this wasn't a first occurrence for Chris at Texas Roadhouse. Not only did this reaffirm Chris that he likes Outback more, but that he'd also be the greatest waiter on earth and tell customers that it costs extra to add onions to your steak.

 Seriously though, I loved every minute of my birthday. Including all the calls, texts, and Facebook posts wishing me a happy birthday from my friends and family--I am beyond blessed! I think that's one of my favorite parts about having a birthday, you realize how blessed you are to have so many people that care about you. Also, it doesn't hurt to have a husband that is willing to get up early and cook you pancakes ;)

I am so happy with my life right now, and can't wait to see what a whole year of being 22 brings me.