Pregnancy Insomnia

I am so sick of not being able to sleep anymore! I know every pregnant woman on the face of this planet has felt this way at one point or another, but I just had to voice my opinion. I can't get comfortable, my tummy is huge and I constantly have to get up to pee. I only have six weeks left and I keep telling myself I can do anything for six weeks, right?
This lack of sleep is causing some weird reactions....like headaches, racing heartbeat, dizziness, and just overall weakness. Or, maybe that's just from being pregnant. What do I know? This is my first ride on the merry-go-round! It'll all be worth it in the end, right? I'm such a wuss!

Perhaps the GREATEST Game Ever!

So for those who don't know us very well, we are huge basketball fans, and we love our Utah Jazz. Ever since the season started and I found out that the NBA Champs Boston Celtics were coming to town I told Jill I wanted to go. And she would give me the response of "Maybe, we'll have to see".

So the big game was yesterday (actually it was last night) and while I was sitting at work I debated about going. So I decided to start looking on Ksl.com to see if there were any good seats that were for sale. And I came across some really good seats. (Front row/center of the upper bowl). So I called Jill and told her about the seats and she said "Ok, go ahead and call to see if the seats are still for sale." Originally the tickets had been sold, however the person who sold them told me that the guy who bought them had somehting come up and he could go. So I called him and confirmed that he indeed needed to sale the tickets. So we bought them. (Funny story about this, the guy who I bought the tickets from, happens to be the husband of one of Jill's co-workers. Small world huh!)

So finally, Jill and I arrived at the ESA for the game. There were a ton of people there wearing both Jazz and Celtics jerseys. We found our seats and they were amazing! We had such a great view of the game. We had the time of our lives. We had Great seats for a Great game. And believe it of not, we beat the Celtics 90-85. It was a HUGE win for the Jazz. It is the best game we've ever been to! Go Jazz!!!

Valentine's Day!

My husband is truly the greatest guy ever! This last week I have been super stressed about getting everything ready for our baby to make her arrival into our lives. When I first found out we were expecting, I decided to make all of our baby girl's bedding by hand. Last Thursday night Karyn and I went to Preston to begin the sewing process with my very skilled mother. I was in such a hurry when we left, I left my house in quite the uproar. It was a mess.
We were at my parent's house until Saturday afternoon, and I was dreading coming home to the mess I had left. To my wonderful surprise, when I walked in the door my house was spotless! The bathroom had been cleaned, the floors vacuumed, and all the laundry was even washed, folded and put away. Jason had even put together our new stroller for Emslee. It was amazing!
As if that wasn't enough of a Valentine's present, in my bedroom I found a dozen red roses, an adorable pink teddy bear, a balloon, and chocolate covered strawberries! It was the most amazing Valentine's Day yet!
To top the day off Jason, Karyn, our friend Tyler and I went to dinner, bowling, went out for frozen custard, and then went for a drive to admire all the amazing homes on the east side of Bountiful. It was so much fun!
I am so grateful to have a husband that somehow keeps me level-headed and sane even when I feel the pressure and stress making my head want to explode. He is so thoughtful and kind. I have decided in this last week that I truly don't deserve him. But I'll keep him - he's the best ever! I love you babe!

J. Harvey Tanner

My grandfather, J. Harvey Tanner (he went by Harvey most of his adult life), was born November 6th, 1916 in Burlington, WY. He was the 12th of 13 children. He was a well-educated man, receiving his bachelors from the University of Wyoming and his masters from Utah State University. He made a living teaching school alongside his wife, Wamoth, in Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona, and Brigham City. He served in WWII with the Pacific Naval Contractors rebuilding Pearl Harbor and then with the Navy Fleet Hospital Unit in Guam.
He and my grandmother had five children; one boy and four girls. They raised them in Brigham City, Utah where he lived with my Grandma until she passed away in 1990. He continued to live in their home until 1997, when he married his second wife, Germaine. They then moved to Perry, Utah.
On Thursday, January 29th my Grandpa was released from this earthly life and was reunited with his eternal companion and many other loved ones, including my older brother Nathan. He was 92 years old.
My Grandpa is one of the greatest men I have ever met. I had the great privilege of living only an hour from him most of my life. Some of my most treasured memories involve going to his house and splashing in his flood irrigation water. In his basement he had a giant chest freezer that always had big buckets of Farr's ice cream, which of course he allowed us to eat at will. :) He was always happy and joking with us - one of his favorite things to do was sing silly little songs that would get stuck in my head for days afterward.
He raised a great family including someone who I hold in the highest esteem - my father, Harvey. It is amazing the legacy one man can leave behind him. I am so grateful for the life he lived and the way he raised his son so that I could be born into the Gospel and be surrounded by the most incredible parents and siblings a person could ask for.
I will miss him dearly, but a part of him will live on in each of us. Thank you, Grandpa, for everything. God be with you til we meet again.

Drama, drama, drama

This weekend was pretty rough for our family. A few weeks ago, my grandpa had a stroke and although he was recovering from it, his speech was slurred and he was really exhausted. When his physician gave him the choice of going to a nursing home and being rehabilitated or going home and having hospice come in as he lived out the remainder of his life, he chose to go home. We all knew he wouldn't last much longer.

On Friday I received a phone call from my mom that his kidneys had shut down, and according to his hospice nurse he wasn't going to last more than 2-3 days. Jason, Karyn and I rushed to Brigham to see him one last time before he passed away. Katie and her family drove down from Soda Springs, Nick's family came from Shelley, and Abe even flew in from Alaska. It was an emotional day for all of us. Grandpa was still lucid and knew who we all were, although he did tell us he was ready to go. It was painful to watch him struggle to talk and breathe. I cried a lot on Friday.

We spent the weekend hanging out with our family, and it was so good to be able to see Abe. On Sunday as I was preparing for church, I realized I hadn't felt my baby move for several hours. I laid down on my bed and Jason tried to get her to kick him. She wouldn't respond - which was odd because normally the mere sound of Jason's voice gets her going crazy. She is already so attached to him! I tried everything I could think of to get her to kick me, but she wouldn't. I finally called my doctor and told them what was going on. They instructed me to go to the hospital. Karyn drove us down there, and we were admitted so they could make sure everything was okay. My little stinker of a child perked up the minute they put the fetal heart monitor on her! At least she's okay. She just thinks she's quite the tease and I suppose she's right.

As of right now grandpa is still hanging in there and we're grateful to have him around, although I do hope he is able to go soon so that he is no longer in pain. He has lived a good life and raised an amazing family, and I am so grateful to be able to call him my grandpa.

Jason practicing to be a daddy with our beautiful niece Sevanna....thanks to Katie for allowing him to hold her and get used to having a little one around!

Karyn's Moving to Utah!!

Today I got the wonderful privilege of accompanying my Karyn (yes, she's mine and none of you can have her!) to Davis Applied Technology College. She was in town to take the admissions test, register for her CNA class, and buy her books. We spent about two hours on campus - getting her all set up and ready to go. Then we went into the bookstore and I found the CUTEST dress! Yes, I know, I'm a dork. I bought a dress in a bookstore at a tech school. So what? It's Downeast and I love it! Plus, Jason gets to use it as a Christmas gift to me. Less shopping for him so we're all happy!
So it's official - Karyn is going to be joining our happy little home here in a short while. I can't wait to have her! Plus, I'm really just thrilled for her to take this next step in her life!

We had our first ultrasound back in November to verify the due date, make sure the baby was healthy, and determine the sex, of course!
As you've already heard, we are having a girl! Everything looked really good in the ultrasound, except that my little girl is just like her mommy and loves to lay on her stomach. They were unable to see all 4 chambers of her heart, no matter how much pushing and prodding they did to try to get her to roll over.
Last Tuesday I went back in for another ultrasound, hoping that this time we would get a clear shot of her heart. Unfortunately, she was just as stubborn as she was before! I laid on that table for 45 minutes with the ultrasound tech pushing and shaking my tummy, trying to get her to move. At one point they even had me roll onto my side, hoping that that would convince her she wanted to lay on her back. She refused. Instead she would kick her little legs in protest and settle back into her original position.
Third time's a charm, right?? I am scheduled again on January 6th for yet another ultrasound. We'll keep our fingers crossed that maybe this time she'll cooperate! (But knowing that she's my daughter, we won't hold our breath.....)

Our 2 year anniversary

For our two year anniversary, Jason surprised me with tickets to see Phantom of the Opera in Vegas. We road-tripped it down to Vegas and had the time of our lives! It was the best anniversary ever!

I don't know if you all have been awaiting this quite as anxiously as Jason and I, but Tuesday we learned the sex of our baby. I'm sure you've already guessed - but it's a girl! We're right on track for our scheduled due date, and she is growing perfectly. She seems to have a lot more energy than I do...she was kicking those legs like a crazy marathon runner!
We are still trying to come up with a name. Our tastes are not very similar - so we'll see what we come up with. We have until April 7th to decide! We are so thrilled!

We're Pregnant!?!

Just Recently we have found out that we are going to be adding either or little boy or girl to the Jason and Jill Gast Family!!!! We are soooooooo EXCITED! and we can't wait until November 12th when we will find out if we are having a boy or a girl!

MOVING!! (wow, we're good at that.)

So for all of you that have been whining about me never updating this....I'm finally going to appease you!
Jason and I have found the most adorable basement apartment, and will be moving next weekend. We can't wait! It's right on the boundary between North Salt Lake and Bountiful, so it will be only about a 15 minute drive to work for me, and a 5 minute bus ride for Jason.
The apartment is absolutely adorable! It's actually quite spacious for a basement (1200 sq. ft.), with lots of big windows that let in the light, making it feel less like a basement. There is a huge brick fireplace in the family room, and two good-sized storage closets. There are hardwood floors throughout, and new paint and carpet. Plus, the family that owns the home lives upstairs and they are so cute and funny. We couldn't ask for better neighbors. :)
We are so excited for our new move. But mostly, we are thrilled to be able to shorten both of our commute times!

Jason's Surgery

For all of you that have been curious, Jason's surgery went very well. It was done on May 8th at LDS Hospital. His surgeon is very optimistic that he was able to get all the areas of his heart that were causing both the atrial fibrillation and the atrial tachycardia. This is the fourth time Jason has had this particular surgery, known as a catheter ablation. His recovery has been surprisingly quick....just a few hours after coming out of recovery, he was up and walking the hospital halls. He's quite the trooper!
The downside to all of this is if this surgery doesn't work (and we won't know the outcome for 3-6 months), the next step we will have to take is what is called a Maze procedure. This would involve cutting open the chest cavity with an incision that runs vertically. For obvious reasons, Jason is not too delighted with that idea!
So for now, we are crossing our fingers and praying that this surgery will (finally) do the trick. Hopefully we won't have to see the inside of a hospital for a while!

Back home to Utah!

We just thought we should update everyone....we are officially back in Utah now! We are currently living in Layton, in Jason's parents' basement. We were trying to sell our house in Rexburg, but have decided instead to rent it out. As soon as we get some renters in there, we're going to find our own place in SLC. Jason's parents have been so great. They have been generous enough to let us stay in Jason's old bedroom, and we're so glad to be back in Utah.
Jason is absolutely loving his new job! He's now working as a Lead Teller at a branch in West Jordan, which was a promotion for him. He's working a lot, and staying really busy. It's a nice change from his oh-so-slow branch in Idaho Falls.
I'm back at work at the dental office I worked at prior to our move. I, too, got a promotion upon returning! I'm now a treatment coordinator rather than an assistant. I'm really enjoying my new position! (Especially the pay raise that came with it!)
We are doing well, and are enjoying the warm weather! It's such a change from Idaho. We can actually see the grass - rather than just SNOW!
Just a heads-up everyone: We may be calling in favors with some of you - we could use some help moving!

Moving

Jason and I moved to Rexburg, Idaho back in October '07. Jason was accepted to BYU-Idaho, so we said goodbye to Salt Lake and bought a home in Rexburg. It was quite an adjustment! I was raised in a small town, but I've always considered myself more of a city girl. Jason had never lived outside the Salt Lake valley! So you can imagine how difficult it was for us to become accustomed to a town this size (17,000 people). Thankfully, Idaho Falls is a mere 30 minutes away, so we were able to get our "semi-big city fix" without too long of a drive.
Aside from the size, Rexburg was an adjustment due its freezing cold temperatures and icy winds. There were days the temperature got down to -30 degrees! We made it through the chilliest months without any permanent frostbite, and were quite proud of ourselves!
We've proven to ourselves that we can endure the frigid temperatures, the oh-so-quaint town, and the less-than-adequate shopping. (Trust me, the shopping has probably been the hardest part for me.)
As most of you know, Jason has a heart condition called congestive heart failure. Since being diagnosed back in 2005, he's also been experiencing atrial fibrillation, and just recently the problem has been compounded with atrial tachycardia as well. When we made the decision to move to Rexburg, it was with high hopes that his last surgery would fix the problem permanently. It didn't.
The next step? Jason's cardiologists have advised him that he needs another surgery. So we put our thinking caps on and made the decision to move back to Utah. Due to the present circumstances, Jason has had to withdraw from school, and so it seems we are in Rexburg for no apparent reason at this point.
We are sad to leave our adorable new home, and the friends we have made here, but we do know that it is for the best.
Thank you to everyone for all your support and prayers! We love you all.