Crazy Beautiful Life

Man oh man I am SO not good at keeping up on this blogging thing. SO much has happened since the last time I posted but those of you that are facebook friends know :)

We finished up our senior year at Utah State in Logan and graduated with our bachelors degree in Social Work which feels so rewarding! We moved back to Rexburg 2 days later, bought a house, painted and moved on in! To say we have been busy is an understatement. I am still learning daily how to balance two kids. I swear once I think I have it down another curve ball gets thrown in. Paxt is learning how to be softer to Finnley and that is a nice change. He adores cuddling with her and holding her hand. When she sleeps he puts his finger to his mouth and says "shhhh epping" or "shhh sleeping". It is so much fun to watch them both grow up and see their sweet personalities. We really are blessed with great kids and I love them so much.

We are all registered to start graduate school on August 27. JOY.  The truth is it is really important to me to be educated and to complete my masters. I have been asked by many people why I would want to leave my kids and do something like that. I chose to look at it differently. I am not leaving my kids, I am giving them a better future. I know that they will be thankful that Mark and I sacrificed to make this a possibility for our family. We have already seen many tender mercies from the lord with regards to our schooling. Mark was able to nail a job at Rire school district which counts for his internship so it will be paid plus insurance. I am able to do my internship at the hospital here in town which is so close to my house so it lessens time away from our kids. I was able to find financial freedom through an amazing company called It Works. I am able to make money from my phone that pays for our bills and lessens the stress on Mark. We are currently being blessed for our decision to obtain degrees and I am so excited that in 13 months I will have an amazing job that will help provide amazing opportunities y for our sweet babies.

We are happy and we are in love. That's all we need. I am forever grateful for my brother Jordon and the ancient MySpace account that led me to my best friend and husband. This summer it has been 7 years since we first started dating and I can honestly say my love grows deeper daily.

Sweet Baby Girl You Are Loved

A few weeks ago, on Paxton's birthday, I set up an appointment to see the gender of our baby. We took Paxt in the room and watched as the ultrasound showed a cute little baby wiggling and dancing like it knew we were watching. We were both dead set that it was going to be a boy. I even had the perfect superhero theme room that they could share and Mark dreamed of two really tall boys playing side by side on the basketball court. I hear a lot of people say "Oh you feel the same with as you did with Paxton then it must be a boy." So that is what I thought. Then we hear the words, "Oh this baby is A GIRL... a girl for SURE." My heart dropped... my jaw dropped. What the.. a girl... you must be missing something. It took me a few minuets to grasp the concept that I was going to have a baby girl. Pink... makeup... hair bows.... that is so NOT me. And I thought that was the shocker of the day that is until 30 min later.

I sent Mark and Paxton home because you know, a one year old can last only so long in a doctors office without ruining every possible instrument.As I sat in the waiting room alone i felt good and happy. I had been telling Mark all along that something was going to be wrong with this pregnancy. I had no idea what it was going to be I just didn't feel like things were right. But there I just saw my baby.. and she was moving and she was healthy. I got called back to go see the doctor and then I knew why I felt that way. My doctor is normally like the sweetest most hilarious person and that day she walked in with a look on her face that worried me. I said "Erica... its a girl!" Her reply was "have you been bleeding jocelyn?" Then i knew something was wrong with me. She went on to tell me that I had severe bleeding in my placenta. Bad enough that it looked like I had been in a car wreck or been a victim of domestic violence. After talking to the social worker they finally believed me that I hadn't been abused. She told me that she is surprised that my sweet baby was growing and that I hadn't miscarried her yet. She also talked about the possibility of our baby being down syndrome. I just sat there with the big crocodile tears in my eyes trying not to explode without my husband. She told me that I would be sent to Ogden to see a specialist and we would know more then. 

So I called my mom and cried. Called my dad and cried... and came home crying to my husband. How in the world did THIS happen to ME. Did I cause this... what could I have done wrong. The next appointment in Ogden was not available for 9 days. Those 9 days were the LONGEST 9 days of our life. I swear every little movement I made I was nervous to hurt the baby or to miscarry her. We are so thankful for family that joined us in fasting and prayers as we awaited our appointment in Ogden. We finally made it there after me having about 10 mental break downs to myself while Mark was at work. You know when you have that moment of extreme comfort from the holy ghost?? Yeah I had that. It was amazing. We got all set up for another ultra sound and what we saw was amazing. The doctor told me that my body was healing itself. The blood in my placenta was clotting off and shouldn't bother our baby. It was so weird to see just a huge pocket of blood chilling in my stomach... he also comforted us and said to not stress the down syndrome. Sometimes God works in mysterious ways. I have always had a really strong testimony of the Gospel but have struggled with fasting and prayer... but this reaffirmed 10x to me the importance of those two things. Within an hour I went from thinking I could lose our baby or have a VERY premature baby to she should be able to go full term. It's the craziest emotion swing I have ever felt in my life. there were many times those 9 days that i just sat there like a freak and rubbed my belly begging her to stay in there and to be strong and healthy. I never knew how long 9 days was... but it is LONG. I am excited to give birth to a little girl and can only hope for the best. The thought of losing her was unbearable.She has already proved to us that she NEEDS to be here on this earth by talking my body into healing itself so she could chill with me 4 months longer. So now we get to have ultra sounds at every appointment to make sure things are still healing and that she is growing properly. I guess i will look at that as a blessing. Not very many people get to see their baby that frequent before they are born. Life is a beautiful roller coaster with a LOT of bumps. I am thankful that I can ride this ride with my husband who never lets me jump out of the cart. Here's to bows, lace and hopefully knee pads and a volleyball.

We are HAPPY!

So I am the worst blogger in the history of blogs... but that's okay. I thought I would try to do an update on our exciting life because who doesn't want to hear about our adventures ;)

Mark and I are both ecstatic that we only have one more semester of undergrad... like ecstatic doesn't even cover how we feel. We have been applying to masters school and are looking forward to hearing back from those places. Right now we are required to do about 16 hours a week of internship. Mark is doing his at the juvenile justice system or cache valley youth center.  He has liked it a lot and loves that he gets to go at 6 in the morning to play basketball with the kids. I think he is ideal for that because he is so funny and down to earth and can give the troubled punks a good role model. I am doing mine at community nursing services mostly dealing with hospice patients. I like it a lot but have come to realize I want to work in a hospital setting. One thing is for sure... we both know we want our masters and would prefer working with our masters.... the bachelor level is just not for us. Only one more month of school until Christmas break and then one more semester... cake. 

Paxton is the cutest kid you will ever meet, for real though. He is so wild and loves to run around and have fun. It is CRAZY to think that he is already one year old. He has 11 teeth, sleeps about 12 hours a night, likes tootsie rolls, LOVES bath time, gives kisses, runs around like a champ and claps for the best things. He is so much fun and we love him like crazy. It is so much fun to be his mom and to watch him grow. I love snuggling with him and watching him get excited when he learns something new. He is a super tall boy and people keep asking me why I don't put him in nursery at church, then when i tell them he is barley a year they are blown away and think he is at least 18 months. 

 So our biggest news is we are going to be parents of TWO. What the... insane i know. I was dead set that this baby was going to be a boy. We were hoping for the "dream" post team in basketball... but we were wrong. When we were told it was a girl i was certain they were missing "it", but the doctor is/was certain she doesn't have "it". So now i am excited to have my little volleyball player. Like seriously... EXCITED. We were experiencing some problems with our sweet baby and were sent to Ogden to see a specialist and long story short, we witnessed a miracle for our family. Time and time again I am reminded the importance of prayer and fasting but this is definitely a time that strengthened my testimony that I will NEVER forget. I am certain that our heavenly father is aware of us and our little family, Honestly, I have never felt so loved and so cared for. I am extremely thankful and forever changed. It is so weird to shop for little girl clothes,,, but i learned with paxt that less is more and that she doesn't need every cute outfit out there, okay lets be honest... she needs majority of them. Shh don't tell her dad. AH WE ARE HAVING A GIRL.

 We love our crazy beautiful life and love the stage we are in. There have been many times the past few months where I wish i was closer to family. I really miss going out to Sunday dinner at my Grandma's or attending family activities; It is definitely something that I took for granted. But I love being in my own house with my own little family and learning how to make it a home. We have grown so close as a couple and we are rocking this life... seriously though. It feels good knowing that we are capable of doing hard things and laughing our way along. I am married to the best man in the world. He is an amazing dad and husband and keeps us laughing. Only 7 more months in this little blue house until we head off onto our next adventure!!

blessed

I am so blessed. It's the silent moments like right now (paxt sleeping) that help me to recognize just how truly blessed I am. We have been having a really good summer. At times I like to complain to Mark about how I wish we were going somewhere or doing something but then I remember how much fun we actually have here... together. Having Paxt this summer has really made a big difference in the things that Mark and I can do together, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Yesterday was the 4th and we had SO much fun with our little man. Paxt loved the parade at Aunt Julies and loved trying his first sucker. He also loved the fireworks snuggled on mamas lap. I love that little energetic man. Paxters is a crawling fool and is now learning to stand up by pulling himself up on the couch or our legs. He is definitely keeping me on my toes ,crazy to think that he is already 8 months old, time is hauling and I already miss my baby. Mark is such an amazing dad and husband. He has been applying to all sorts of scholarships and had either won them or been a finalist.... stud right? He won the working parent scholarship and right now we are SO close to winning the LDS bookstore one as well. We need the social media votes... which is a hassle and can be embarrassing but we are thankful for those who have helped us.I am SO thankful for him and for our marriage. Two years ago we were spending our first weekend together again after his mission. We get a kick out of how "fast" everything happened but again... we wouldn't want it any other way. This summer we have worked opposite shifts and only see each other for a few min a day for the "pass down" of Paxt. I miss my husband.
I've started my practicum and so far so good. Besides getting attacked by a clients dog I have enjoyed it. It feels really good to know that I am helping other people and that they are appreciative of what I am doing for them. I love knowing that the career I chose is something that I LOVE to do. I thoroughly enjoy spending time with people and talking to them. We are getting anxious for school to start... so it can be over. We are in the process of applying for masters school and that can be interesting. So far we are planning on applying to the following: University of Utah. Boise State, Montana State, Northwest Nazarene, and Washington State. Two more years till we are done! Social Work is honestly the best field for us. We love talking to one another about things in the news or discussing our ideas on certain subjects. I have really grown to respect people and to make sure that I am seeing not only the person but the whole situation. We are so blessed.
We miss our family but we have decided that it is fun to just be here as our own family too. We get to start our own traditions and just be together which is nice. Mark's parents are doing great in the Philippines and we are proud of them. In the past 4 years Mark has only been with his parents for 1.5 of those years... and that's being married to me. So yes... we miss them. Next weekend we are going camping to Salmon with Mark's brother and sisters and we are really looking forward to that.
We just love being our own little family. We are truly blessed.

Mother, Student and Employee?

I am a mother, student and employee in that order. My husband is a father, student and employee in that order as well. Being a mom to a newborn baby while being a full time student and part time employee, is really a full time job. In October of 2013 I was blessed with a healthy baby boy full of spunk and a hungry stomach. I was 39 weeks pregnant and in the middle of my first semester in the Social Work program. October 23, 2013 was just a typical 39 week doctors check up. That is until the doctor told me it was time for me to have my baby. At first I was excited until I realized I still had STATS homework to finish and my husband had a test that afternoon. We convinced the doctor to let us head up to campus and finish our homework and exams and then we would come back in later. Being a mother, student and employee requires flexibility.

Flexibility is key to staying sane in this ever changing life. I quickly learned that while on our drive back to campus. It is vital that we are capable of being flexible and understanding that flexibility helps us mentally and physically. We quickly learned to become flexible as our baby was bounced from friend to friend for day care outside of our classrooms. Since we didn’t have family close by or know of any decent day cares in the Cache Valley I was required to be flexible with the cultural role of a mother. Most mothers in this area stay home with their child to help rear and raise them, but I was not that mother. I was required to be a mother, student and employee which meant that my baby was going to be tended by his father and our close friends.

Paxton was born on October 24,2013, at 4:16 a.m. on a Thursday. I always knew that I wanted to be a mom and that I wanted to also be able to provide for my family as well as gain a solid education. Once Paxton was born that desire increased ten fold. Although it would have been a lot easier for me to hang up my backpack and snuggle my baby all day, I knew he deserved more than that and so did I. I quickly returned to school the Tuesday after he was born and pushed through the day. Punctuality is key in being a good mother, student and employee. I knew that if I was to take more days off than necessary of school it would be harder and harder for me to return. Having a new baby also made me realize that I needed to get up earlier in the day and that things would take longer to get accomplished. But being punctual is important to me, in fact it is one of my defining qualities. I have a reputation for being on time and precise and I did not want to lose that since it is something I am proud of. Professors don’t allow homework extensions since I am a mother nor do they allow tardiness because I have a sick baby. My employer didn’t allow me to show up late to work or leave work early because of my baby. I was still required to be punctual but now it was more difficult. I attribute my 4.0 that semester to punctuality and organization.

Diapers, pacifiers, bottles and homework. Did I mention homework? I quickly became grateful for my prior organizational skills and clean home which made the transition of baby things easier to handle. I am a list maker. My planner became one of my best friends. I learned that if I highlighted when different things were due it made my life a lot easier. I had to be organized to be a successful mother, student and employee. Organization is the reason that I am able to be flexible and punctual. Because I have my “ducks in a row” I know when it is okay to be flexible and have a change of plans. Because I am organized I am able to be on time to things and hand in assignments on time. Being organized while working during school helped finances to go smoothly and allowed me to work more shifts. Organization helped me to balance just the right amount of time for work and school work to still manage time with my baby and husband.

Being a mother, student and employee is difficult. Being a mother and attending school and working is difficult. However, being a mom makes me who I am and gives me motivation to achieve greatness. Being a full time student is difficult. There are times where I second guessed myself and my motives for continuing school. However, I know that my baby and I deserve to gain an education. Working while going to school and being a mother is difficult. However, I know the importance of being smart financially and staying out of debt. Understanding how to be flexible, punctual and organized make being a mother, student and employee a breeze.

Moving Right Along

My goodness so much has happened the past couple months. We started school again, yay. We are the worlds biggest nerds and we love school. Good things have been happening with school. It is so nice to only be in classes that we are so passionate about. It makes such a big difference because we actually like the topics we are assigned. We are taking a social work research class with the worlds worst teacher.. ah. But the good news is we had a test last Thursday and we both nailed a 98% on the test which felt fantastic. I have also been blessed with understanding my Social Stats class and got a 103% on my exam, yes! Mark got notified that he is in the top 15% of his junior class.. figures that punk genius. We have put a lot of effort in getting homework done before Paxton gets here. We are happy to say that all of our papers... complete! We have spent a lot of time the past two months getting ahead so that we can spend more time with our little man. I really love having classes with Mark. It is fantastic to be able to hear each others opinions and learn form one another. I have one smart sexy husband that I love very much.  Here's our first day of school picture rocking the belly at 30 weeks!!! 

Luckily I have the worlds greatest mom and sister. Bayli and my mom threw me a baby shower at the beginning of September. It was so much fun and Paxt got such a haul. We are so thankful for everyone who came and supported us. My mom had her friend make the most adorable cake for it, I loved it! Barley wanted to cut into it it was so cute. I am excited and a little obsessed with Paxton's clothes.Now we just need him here to play dress up with :) 

 Mark and I decided that we really want to start early teaching Paxton about missions and missionaries. We started Paxton's mission fund with these cute little piggy banks and change. He has got to have close to $20 in it and he isn't even born yet. We cannot wait to raise our kids in the gospel and to teach them. I am thankful that I have such a strong husband who has such a wonderful testimony to be their dad. They are lucky! I went to my friend Vanessa Buttars house and in her families living room they had a sign that said "In this family we serve missions" I thought it was fantastic. Mom and Dad Hobbs submitted their mission papers again, what amazing examples we have in our lives.

 Since we weren't able to celebrate our first anniversary on the actual weekend or day :( Mark surprised me with tickets to the Luke Bryan, Thompson Square, Florida Georgia Line concert. We had such a blast together! I thought Paxton was going to be deaf forever afterwards :) It was so much fun to just spend time with my handsome husband and to laugh and enjoy ourselves. Our friends Jake and Kori Soffe were there too and we stayed at their house which was a blast. Thanks guys!

 Okay... I went to the Logan Pajama Outlet store and found this gem. I could NOT resist. Every baby bump needs a bear hug right? Pretty sure this is the most comfortable thing I have ever worn in my life and Mark is sick of me wearing it... but that's just too bad :) Yay for $4 sweaters

Mark had been working like crazy in the evenings after school. He is such a champ! Max and I tend to get bored without him. We are thankful for him and all he does for out little family. Mark and I were talking the other day about how much we love to have Max. He is so snuggly and cute and adds so much happiness to our life. We will have to see how he does with baby Paxton. 

 My parents are probably sick of my house. They have been so much fun and have visited a lot this fall. They came up and went to the Boise State game vs Utah State. It was fun to have them here. I love my family and feel so blessed to have such a strong support system and positive relationships with them.

Overall we are doing fantastic. I have had the worlds best pregnancy and have nothing to complain about. I am getting really anxious to meet Paxton and to do the whole birth thing... ahhhh..... I can do it! I feel so blessed that we were able to start a family when planned and that my pregnancy has been so smooth. Now its just a matter of time as to when Paxt wants to grace us with his presence! We had another ultra sound done on him last week to make sure everything was good and the good news is the doctor said that he passed the breathing test within ten seconds and they normally give them 30 min to pass. Yay Paxt!! We love you all and are so thankful for you. Until next time....

Jocelyn 

Baby P

I am officially 26 weeks into my pregnancy today. So crazy to think our little baby will be here so shortly! Time has flown by! Some of my family has been interested in how I am feeling etc so I thought I would just catch up on the blog and update our life :) 

I have been extremely blessed during my pregnancy  I guess since its my first I don't really know what to expect but from what I have heard from others I definitely can't complain. Besides some intense headaches in the first trimester I have felt fantastic. I have had no nausea  never thrown up and for the most part feel just like my normal self. Just the past couple weeks my body has started to feel tired and my feet are starting to get swollen. Lucky Mark, he doesn't have to deal with a sick wife. I think we are both pretty naive to "normal" pregnancy symptoms which we are both okay with.

Mark got to feel baby P kick for the first time on fathers day... pretty great fathers day gift!  We have decided on a name and are thrilled about that. Mark officially decided that he liked it when he decided it would be a good name to yell in the stands for basketball, typical. I am anticking a pretty large baby since Mark was over 10 lbs... yikes! I love to feel our baby kick inside me but he always seems to do it when I am just about to fall asleep. I was able to feel him roll completely over in my stomach the other day and that was for sure a new strange feeling. I hear moms say how amazing it is to feel their baby kicking and if I am honest with myself I would have to admit that sometimes I am a little creeped out by it! Takes some getting used to. 

I am still working at the assisted living helping the elderly. I really do enjoy my job but am finding it hard to lift my patients with this belly. Lots of back pain and sore feet are resulting from the 8 hour shifts. Luckily I have some really good coworkers to help out and to make me laugh. I have finally been called "huge" referring to my weight instead of my height... not too sure what to think about that. One of my coworkers was gone for a few weeks (happened to be the weeks that my belly started to really "pop") when she returned to work she was sure to let me know that I had a stomach that was huge. Haha some people are really interesting. I am used to people calling me that for my height but not for my stomach, I couldn't help but laugh. Probably not the BEST thing to tell a hormonal pregnant lady. I am going to try and last a couple more months working but baby P might make it impossible, at least in that job setting. 

Mark and I have had a really good summer. We have spent most of it working 40+ hours and packing our apartment to move. Just a few weeks ago we were able to go to California for Mark's side of the family reunion. We had so much fun with our family and playing on the beach. I even attempted to boogy board with my belly per Mark's request. Not a good idea... after a few decent attempts a large wave nailed me and my board got caught under my tummy. I had some pretty good bruises and burns on my stomach to remind me not to try again. Beach volleyball was a blast but a total fail of skills. I had a difficult time spiking and serving with my tight belly. But a blast watching my cute father in law kick trash on the court. 

We were able to move out of our tiny basement apartment and into a HOUSE. I love it!! No loud neighbors, a fenced in back yard for Max to run in, garden, babies room and all. I have had a really fun time decorating and am thankful for a loving husband that helped me decorate at midnight when I got into the decorating mood.

This week marks our 1 year anniversary. CRAZY! My older brother Jordon is also getting married this weekend. We are really happy and excited for him and love his fiance Rachel. They are getting married on the 26 in Boise and then having a reception in Rexburg the 27... which is our anniversary. I guess that means that we "get" to spend our anniversary at their wedding reception which results in celebrating our first anniversary another day. Which is totally worth it to see my best friend get married to his best friend. It definitely has been an amazing year. I love being married to my best friend. 

We are really excited to have our little baby and to be parents. Lots to look forward to and prepare for. My good friend Susan just had her little baby boy. We were able to meet him on Sunday and he is so cute! Crazy to think that I am going to be a mom to one of those sweet little souls in 14 short weeks. We also just found out that my best friend in the entire world Haley is also having a baby boy in December. I am so excited to get our little babies together and to have them be good friends! 

School starts in about a month, then real life begins again! We are nerds though and LOVE school so we are excited. I just need to become a little more social in my ward and neighborhood so I can get a good babysitter for our babe when he gets here! Luckily I only have classes for 4 hours on Tuesday and Thursday! 

We love you all!!

I found some cute old pictures of Mark when he was a baby! Love him! 

My sister-in-law sent me this picture of Mark and I at the airport after his mission... Bittersweet moment. So nervous and so HAPPY!

Review of our year ♥

 Review of our year in pictures:

January 2012: Bought my first car...now it's registered in Utah. Weird!

April: Jordon came home from his mission in Brazil....

May: I officially graduated from Western Wyoming 

July: Mark came home from his mission. Our first pic together in two years. 

July: Hobbs family reunion 

July 27,2012: We got married! 

 October: Our first Halloween 

November: Our first Thanksgiving 

December: We went on our cruise! 

 Our first Christmas tree

 December 2012: We got a puppy!! 

Here's to 2013!

Enjoy the journey

Oh my goodness... let me say that again END OF SEMESTER! We are so very close to being done with the semester and I am so thrilled. Three more tests for me and four more for Mark and then we get to pack up and head to Flordia and our cruise! We are so glad to have the semester come to an end. This has been a wonderful semester... good grades... being my first with my husband... and good jobs! We are truly so blessed.
We were able to go to Salmon for Thanksgiving. We had so much fun with Mark's side of the family. I had to work on Thanksgiving so we headed there the next day. I was only scheduled for two appointments and one of the patients did not even need help which was kinda a bummer. We were able to see lots of family at Mark's house. His brother Jeremy and his family were able to come all the way from San Jose California! We just love that family, they are so much fun to be around. We weren't able to spend a lot of time with them but it was so much fun to see their growing kids and to visit with Jeremy and DNeill. We also were able to spend time with Mark's older brother David and his family. We had so much fun with David and Gina at ALCO. Total blast and definitely something I will always remember. Mark's older sisters Julie and Carla were there with their families too and we had so much fun visiting them. Our niece Sarah came up from BYU to visit as well. It was really fun to be able to spend some time with here since I rarely have been able to do that. It is fun to spend time with her and to hear all her stories. She is going to go on a mission this coming year and we are thrilled about that. Mark surprised me and let me stop and say hi to my family on our way back to Logan and that was so much fun. I love spending time with our families. We are so blessed to have such incredible people in our lives.
Well we can officially say 8 days until we leave for our cruise. I am so happy about it and am so excited for Mark to experience his first cruise. We are so very thankful that his brother Brian helped us out with our plane tickets. Like I said, we are surrounded by amazing people. We get to go to Cozumel, Belize, Honduras and the Cayman Islands.
Recently in a sacrament meeting it was fast sunday and people were bearing beautiful testimonies but one really stood out to me. A lady got up and bore her testimony on sharing her testimony. She told us that she was just recently re-baptised into the gospel and that this was her first time bearing her testimony. The spirit that she had was so strong. I was amazed at her strength and her courage to get up and bare her testimony in front of our ward. She told us that before the meeting she looked up testimony and what it meant. She said that she read that a testimony is strengthened by sharing it. I was so touched by her testimony. I feel like we know that simple truth as members of the church but we don't really take the time or aren't courageous enough to bear our testimonies. I just want to send out a little challenge to bare your testimony more often... we never know who we might touch.
Last night I was scrolling through some wedding photos and I was overjoyed with happiness. I am so blessed to be married to such an amazing man who loves me with all his heart. I found myself tearing up and even crying with happiness. I love how some candid (not sure if thats how you spell it) shots capture people's personalities perfectly. I found myself smiling and crying over so many photos that captured just how I felt on that day and wonderful shots of others that captured their true personalities. I am so thankful for my wedding pictures and for the joy that they bring me.
Our life is so good right now. I need to be better at focusing on the positives and realizing that life is beautiful and it is even more beautiful with Mark by my side. While working for Access Home Health and Hospice I have found so many things to be thankful for. There are so many people that are in need of a friend or just a kind gesture. It is our hope as a small Hobb's family to be that light to others around us. We feel so incredibly blessed to be where we are today and to have the support systems that we do. It really is important to just take a step back and enjoy the journey ♥

Family ♥

Just last week we were wearing sandals (sparingly) and now it's snow boot season! Ah... not to sure how i feel about this. I think I have a bipolar relationship with the snow haha. I was telling Mark last how growing up I always loved the snow because that meant ice fishing with Dad. I remember being like over joyed that he was going to take me ice fishing with him even if that meant that I had to get up at 4 or 5 that morning to get ready. It was always so much fun growing up going ice fishing with him. 

Well because the weather is changing that also means that the semester is winding down. It's good to think that we made it through another semester and are that much closer to our final year. We have really loved being here in Logan and going to school. The campus is gorgeous and they have a huge institute program here which is great. On Tuesday we get to register for next semester. We have our schedules all figured out and get to be in two of the same classes together... I am thankful for that! It is going to be so much fun.

We love the holiday season but wish that we were closer to family. I had to work either Christmas or Thanksgiving and New Years Eve so I ended up picking to work on Thanksgiving and New Years. That means that we get to enjoy Turkey Day a little bit late. We are heading to Salmon the day after Thanksgiving to spend it with Mark's side of the family. We are super excited to see his family and all our nieces and nephews! 

Saturday Mark had to work all day from 9-5pm and I was trying to find something fun to do. I was trying to think of someone I could go do things with like a girlfriend or something and then I realized I don't really have a lot of friends here but Mark haha. Candace Clifford ... my old roommate from Wyoming... is here but since she is dating this nice guy from Weber State she is missing in action almost every weekend without fail. So I stuck to plan B and decided to just clean the house and do some homework. Around 10:30 as I had just finished mopping I heard some footsteps walking down the stairs into our house. Mark had told me that I had a surprise that day so I thought maybe it was him coming home early! I got kind of nervous when they knocked on the door because I was in my nasty "Saturday best" with a rag in my hand. I opened the door and to my surprise it was my mom and little sister! They had gotten up early that morning to drive down to Logan and spend the day with me. I was caught of guard because I was not expecting that, especially with the weather. 

It was fantastic to see them again. My mom brought us a whole bag full of meat that filled our freezer, which we are so very thankful for. She also brought us a loaf of delicious bread and showed me their new house plans! I am so excited that my parents are building a new house, but it is bitter sweet for me since I grew up in the one they are in now. I hurried and got ready and we were out on the town. One thing I love about spending time with my mom and sister is it almost always involves the word 'shopping'. LOVE IT. We went around to multiple stores etc. and had a blast together. We were able to find way way way cute bedspreads for some of the new rooms as well as a ton of cute clothes. I love going shopping with them because we seem to have the same taste. It was way fun seeing Bayli picking out clothes. She is growing up so fast! Every time I see her she gets taller and taller and I can not believe she will be a teenager this spring.

We ate lunch at Quiznos, they have the best chicken noodle soup ever! So good! It was fun to just spend time with them and to have a whole day filled with fun adventures. Mom took us to this neat old restaurant in Logan called the Bluebird and we tried an IronPort Cherry drink. My mom used to drink that sometimes growing up and wanted Bay and I to try it and it was amazing. I am definitely having Mark take me back there.

After a long day of shopping, laughs and fun new memories we ended the evening with Panda Express and Mark was there. It was so yummy! I am so glad that they made the trip down to see me. It was a much needed girls day and I loved having them with me. I am so blessed to have such amazing family members. There would have been no other way I would have rather of spent my day. It is such a blessing to have my best friends be my mom and sister. I love them so much and am so thankful that they braved the slick roads and spent the day with me. I LOVE THEM! ♥

Mark and I spoke in sacrament meeting today. It ended up going really great. We tied Elder Ballard's talk "Be Anxiously Engaged" and Sister Dibb's talk "I know it, I live it, I love it" together. It is so important that we are not only members on Sunday. We need to be active members of the gospel every day of the week. I really think that Elder Ballard points out a good analogy when he talks about his fathers bees and how they only brought 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey to the hive but that they 1/12 was vital to the life of the hive. I know that if we are good examples to those around us and serve with a happy attitude that our 1/12 will be enough if we all work together. It is also important that we serve with a happy attitude. When I think of someone who was anxiously engaged I think of Christ. However I don't think that he went about serving with the mindset of " Oh I hope this goes really fast" or " I really wish I didn't have to go" or "I have so many other things to do". I believe that Christ had a positive attitude when it came to service because he was converted to the gospel. Elder Ballard challenges us to pray for someone to serve. I know that this is important. Service can even just be a simple smile or a kind gesture. I am so very thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I know it, I live it, and I love it. 

Well the countdown begins for our cruise... 33 days. We can not wait!! We love and miss you all! Have a good week!

♥Hobbs 

( I was looking through some old pictures and found this! One day while we were dating Mark had put sticky notes all over the mirror in my room saying that he loved me. I am so thankful for such a wonderful, strong reliable husband. xoxo)

Autumn

We have been so very busy with school and work lately that it feels like there is barely any time to sit down and take a breather! We have been married for 3 whole months now ♥ I am so lucky to be married to such an amazing man and to have such a wonderful relationship with him! Mark and I have had so many adventures the past couple months that it is hard to remember them all.  We have loved the Fall weather in Logan... giving us an excuse to wear jackets and boots, which I adore. 

We LOVE Logan

One of my best friends Susan Lindley Piquet got married on September 29, 2012 and we were able to make it up to Idaho for her beautiful day. It was so much fun to be there with her and to be able to see her beaming smile on her face. Susan also waited for her missionary Kolt so it really hit home. We have been friends since kindergarten and were able to go to Western together as well. I was thinking about some of the long talks that we had together driving to and from school... I am so thankful for her and am so happy that she has her happily ever after as well. 

We were also able to attend General Conference which is always such a blessing. Mark's parents were able to get us tickets to the Saturday afternoon session ( love his mom and dad) Luckily Susan was there in SLC too so we were able to roam around temple square while the men were in Priesthood session. Mark and I feel so blessed to be members of the church and to have the direction of a living prophet. We love the Gospel. Mark was just recently called to be the second counselor in the stake young mens presidency... ahhhh. He is going to be great at that, I am so excited for him. I was just recently called to be a primary teacher to 8 energetic 4 year old girls as well as the Relief Society Activity Planner. We had our primary program and it was interesting to say the least. Shoes were thrown at the pulpit... dressed tied above their head... tissues on some faces but we made it through. Lets just say it is going to be an adventure!  

We both were also able to start some new jobs... yay! I am working at Access Home Health and Hospice with my CNA license. I drive around and visit various patients. I am really enjoying the job and I love that I get to actually spend quality time with my patients. It is always so nice to feel like I am establishing positive relationships with others. I have been thinking lately that I would love to focus on geriatric counseling. Mark was able to start a job at Opinionology and is liking it! It is a survey company so next time someone calls resist the urge to hang up... it might be someone nice on the phone ;) We are blessed to both have jobs that we like and that work within our schedule! 

School is going fantastic we will both be able to pull off our 4.0 which will be great in order to keep our scholarships. We also get to register pretty soon for next semester. Mark and I get to take a STAT's class together. I am not excited for the class but I am excited that I am able to be in a class with Mark. It feels good to have the semester almost over and to be able to be moving forward in life... can not wait till we graduate! 

We were also able to make a trip to Idaho to visit my side of the family for the halloween weekend. We watched my little brother Braxton play in the championship for grid kid football. It was way fun to be able to watch him and to be able to see him stick it out even though the field was covered in snow. We were also able to watch our cousins Derek and Jason Ostermiller kick butt in the Holt Arena for football as well. It was so much fun being able to make it to their game. I was super grateful that their cleats stood out from the others so we could tell them apart :) We carved pumpkins with Bay and Brax... i love those two so much. I am so blessed to have such wonderful siblings and now i have 18 of them ah! We were also able to watch Jordon play on his BYU-I competitive team and he played so good! We went to my high school friend Kyle Andrews homecoming talk on Sunday. He returned from Belgium and the Netherlands and was a fantastic missionary. We were also able to go and visit my friends from the Homestead Assisted Living Center. I love going back and visiting the residents there, they have such a sweet spirit. It is such a blessing to be able to work with such tender people everyday. I love listening to their stories and showing them that little extra ounce of appreciation for their life. 

Tanner and Mark warming up!

Mark has been such a sweetheart this week... and every week of course. I have come home to beautiful flowers and nice gestures all week. He definitely knows how to make me feel special. He has such a happy personality and it is impossible not to be happy around him. I love that no matter what kind of mood I am he knows how to get a smile on my face. I am so blessed to have him in my life. I love him so much! He has been playing on a 3 on 3 basketball league with a rival from Shelley High School, Tanner Higham... they are so good! As well as on a rec team in Logan. I love to watch him play basketball/ 

Life is wonderful for us! We are so happy and have so much to look forward to! Plus... our cruise begins in almost a month, yay! 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Love,

Jocelyn 

love my husband!

Sunday Walks and Long Talks

Mark and I love to go on walks around beautiful Logan. I always say that we are going to go for a “run” but then it ends up being a walk J This week I have been able to contemplate a lot about our life and what we have to look forward to. We are living in a basement apartment that is literally on the block across the street from the temple. When we come out our door we can see it, when we look out our window we can see it. We are so blessed to be able to live so closely to such a beautiful temple. I am thankful that I married a man who makes it a priority to attend the temple regularly.

temple

This past week we were very busy in school. It was the third week of school so that means that it was about the time for the first tests, papers etc. Mark and I are able to be up at school the same time with similar class schedules which is really nice. I am really enjoying my classes because they are interesting to me and I feel like it is exactly what I want to learn about. I am taking a dress and humanities class… which sounds easy right? Our first assignment was literally making an outfit out of recycled material from scratch… yeah… not my forte. The professor told us that we could partner up so I partnered with a girl that was sitting next to me. I have learned my lesson… I would SO much rather work on my own then in groups. We just have a different vision of what work ethic is and how much time we want to put into getting a good grade. Needless to say… it is due in the morning… and she still hasn’t gotten back to me with her part of the assignment. I am crossing my fingers that it will turn out good. I will post a picture of the finished product, if that ever happens, ugh!  

The weather has been beautiful here lately so I have decided that we need to take advantage of that. Our house overlooks the valley part of Logan. If we just head out the door and down a little hill there are plenty of places to go walking and lots of really fun parks. I like to be outside to do my homework so I have really enjoyed going to the Merlin Park here in Logan and sitting at the picnic table doing homework. Sometimes we don’t really enjoy homework, but we do it anyways:

I am such a snacker… I love everything that has to do with snacks. But not anymore… I have set a new goal! From now on my snacks will consist of fruit, dried fruit, nuts and granola bars. This is going to be the first week of trying out my new goal… we will see if I hold strong to it! I will keep you updated! :)

Last Saturday we were able to meet up with my good friend Susan Lindley (soon to be Piquet) and her fiancé Kolt and have dinner. It was so much fun to be able to sit and laugh and talk with her. We are so excited for them and I cannot wait to see her on her wedding day. I remember growing up with her in middle school; staying in touch after she moved away and then being blessed enough to go to Western Wyoming with her. We used to have countless talks on our drives back and forth from Wyoming to Idaho about Mark and Kolt on their missions… and now look we will both be married to them! It is crazy how time flies and how much we have grown since then. We are super excited to attend their sealing and to be able to be part of their special day, love you guys!!

We are also very excited to share this news… if you didn’t already know this… My big brother is getting MARRIED! :)  I am so thrilled to have his fiancé Shay be a part of our family. She is such a sweetheart and I couldn’t have wished for a sweeter person to be my sister-in-law. We are looking forward to their wedding on October 27^th! It is so crazy to think that Jordon and I are really grown up now. I remember being little with him and having Aunt Kathy dress us up. Or being in junior high and thinking it was so cool that my older brother was shorter than me ;). Or in high school loving that I had someone to protect me and care for me. When Jordon left to go on his mission I truly realized how much he meant to me and how grateful I was for him. He is one of my best friends. And how could I not love him… he introduced me to Mark!

I feel very blessed to be part of two wonderful families and to have wonderful friends. There is so much in life to be happy about. I think the biggest part about being happy is choosing to be happy. It all depends on how we see the world around us. I hope that I will always be able to have a positive outlook on life and be able to acknowledge the blessings that come into our life. I know that we have a loving heavenly father who wants the best for us and who strives to help us realize our full potential. I know that he knows me that he understands my needs and that he answers my prayers. I am so thankful for the gospel in my life and for the blessing that I have to be a member of this church.  I am thankful for a husband who holds the priesthood and who loves the Lord. I know that if we put our faith in the Lord and trust him he will help us have the little extra ray of sunshine we need to get through the day.  Mark and I feel the blessings of the gospel in our lives. 

sitting on the "blog" bench, our view.

I hope that everyone has a happy week, miss you all and we will see you soon! Until next time…

Love,

Jocey 

He is home... and we are hitched!

We are married :) I love my life!

So much has happened in our lives the past few months and there is so little time to explain how truly happy we are! I have become a horrible journal writer since Mark has been home... so this is my new goal to update our blog once a week with photos and stories from our newlywed life. I am so very grateful to be married to such an amazing man. Mark is such a wonderful husband, I love being able to spend time with him. Well here is our story:

I met Mark  the end of my sophomore year of high school. My older brother Jordon played sports against him and I always thought he was so cute. One day I noticed that Jordon had posted about track on Mark's Myspace page... so I decided to add him. We began messaging back and forth and had talked about going on a date or meeting up sometime. It is so funny how when you are that age you can talk about things like that but when they really come true you don't know what to do haha. I remember watching Mark a few weeks later at district track but I didn't dare talk to him. I think we secretly both knew that we wanted to talk but we both never go the courage. Mark shot me a text that night apologizing for not talking to me and told me that if I went the next day he would talk to me. I begged my parents and Jordon to let me miss school and go back to Shelley to talk to him the next day. Again... I never got the courage to talk to him. Jordon was not going to let that fly, so he went over and got him so we could all talk. I remember Mark and Jordon talked... I barley made a peep.

 Over the next couple months we would text on and off until one day he asked if it would be okay if he came to Rexburg to go on a date with me. I said yes, but my stomach was so nervous! I waited with my mom on July 18,2008 in the formal room of our house looking for their car outside the window. Mark called me to get directions and I had never talked to him on the phone so I was so nervous to answer. He had brought his two best friends Nathan Stokes and Nathan Nooner. I had nothing planned for us to do that night so we just went to Monkey Rock with Jordon and his friends. That night Mark and I stayed up talking for hours in my kitchen. Mark still denies this... but when Nooner came downstairs Mark let go of my hand... must have been embarrassed. The next day we went mini golfing and bowling, which was really fun. Mark ended up going home and I was not sure when I would see him again. Luckily I was able to see him the next week... and now we were official :)

(Us in high school)

To make a long story a little bit shorter, Mark and I dated through the rest of my high school years. Just short of 2 years when he left to serve his mission. One thing about Mark that I always admired was that I knew that no matter what he was going to serve a mission. Mark got his call to Chihuahua Mexico on March 11, 2010 and left on his mission June 30,2010. While Mark was one his mission I was blessed with the 

opportunity to play volleyball at Western Wyoming. We honestly lived two separate lives... but at the same time we stayed so connected. Mark never missed a week of writing me while he was serving. We both grew in ways that I never thought possible during our time apart. I was able to experience new things that made me a stronger and better person while he was able to serve the lord with great obedience. There were great times while he was gone and hard times as well. I missed my best friend so much but I knew that he was doing the right thing. Two years actually goes by a lot faster than you think. Mark came home from his mission on July 3,2012. I was able to go to the airport and be with his family to welcome him home. Mark has such a wonderful family and I am so blessed to be a part of his family. We were engaged within a week of him being home... after 4 years of knowing each other. The Saturday after Mark got home he was able to speak at his nephews baptism. 

While I was listening to Mark there was no doubt in my mind that I should marry him. I knew that I needed and wanted that strong spirited man to be my husband and the father of my kids. I was playing volleyball at Utah State and had to be there in a month so it left us with limited dates to get married. We decided July 27, 2012 would be our special day.... yes we know it was fast but we loved it! After a few really solid days of planning (thanks mom!) our wedding was on its way. We shared a beautiful wedding day with gorgeous weather, friends and family. Mark and I moved to Logan the next week into our cute tiny apartment. We love living in Logan and we love being together. I began volleyball practice and liked it but i found that I was not as focused as I wanted to be. Of course not... I had my best friend at home. I realized that my priorities changed... Volleyball was great for me while Mark was gone but now that I have the chance to be with him and to be a wife my priorities are different. I was blessed to get to know some wonderful girls on the Utah State volleyball team. After deciding not to continue with volleyball I have felt the blessings that have come into my life. I am able to attend the temple more regularly and have more time to be a wife and to spend with Mark. I was reading President Thomas S, Monsons talk entitled "The Race of Life." I really love this talk and think that there is so much to take in from it. You should read it: 

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-race-of-life?lang=eng&query=things+matter+most

I have learned that it is so important to slow down and be thankful for all you have. I am so blessed. I have  wonderful family, friends and husband. I am able to live in a great town, get an education and live in a cute apartment. I know that there is so much to look forward to. Were ready to welcome it with open arms.

Until then, we are the Hobbs and this is our story ♥

♥/ Jocey

Change of plans :)

Change of plans... surprise! So much has happened the past few months and there are so many things to look forward to! First off... Jordon came home! Wahoo! It has been really nice to have him home and to be able to talk with him. Things are different then I thought they would be... It is weird to think that we both have such different lives now and it is not the same as it was when we were in high school. I am thankful for the lessons I was able to learn while Jordon was gone and to be able to have him home safe and sound. I am excited to see where both of our futures take us; I hope our future entails all that we have hoped for one another. 

 I just graduated from Western officially... only 2 more graduations until I will be done with my Masters! I got this, I am so excited to know that my future is making way and that I have great things in store. It was great to be able to go back and be with my friends and to play with them. I loved my time at Western Wyoming, it has helped shaped me to be a better person and has taught me the importance of taking risks.

 It was humbling to see all the accomplishments that my team and I were able to accomplish at Wyoming. It is even more humbling to know the hard work that we put in to it paid off. Because of this I feel more motivated to work harder at Utah State. I am ready to head in the gym and give it my all, leave no regrets. Hopefully this time our hard work will pay off even more.

Overall my life is wonderful. I am ready to face to future with faith and to trust in the Lord. I look forward to  the next few months and all that's in store. I know that things are going to work out great and that I will never be happier. I move to Logan July 1st ... life is moving so quickly. I just hope I can keep up with it. 

Here is my motivation for the next few months:

‎"You can be excellent in every way. You can be first class. There is no need for you to be a scrub. Respect yourself. Do not feel sorry for yourself. Do not dwell on unkind things others may say about you. Polish and refine whatever talents the Lord has given you. Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great and strong purpose in your heart. Love life and look for its opportunities. "

~ Gordon B. Hinckley