Only just about four weeks to go till ‘D’ Day…unless Corbin decides to come early. :] Matt and I are getting so much more excited the closer the time comes! I’m just hoping we have everything we need. We’re not really sure what to expect.

I am going natural and using some techniques used in Hypnobirthing. Matt supports me 100% and will be there to help me relax. I love him so much. He spoils me.
I wasn’t able to do any kind of birthing classes but I think I’ve gotten enough help from Rachel and from what I’ve studied on Hypnobirthing that I think I’ll be ok. Rachel periodically sends me different YouTube clips of water births, natural births, and hypnobirthing and I have to admit I am so nervous and scared for the day Corbin will be here. How in the world does this baby come out of my body!? Heavenly Father truly made remarkable beings.

My biggest fear is that I’ll be a bad mom and wife when he comes and I worry that Corbin will not make good decisions as he gets older. I want him so much to go on a mission and to stay close to this gospel and to have a good testimony. I want him to be able to help people and have charity. I want him to be a better person than I am. I know that Matt and I have to be the exemplar and that’s what scares me. I’m just glad we have such a good family to help us. :]

I’m still working full time with American Family Insurance right now. My last day before I start my Maternity leave will be June 11th. I can’t wait. I’m so excited to have a break from this job. I might not even have a job to come back to. My agent might be loosing his Agency. He hasn’t been bringing enough “good” business into the company. I worry that I won’t be able to come back part time IF he still does have an agency. The only thing that keeps me calm is that I know that if I don’t have a job once Corbin comes then I can focus more on being a good mom and wife. I’m sure I can find a part time job somewhere else but I’m not too worried because we’ll have Corbin. :]

Wish us luck! We love you all!

Rachael made me realize that we haven't been updating out blogs because we basically use Facebook to update the family in everything that's going on. We can update pictures and stuff but do we really know what everyone has been up to? I sure don't. So, Here I am...updating our blog.

Matt and I have finally moved into a basement apartment in Layton close the the mountain. Winters will be difficult because we have to trudge through the snow in grass and mud. There isn't a cement walkway to our door. That will be the hardest part of living there. But so far we feel right at home. We love it! It is about 1,000sq feet, two bed, one bath, a large kitchen, and a decent size living room. The bedrooms are kinda small but it's really all we need for our small family.

Matt is working hard trying to complete this semester. He is going to school full time AND working full time this semester. I can tell he's burnt out. I'm so proud of him. He works hard, goes to school and still finds time to do things for me. :]

I am still working full time for American Family Insurance. I like the job and I'm hoping my agent will keep me on as a part time worker once Corbin comes. Rumor has it he isn't but I'm hoping he changes his mind. Things have been a whole lot better between me and my agent. He is realizing just how valuable I am in his agency and I am realizing that I need to make constant adjustments in my job title to help him out. It is just the two of us running his agency and it's been tough.

Corbin is growing everyday it seems like. My belly is slightly bigger everyday. I am really enjoying my pregnancy. I smile every time I feel him moving around. We can't wait to meet him in just 10 more weeks! I wanna see his beautiful features. I'm anxious to see who he is going to look like most. I just hope he doesn't have my forehead. :]

Matt and I still go to the gym about 5-6 times a week. I think I would go crazy if I wasn't physically active during this time. I think that is what has been making this pregnancy so much easier. I have more energy than I thought I would. Granted my first and the beginning of the second trimester was VERY hard, but all in all it's been good.

That's really all that has been going on with the Allens. I love and miss every one of you! <3

IT'S A BOY!
Matt and I found out what we were having on the 27th. It was such an amazing experience. We loved seeing our baby and his body in (almost) detail. When we went in for the ultrasound she scanned my belly for a second or two, saw that my bladder was full and told me the ultrasound would take about 20 minutes and that I might want to relieve myself because she was going to be pushing on my belly. So I did and when I came back she said, "I already know what you're having." Matt and I both were so shocked. She said that she has been doing ultrasounds for about 20 years. She scanned the baby for a second and then found his parts. :] He sure is Matt's son! I have been so exstatic ever since the ultrasound. WE'RE HAVING A BOY!

It's so crazy and unbelievable that there is life in my belly. There is a child of God growing inside of me! I am so greatful to know what I know about the gospel. It's making this experiece so much more meaningful.

I can NOT wait to see Corbin Lee Allen around June 15th! <3

WEEK 19! Matt and I have been anxiously waiting for the 27th to come. We finally get to find out what we're having! We both would Love a boy but we would be happy even with a girl. We'll find out in 3 more days! YIPPIE!
Matt is in school full time this semester. He's taking World History, Music Appreciation, Computer Engineering, and a communications class. He's pretty exhausted once he gets home. He gets up around 4:00am, goes to the gym, school, and then work till 6:00pm. That's pretty much what his week consists of. I'm so proud of him. I consider myself lucky to have Matt in my life.
I am still working full time at American Family Insurance. I can actually say that I like my job, I just have trouble with the people I work with. They're very hypocritical. At least I have a job. I'm sure I can find another Agency to work for or another Insurance company all together. Just a few more months before the baby comes and after that I will probably only work for them part time. It's going to be hard paying for bills and getting Matt through school but I know the Lord will help us. Staying with the Crooks has been a BIG help! Thank you guys! <3

That's it for now I suppose. I love you all.

I finally got our ultrasounds into the computer! I'm such a procrastinator. Hey, nowbody is perfect. :] The ultrasound was done when I was 9 weeks and 3 days prego. The baby was 6.7 centimeters. So small. :] According to the Bump.com (i subscribed to get weekly updates) the baby is NOW the size of a lime and I am 11 weeks along. :] We are so excited to start our family. We hope it's a boy but we'll be just as happy with a girl. We've kind of thought of names but nothing has really triggered our fancy.
Matt and I have been trying to find out ways to get out of debt because we basically only make enough money to pay on interest alone. It has been pretty hard the last few months (for me at least, Matt is usually the one to tell me its ok.) to even just make the minimum payment. I couldn't figure out why since we are both working full time jobs. We don't go out to dinner or spend money on random things. Our money is spent strictly on bills and minimal groceries alone. I asked Rabecca if she had any ideas and I think she was joking when she said this but she said that we should just move in with them. She later told me that Brad wanted to suggest it to us before we signed our new lease just a few months ago. I wish he would have. It would have saved us so much money.
So...to make a long story short, we signed a termination of lease and are moving in with Rabecca and Brad the beginning of December. We'll be taking over the kids toy room so Elliot and Aiden might be confused for a while as to why their toys are no longer down there. I am so glad that they are ok with us staying there. Matt and I need to get out of debt before the baby comes. We just weren't doing it on our own.
I'm always a little nervous to move in with family but I know things will be just fine. Thank You Crooks! We needed this. They truely know the meaning of service. I know that they love their family to. Matt and I can learn a lot from them and I hope we do.

In light of Thanksgiving...I am thankfull for the Crooks! <3

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

The Allens are expecting! I'm way excited! If only this nausea would end...and SOON! It's so hard to spend this exciting time with my husband when i feel so yucky all the time. It's constant 24/7. :[ But Becca swears to me every week, "This is your last week, promise." :] Love ya becca!
It's been especially hard going to work and feeling this way all through work. Not to mention the fact I don't sleep at night.

Anyway, enough with the negative and on with the POSITIVE! For instance... WE'RE PREGO!!! :] 8 1/2 weeks so far and it's the size of about a Raspberry. Next Friday...yes, Friday the 13th, will be our first ultrasound and I am getting so anxious to meet the baby. Cross your fingers and hope that there is only one in here. :] I'll be excited if there's two but oh will it be challenging for my first pregnancy to bust out two. I'll post the ultrasounds on our blog (if I can figure out how).

Love you all! xoxo

It's almost Halloween! The year is going too fast! The leaves are changing beautiful colors though. I love this time of year. But eventually it will start snowing and I am NOT looking forward to that. Summer has come and gone too quickly. Matt and I didn't really hike as much as we would have liked to this season but we did get some hiking in. We got to hike Snow Basin and we did it early in the morning. Snow Basin is pretty at that time of day.

...Man...I wanted to post an update...but I really have nothing to write. :] Matt's still in school and hating his English teacher, and I'm still working...and that's about it...

... The end.

Life is good. Just trying to stay financially stress free. I know things will be ok it's just habbit to worry. I have been studying hard for my P&C (property and casualty) exam for work for about a month and a half. I took the exam on Monday in Taylorsville, UT and failed...suck! So I'm back to studying for the exam...again. I'm not sure my brain can take much more info. :] Each time I take the exam I have to pay $80 plus another $20 for finger prints if I pass not to mention the gas money it takes to get out there and traffic is terrible right now because of all the construction going on. I'm hoping that since I have taken the test once I'll be able to study those things that were on the exam and hopefully retain more info.

Matt and I were also trying to find a less expensive apartment to move into when our lease ends at the end of September. The only problem is if the apartment is in our price range and looks nice then it is also income restricted and we make too much now that I'm working. Or it's in our price range and it looks scary. We found an apartment in Riverdale, UT and put money down to hold it but didn't sign the lease. We got a great deal on it but it's a bit scary looking on the outside. The inside is decent but I didn't feel good about the move. I finally talked to Matt about it and he felt the same. (Comunication is key! wish we would have comunicated about it sooner. :] ) We both feel we need to stay in the apartments we are in now. We wont be saving money but we are comfortable there and feel this is where we need to be. We love our community and the people in the office are great!

Other than that nothing else is new. I'll post something soon.

<3

Hey everyone. I just thought I'd let you all know that the Lord is really looking out for us! On Wednesday I had a job interview for a CSR position at American Family Insurance. I had no hopes that I would get the job since I've done hundreds of interviews in the past. (ok, I hoped a little bit) During the interview Rick (the Agent) asked me something about what the hardest time in my life was and how I over came it. While I was answering the question I started tearing up. I CRIED IN MY INTERVIEW! Who does that, really? I wasn't balling but it was hard to speak because of my tears. I felt so dumb so I apologized and told him that I don't really do this. I don't like to cry in front of people. He cracked jokes about my tears and we moved on. I was grateful for how he handled the dang blubbering. :] At the end of the interview he told me he was impressed with me and that he received about 40 applications for the position but was only interviewing 7 of us. He wanted to give the last two candidates a chance before making the final decision and then said he would call tomorrow if I got the position. This was good because I wouldn’t have to wait long to find out if I got the job or not.

After the interview I felt so dumb and I couldn’t help but laugh at myself. I called Matt and Mom and told them what happened. Both Mom and Matt laughed with me. But I was still nervous. I thought my chances were slim since I was weak enough to cry in the interview. I thought maybe he thought I couldn't handle the job. But just a few hours later I received a call from...RICK at American Family Insurance telling me I GOT THE JOB! I couldn't believe it. He said I needed to pass a background and credit check but I was positive it would be clean. He said the last 10 people he gave the job to didn't pass the background check. That was a shocker.

Anywho, to make a long story short...I GOT A JOB.... . .. . .. ... FINALY! Thank you for all your prayers and support in my dangerous quest to find a J.O.B. Now Matt and I can start paying our bills on time and get rid of our debt. YIPPIE!!!

Hi family. I was just talking to Rachel and she made me realize that I haven't checked out everyone's Blog in a long time so I thought I'd take a look. Then I realized I haven't posted anything really in a while so...here I am. Matt and I are doing good as usual and are still struggling to pay our bills...as usual...and I'm trying to remember to trust the Lord... ... . ...as usual. :] Matt constantly reassures me that everything will be ok. I know it will...it's just hard. I'm sure everyone can relate.

My b-day was the 9th for those who forgot. ;] Matt and I spent the 8-10th with his family on the property they own near Logan, UT. It is VERY beautiful out there. Lots of trees and grass with a little river that runs around it. Most of the time I just lazed around and listened to the birds, the wind blowing through the trees and the rushing water. Very relaxing. Not to mention lots of junk food. YUM. :] I LOVE FOOOOOOOOD. I gotta say, when the time came for us to leave I was glad. I missed my own bed. We slept in a tent for two nights. I love camping but definitely missed the comforts of my own bed and pooping in my own toilet.

Now it's back to reality and job hunting again. I sware I probably spend more money job hunting. sheesh. Rachel reminds me to pray for help and for comfort. I Love you Rach. Wish you weren't so far away from me. I need your strength.

<3

money money money...where has all the money gone? .....$$$$$.....

Thank you Ashley for showing me how to add a slide show.

Hey guys. John & Ashley was tagged with a questionnaire. They didn't tag me in it but I thought it was cute so I thought I'd answer the questions to. :] You should do it to. It would be interesting to read your responses.

Here it goes:

1. What are your middle names? Tracey Robin and Matt Raymond
2. How long have you been together? Together since...well, I count since March 18th, 2005. I'll let you do the math.
3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? since we were 14 yrs old.
4. Who asked whom out? Matt asked me out
5. How old are you? Matt just turned 22 in Jan. I'll be 22 in July.
6. Whose siblings do you see the most? Probably Matt's since his family lives here. I don't see Becca very often. I do see mom a couple times a week though. I LOVE HAVING HER IN UTAH
7. Do you have any children together? Not Yet... ;]
8. Pets? Negative
9. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Anything that has to do with money. We have none of it and it's stressful for both of us and makes us depressed.
10. Did you go to the same school? For our Junior and Senior year of High School.
11. Are you from the same town? Yup.
12. Who is the smartest? Matthew for sure. Us Sellers kids are pretty dim witted. :]
13. Who is the most sensitive? Definitely me.
14. Where do you eat out most as a couple? Probably Chillies but we're trying to mix it up more.
15. Where is the farthest you have traveled as a couple? California and back to Utah (our Honeymoon.)
16. Who has the craziest exes? Me...
17. Who has the worst temper? Definitely me. I love Matt for putting up with me.
18. Who does the cooking? Me. Matt home from work around 6-6:30 every night so I like to have dinner ready for him.
19. Who is more social? Not sure...Maybe Matt.
20. Who is the neat freak? Me.
21. Who is more stubborn? Man...I think that's a tie. We both have to be right.
22. Who hogs the bed? Matt says I hog the bed...but I've caught him in the middle of the night stealing my side. :]
23. Who wakes up earlier? Tie...most of the time.
24. Where was your first date? At a park playing Ultimate Frisbee.
25. Who has the bigger family? ME...DEFINATELY ME!
26. Do you get flowers often? Once...that was Valentines day before Matt's mission.
27. How do you spend the holidays? With family.
28. Who is more jealous? Not sure. That's a hard question.
29. How long did it take to get serious? Instantly! It got a little dangerous. ;]
30. Who eats more? Lately it's been me. I just can't stop eating. I LOVE FOOD!!! :]
31. Who does the laundry? ME
32. Who is better with the computer? Same I think.
33. Who drives when you are together? I like it when Matt drives.

It's Spring...right? It's been snowy, rainy, drizzly and cloudy for the last...I think about 3 weeks. I can't believe it. Today it is beautiful though. The trees and plants are starting to bloom. It's very pretty. I think this season is when I'm most aware of all the wonderful creations we have here on this earth. I am so grateful for them. When I'm stressed out or depressed I like to try and just observe. See all the unique flowers and plants we have to beautify this earth.

I LOVE SPRING!!!

<3

Hey everyone! Matt and I are doing pretty good. Still struggling to pay our bills but I'm assuming that is what all newlyweds have to face. I start working at Golds Gym again Monday the 13th only working Mon-Fri and it's only 9am-11:30am. I get a WHOPPING $6.00 an hour!!! HERAY! :] Matt and I also started working for a company called "Prepaid Legal Services Incorporated". We are both excited because we strongly feel that having Legal protection for your family is so valuable. It's just like having ins. on your car. You don't always need car insurance or health insurance but it is there for your protection JUST IN CASE. Prepaid Legal actually added Identity Theft Protection to their service which is nice because they go through Kroll (which is huge!). If you'd like to know more, it would mean a lot to me if you would check out my website. There is a nine min. video and then a Survey at the end. Please help me out by filling out the survey. My website is: Allen.GreatCareerPlan.com

Thanks everyone!

A couple of you have asked to see pictures of my new haircut. Here they are. I usually spike it in places but I've been looking for jobs and I needed to tame it a bit more this day. Matt and I both went to get our haircut on the same day. Matt got a Mohawk all the way down but it's not shaved on the sides. I like it. He usually doesn't do the complete mohawk. Matt was the one who finally convinced me to do this cut. It was originally a feminine foe-hawk. I like it a lot. I'm still trying to get used to it. It's strange looking in the mirror and not seeing my long hair. :]

Matt and I are still doing GREAT! I'm still looking for work though. We are most often bored on the weekends because we don't have any friends here and our ward in lame. But we're trying to make the best of it.

I can't wait to visit the Rockwoods and the Drumms this summer. Probably in August. We'll climb Pikes Peak again to while we're their. I love you all!

xoxo

If you noticed Sarah's blog on March, 17th (i think it was that day) She asks us to:
1.Go to your document/pictures file on your computer
2.Go to the 6th file
3.Go to the 6th picture
4. Blog about that picture
5. Tag 6 other people

so...this is my 6th file and the 6th picture. :) This is a picture of Matt at Cannon Beach in OR. This was just after his mission.
...I'm not sure how to do the whole "tagging" thing. Do I just add the names to my blog?...well I'm tagging: Brecca, sherry, dad (does he have a blog?), Johnny, Sammy, & Rachael.

I just thought I'd briefly let everyone know what's new. ...nothing... teh heh...ok maybe not nothing. Matt's little sister, Laura, just got married in the Bountiful Temple last friday to Matt's best friend and best Man, Preston. :] They're a match made in Heaven.

I'm still job hunting and Matt's still going to Weber State and working for Sherwin Williams. Our new ward is ok. We feel like permanent visitors. We haven't received a calling yet either. I chopped off my hair again. It's now a pixie cut/femine foe hock. Matt talked me into it. I like it. I'll have to post a picture of it.

Love you all!

Ok. So here is our new blogg. I accidentally created my own blog when we set up the sellers blog so I changed my "oops blog" into "The Allen Family Blog". :]

I thought I'd tell everyone how the wedding and honeymoon went. Lets start with before the wedding shall we. I was pretty much sick the whole time I was in Las Vegas getting all the last minute stuff done. I could barely eat anything. Even at thanksgiving. Hard to believe isn't it? I LOVE Thanksgiving dinner and there was so much delicious food there!! Man... .. ...At least I didn't eat so much that I couldn't fit into my wedding dress the next day. teh heh :)

I can't tell you how nervous I was at the temple! I even had to double check and make sure I was going to use the correct name. :) Matt looked great in white. I couldn't stop smiling. Rachel, You were so right. My cheeks hurt so bad from all the smiling. I felt a bit embarrassed to because Matt and I were the center of attention. I could feel all these eyes on me. I started getting hot. I rush of emotions went through me. Happiness, Spiritual, Love, Friendship, and Sorrow. Sorrow for the rest of my family not being able to attend my sealing. I love my family (and my new family) so much.

The honeymoon was awesome!!! We stayed at the Paris Hotel for a night and then the next morning we headed out the Anaheim, CA. We stayed at the Holiday Inn which was a cozy place to stay. We were able to get complementary breakfasts the whole time we were there. That saved us some money. We went to Disneyland and California Adventure Park for three of the five days we were in Cali. We didn't get too many pictures. We were too busy enjoying just being together.

On our way home from our honeymoon we hit a semi. To make a long story short, Matt was reaching down to find his water, I looked down to help him, I looked up and Matt was merging into the semi's lane on the right. I called out his name (otherwise I would have been smashed etween the semi's driver side front and back tires. SMASH), and Matt over corrected. We swerved to the left and then to the right and then the semi clipped our passenger, back side which spun us off road and into the dirt. All we did was hug each other when it was over. We were glad that we were alive after being clipped by the semi. I got out of the car to see what damage was done to our new car. I took one look at the car and just crouched down and balled. The damage looked so bad. It looked like it was totaled. All the tires were off of the rims and the big gash on the side of the car. I was so scared that we would have to get a new car or I would have to take a bus to work (If I ever find a job). I could tell that Matt felt really bad since he was the one driving. We paid for a tow druck to take us back about two or so miles to the nearest town to see what they could fix on our tires to at least get us to Vegas. The tow truck cost us about $180 I think and then another $150 (or something) to fix the tires. They were able to save three of the four tires. I was so relieved.

I Love my husband more than ever. He is so good to me. I don't think he realizes that the small things he does for me doesn't go unnoticed. Yes I've been stressed about money. It's going to be so hard to get by with just Matt's paychecks. I don't sleep well and neither does Matt. We just have so many worries. I do know that the Lord is with us every step of the way. I also know that Matt and I have each other and we both have family to help encourage us and for that I am greatful.

I love you all and Have a Merry Christmas!

<3

The Allens

Being married is great! It has it's challenges but we work at them together.