Big update! (Author: Melody)

Hey there, everyone! I just wanted to give you an update on what's been happening lately.

Jason has a job! And it's NOT at Melaleuca like we were originally planning. He's working at this Ranch in Driggs, doing landscaping work. It's been a lot of physical labor for him, but he's excited because it gives him a workout without having to go to the gym. It also seems like he's making some pretty good friends, so that's exciting.

He's also getting burned, much to his dislike. He's putting sunscreen on (and wearing a "do-rag"!), but he's turning into a redneck!

Yikes!

As for me, I had another interview on Wednesday. This time it was at Madison Middle School for the assistant accompanist job for the choir there. I thought the interview portion went relatively well, and then I sat down at the piano. I haven't played the piano for at least a month, so I was really rusty. I let my nerves get to me. :( They said they'll probably have their decision made by early- to mid-next week. I'm crossing my fingers, but I'm not getting my hopes up too much.

Alright, I think that was just about it. Yay for Jason's job! And please pray that I'll get this job!

To My Parents: Congratulations! (Author: Melody)

I just wanted to tell my parents congratulations! They were married this day in 1978, meaning that they've been married for 30 years! Way to be.

Susette's 24th birthday is also tomorrow, and then her husband, Josh, has his 24th birthday the day after that, so happy birthday to you guys too!

PS. Wish me luck - I have an interview with Madison School District tomorrow!

Hurray! (Author: Melody)

Wonderful news! After having waited since Jason's birthday at the end of June, his new license FINALLY came in the mail! He can now drive!

I need to clarify: I love driving. Normally. But I learned to drive in an automatic vehicle, in a minivan, nonetheless. So when Jason's license expired on his birthday, it was suddenly up to me to drive us everywhere in this little white car that was a stick shift (and I didn't know how to drive one at the time). Let's just say I learned quickly, and much as I enjoy driving, I can't wait for the day we can afford another car - one that's an automatic. :)

So hurray for Jason! He can drive. And I can relax.

Relaxation (author: Melody)

Well, these last couple weeks off from school have been very nice and relaxing, but it's getting to the point where we're starting to get restless. Jason has yet to hear from Melaleuca, and we haven't ventured out enough to find a job that might suit me as a pregnant (and soon to be VERY pregnant) woman.

Luckily, we've decided to be more proactive today, so we're going to be driving around running some errands and also looking for potential employers. I've seen these signs for this maternity store that's either about to open or has just been open for a little while, so I might look there. Since it's for maternity stuff, they might be kinder to me with hours and such since I'm pregnant. I'm crossing my fingers for that!

Something fun we were able to do yesterday was have lunch with Aunt Ivana. Apparently her mother lives pretty close to Rexburg, so while she and Uncle Lee are in the area visiting her, she came to visit us, which was really nice. We love it when family comes to visit. :)

Oh, and I've been craving chocolate. So family, if you'd like, send your chocolate to us! We - or rather, I - will have it gone in no time! Haha, just kidding.

Ok, just thought I'd add a little update. If we take any more pictures, we'll be sure to post them.

Outrageously Excellent Jason News

With all the other hype and commotion happening right now for Melody and me, I have some individual things I'd like to tell you about. It looks as if I will be starting to work full time at a new place called Melaleuca, and I'll have the opportunity to take inbound calls from Spanish-speaking customers. I love that because it will be easy to keep up with the Spanish I was able to learn while being a missionary for two years in the El Salvador East mission. I'm way excited about that.

As far as things are going here at BYU-I, I have changed my minor and also the career I was originally intending on pursuing: dentistry. After having done some job shadowing in two dental offices, and picking the brains of a few dentists, I realized that that career isn't best suited for me. I still like the field, but I am going to now be doing something totally different. After coming to my conclusion, I changed my minor to Health Education. My major is still Spanish Education. While I was planning on going to dental school with my major (with a minor in Chemistry ed.), I am now going to go into teaching, most likely at the high school level.

Since Melody is from Ohio, and my family is based in Washington but scattered all over the place, and since I want to be close to family wherever we end up, who knows where we'll actually settle. Maybe I'll be original and be out in the middle of nowhere or something, only time will tell. I won't graduate from BYU-I until December of 2010, so we have awhile to figure that all out. Plus, I may go to grad school somewhere first, so we may not be in a permanent place right after I graduate.

We know the gender!

Hey there, everyone. Melody had a doctor's appointment today, and as a result, we finally know the gender of our baby - we're having a little BOY! Andrew Tyler McBride (his tentative name) seems to be in perfect health and even seems to be working his way to being very cute. :)

Here's a picture of his profile:

It's a little baby in there!

Anyway, we're very excited about having a son, and can't wait for him to come into the world! He really could be a Christmas baby too, because the nurse said he's a little big for his age. Or maybe he'll just be a big boy. We'll have to wait and see.

Picture Time!

Hey there! Here are pictures of our apartment:

This is our bedroom...

The computer room, which will eventually be turned into our baby's room!

Our bathroom

Our living room, part 1

Living room, part 2

Our kitchen, part 1

Kitchen, part 2 (looking from the table and window)

And for a bonus:

Melody at 19 weeks!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! We'll probably post more later.