2013 - A Good Year

So, I don't know what others thought at the beginning of 2013 but I was a bit skeptical since this year ended with the number 13 which is sometimes thought to be a bad luck number. It turns out that 13 wasn't that bad of a number after all and 2013 was a good year for us.

Johansen Family - December 2013
Kaley (6 mo), Jane (3) and Alyss (1 yr 10 mo)

Here's what happened:

- Alyss turned one and started walking at 14 months

- We moved to Taylorsville at the beginning of June

- My mom (bica) came to visit in June and stayed with us until December 20

- Kaley was born on June 30 by successful VBAC

- David's parents moved to the States from Japan and came to visit in July

- Our apartment flooded in September

- David started a second job selling at Best Buy in September

- Jane turned three in November

- We loved trick-or-treating on Halloween, enjoyed our great Thanksgiving dinner and had fun opening presents at Christmas

Now for each person a little bit to remember...

Kaley - born on June 30 at 11:10pm, at 38 weeks. She was 7lb 14oz and 19.5 in long. She is exclusively breastfed and we introduced solid purées around 5 months of age. Kaley has a hole in her heart that we need to check on periodically. She doesn't seem to be bothered by it. She is a very happy, alert baby. She loves to be help and gives the best hugs. She smiles all the time and people often comment on how beautiful she is and how sparkly, like stars, her blue eyes are. She loves to kick and roll over and she enjoys eating sweet potatoes and squash and drinking from mommy's kefir. Up until 6 months she hasn't cut any teeth yet, to the enjoyment of her mom who is a bit worried about breastfeeding a baby who has teeth and likes to mischievously nibble and play with the source of her food :)

Alyss - man, what a dynamite girl she is! Especially since she likes Wreck it Ralph I think that the description fits her perfectly. She runs around and climbs on everything. She copies everything that Jane does and says. At her 18 months appointment when the doctor asked if she knows 10 words I almost started laughing. Not only does she know a lot more than 10 words but she also understands and speaks both English and Romanian words and even sentences. This baby is pretty much my dynamite baby. She is also very happy and loves to laugh. She already knows the ABC song, Twinkle twinkle little star, The itsy, bitsy spider and even some parts of a couple Christmas songs. She can count to ten almost without any help and knows lines from several movies by heart. She enjoys playing toddler iPad games and puzzles and also loves being outdoors where she loves the park and the swing and to play in the water. 

Jane - our cute, sensitive, dainty Jane! She is such a girl. She puts her hair behind her easy, pulls on her sleeves so that they don't ride up her arms and likes to wear cute clothes. I love how when people say that she is pretty she simply answers "yes" :) She knows she is beautiful and I sure hope she will hold unto that knowledge for ever. As much as she's grown and is more of a child than a toddler now, Jane still likes to crawl around under tables and climb up on tables. She likes to watch a bunch of movies on the computer and play toddler and preschool games on the iPad. She talks a lot and sometimes I wonder how and where she learned some of the things she says. I just love how she actually forms correct sentences and phrases and how we can actually have a conversation. Jane is a very sensitive girl who observes those around her and their feelings. She is touched by music and likes to dance and twirl around with her toys, epically her puppy toys. She loves puppy toys, the 'noceros' (rhinoceros) and the reindeer bath toys and she carries around her beloved pillow what she used to take out in the car but now she just leaves on the couch when we go out. One time we were at the mall and a nice, slow pop song was playing at the radio and Jane almost started crying. I had the same feeling so I totally understood her but I was surprised to see how soft she is. Jane enjoys going to IKEA and to the "parking park" and the dinosaurs at City Creek. She loves her two younger sisters even though she doesn't show it very much. She always makes sure that Alyss also gets gummies, water, apple or whatever Jane asks for. She sometimes holds Kaley and likes to kiss her head. Even though she more often than not makes a mess by leaving toys and books everywhere in the house, Jane also helps mommy with stuff around the house and helps pick up the messes she and Alyss make. Both Jane and Alyss like our sleepy time routine of brushing teeth and reading books and they even 'read' the books to us and know parts of the rhymes in them. Jane's favorite color is pink and her favorite letter is W. She knows many songs and loves to sing. I love how Jane and Alyss sing "oac, oac, diri, diri, dai" or "Monkeys on the bed" while actually jumping even though both the song and mommy tell them no to. 

Dahlee - so, pretty much the biggest, happiest moment this year for me was the birth of our third cutie pie, Kaley Olivia. The birth wasn't too difficult, the only part I didn't enjoy being the labor pain and the painful epidural, and the pushing only lasted a couple of minutes. I still needed an episiotomy but it wasn't as unbearable as last time afterwards this time around. The doctor was amazing and very nice. The other great accomplishment for me is successfully breastfeeding Kaley. She was exclusively breastfed until she was 5 months and we are still doing it and having a good time. I love the closeness breastfeeding brings and even though it gets hard sometimes especially because of having three children so young and close in age it is also very rewarding and comes in handy at night or when we're out and about. I've gotten pretty good at the whole nursing in public thing and not only do I not get embarrassed anymore I actually enjoy doing it. The other thing that I've been learning and working on is the type of parent I want to be for our girls. There are many days when I can't help but wonder "what was I thinking having so many kids so close on age?" but then I look at them and am so proud of every little thing they do, so happy to see them smile and play and giggle, so thankful to see them healthy that I forget all the hard times and just want them to feel loved and happy. We must not be such bad parents after all :) I'm learning about RIE (Resources for Infant Educarers) and attachment parenting and I try to help the girls be independent while knowing that we are there for them and love them unconditionally. I'm far from being a perfect parent but I'm seeing my mistakes and am trying to be a bit better every day. Now, If I could only stop yelling :) One other thing that I've researched quite a bit and started applying in our,livesmismhealthy, greener living. I try to get greener products for our home and for ourselves and I also try eating better and using natural remedies and health options. We take multivitamins and minerals, cod liver oil and probiotics and try to go out for walks every day. I hope that we can get better at living a healthy lifestyle and feel great while doing it.

David - our hardworking daddy. I honestly don't know how he does it. He leaves before 8 in the morning and some days doesn't get home until midnight. Oh, how I wish that he had one job that he loved and provided enough so that he didn't have to work menial jobs and be away from me and the girls so much. There have been days when the girls wouldn't see daddy for two or three days in a row and it really saddens me to see them ask for daddy and want to be with him when he has to be at work to provide for us. We love daddy so much and hope that 2014 is the year when our dream of having one great job and daddy home more will come true. The sad thing is that David is so good and knowledgeable at working with Macs and iPads; he is great at teaching people how to use them; he can troubleshoot and fix computer problems while helping others understand the problems; he wrote a book about the use of iPads in the school district where he works, was invited to speak at several educational technology conferences and was asked to help and tutor several people and companies. Yet, he is underpaid and not able to get a better paying job because of not having a degree in educational technology which would require money and time that he doesn't have. There also isn't a huge job market for technology teaching. He could work for a company but we haven't been directed towards such opportunities and are not aware of many companies who would give him an opportunity to show what he knows and can do. So, he keeps trying and learning more every day. He is also a really good and loving dad. He plays with the girls and I love seeing him hold both Jane and Alyss in his arms when we are out and they are tired of walking. He reads to the girls and helps them get ready for bed and almost always stays with them until they fall asleep. He is also a great husband. Who would come home from a long day at work to do dishes and vacuum the living room because Mommy had a rough day and didn't get to do it? I just love him and my girls so much and feel, so lucky to have such a wonderful family.

We hope that your 2013 was a great year and wish you all a new year with much love, health and happiness. Happy New Year 2014!

Our Sweet Little Girls

Merry Christmas 2012!

Jane, David, Dahlee (+ baby 3) and Alyss

Another year coming to a close... Many things have happened; some we welcomed and others we wish took their time to show up, but overall we had a good and fruitful year.

David’s major accomplishment was to get a new job with the Jordan School District as an IT professional. We are all happy for this new job that provides experience, insurance and a step in the right direction. He is also working on publishing a book on the iTunes store, which will be used by the teachers of the schools where he works. Another thing that David got really good at is being a father. He takes good care of our two girls and helps out around the house a lot, especially with laundry and dishes. He’s also become an expert in making peanut butter cookies. Everyone loves his cookies and asks for them whenever they get a chance. J

Jane is a busy two year old. She now runs and is getting pretty good at jumping, which she’s been practicing for a few good months now. Her talking skills have grown quite a bit too. She talks, asks for the things she likes, wants or needs and knows how to express herself pretty well both in Romanian and in English. She is a good big sister too; gives Alyss her binky or bottle and lets us know whenever Alyss is crying. Jane knows seven letters, “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “Old McDonald” and, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and can count to 3 by herself and to 8 with help. We are also working on potty training and are being pretty successful. She forgets about it sometimes while other times she herself brings the potty to us. One major accomplishment is the fact that she now sleeps through the night, which makes us really happy. She loves Toy Story and has a pretty big crush on Buzz so of course we know what the major theme of this year’s Christmas gifts will be.. We love our baby girl so much!

Alyss is now ten months old. She was born in February and was 7lb 10 oz and 19 in long. She loves to stand up all by herself. She loves to play with Jane and does everything that Jane does. She claps and says ‘bye bye’ and ‘bravo’, loves music and dances a lot and loves food. She eats everything that we eat. She is a clam baby and usually cries only when she needs something. She plays with Jane’s toys and observes everything we do. She is such a sweet little girl who gives really nice hugs. I just love it when she looks into my eyes and touches my face.

As for myself, I am really busy staying home with the girls. It’s a full time job that doesn’t give you any vacation time but it does provide plenty of benefits. I love being home with the girls and watch them grow. I learn more about being a mother every day and it’s wonderful. We go on walks a lot; go to the park on nice days and to the library. The girls like our walks and enjoy being outdoors which makes me happy. A piece of news some of you might not be aware of, we are expecting our third baby in June or July. This pregnancy’s been a little harder on me so far; more morning sickness mainly, but other than that I’m feeling ok and can’t wait to find out in about ten more weeks the gender of our new baby. We love having girls so, another girl will make us very happy, while having a baby boy would also be wonderful. In a couple of weeks we’ll have the first ultrasound and I’m excited for that as well. Seeing the tiny baby move inside my belly always makes me happy and even more excited for the new arrival.

We are all thankful for the good year we’ve had and are looking forward to more adventures the year to come. Happy holidays and Merry Christmas and a new year with love, health and many accomplishments!

Johansens 2012

2011 - A year of love

December 2011

Happy together

As we approach the Christmas holiday and the end of the year, we once again reflect on the year we’ve had and the ups and downs that enriched and filled our lives. As our family’s tradition goes, we like to put on paper the highlights of our year. We hope you enjoy reading about us and hope to hear back about your lives.                                                                                                                                  

David’s year’s been an interesting one. He worked two jobs at Simply Mac and Borders Bookstore all the way until the end of July and got accepted into a Master Program at the New York Institute of Technology. As we were getting ready to leave, the school asked David to postpone starting school until January 2012 because of changes they were still working on. October rolls by and we learn that the changes were more drastic than we thought and involved an entirely online program. Our plans to move to NYC changed once again with us deciding to stay in Utah and continue with our lives. David still works at Simply Mac while looking into finding computer training jobs that he might be qualified for or even some other better paying jobs that could provide enough income for us to live a decent life.

Jane's Second Christmas

Dahlee had a pretty eventful year as well. Being a stay-home-mom for Jane, she worked at being a good example and a loving mother to her. Seeing Jane grow brings Dahlee much joy and a sense of accomplishment. In June, we found out that we are expecting our second baby, which we found out is another girl. We are so excited to bring Jane a little baby sister and hope that they will love each other very much. In September, Dahlee was sworn in and became an American citizen. She is very happy and proud to be an American and even changed her name to Dahlee Anna to make it a bit easier to pronounce for everyone. One activity that Dahlee became very interested in and enjoyed doing this year is crocheting. She’s made many cute hats and is thinking and hoping to be able to make more and to even sell them. She already has a few orders and sold a couple of hats too.

Jane is one

Jane turned one in November. We had a nice party for her and she received many cool gifts. She is as happy as can be and is developing ways to express her feelings and needs more. Sometimes that means she cries or screams, while other times it means smiling or pointing with her finger. We went to Disneyland in October and Jane loved the carousels. Some milestones Jane accomplished this year include sitting on her own, eating by herself, mastering the pincer grasp, crawling, walking while holding unto furniture, saying ‘mama’ and ‘dada’ and walking while holding our hand.

We had a good year and hope that the next will be even better, especially with the arrival of a new baby in February, the visit of my Mom and Jane growing taller, walking and talking. We are thankful for dear family members and friends who stood by us in good and not so good times and for the things we were able to accomplish this year. Now, at the end of 2011, we wish you to have a wonderful holiday season surrounded by your loved ones and a wonderful and successful 2012.

Jane loves stuffed animals and barks like a little dog when she sees one :)

Love, David, Dahlee and Jane

I just don't understand

Another regular month of our lives... or how 'all we need is a better job' has become our life slogan.

Maybe there isn't anything to understand... Maybe life is just supposed to not work... Maybe we have to suffer... Maybe... Maybe...

You know what? I'm tired of maybes and of hoping. I'm just so tired... But it doesn't seem to matter because apparently there's nothing I can do to change anything. Fast! Pray! Everything is gonna be allright. Everyone's having a hard time right now. It's the stupid economy. You'll be fine. I know how you feel. Life is hard. Welcome to life! We'll pray for you. Pay your tithing. Give to fast offerings. Here's another list of jobs. It can be a lot worse than this. Now you have a story to tell your children!

True story: David finds the best work opportunity yet, about a month ago. Applies to it and realizes that he actually had met someone who worked for the company and who thought he was great and gave him her business card. We go and meet her and she seems happy to see him. She introduces him to the HR lady who tells David that the position he applied for might be already taken by an internal hire but that there is another position that opened up and he should definitely apply for that one as well. She emails David a detailed application and after a few days calls him for a phone interview that goes really well. She sends him a test after which tells him that he needs to have another interview, in person this time, with the manager of the IT department. The interview goes well and they all say that it will only be a few days and he should hear back from them. A week passes and we don't hear anything. We call to follow up. The HR lady seems impressed and says that everyone likes David very much but they are still interviewing a few people who had been referred by employees and it should take another week. On Sept. 2nd, David's birthday, we have a breakfast picnic in our bedroom, I give David a little present, we spend some time together walking around at the mall and dreaming about what we would get when we have a little more money after which David goes to work until almost midnight. I'm happy that I get to wish him happy birthday one more time before his birthday is over. We get home. He checks his email and receives the news we've been so anxious to get for three weeks. A polite message lets him know that the pool of candidates has been narrowed down to just a few and that he is not a part of them but that he can always apply for other opportunities as they arise. It was still his birthday.

Another one: We move into our new apartment and call the person who promised to help us bring our mattress from Midway. We're supposed to meet him in 10 minutes. He seems confused at first about the call and then apologizes that he won't be able to help anymore. So, we sleep on the floor for the next couple of weeks until a good friend offers to help bring the bed over.

Number three: I get a nice gift of money for the baby and am so excited that I can go out and actually get a few things that we still need for when the baby gets here. A few days later David spills soup all over his jeans and nice shoes only a few minutes before he needs to leave for work in the morning. He has no other pair of jeans and he gets to wear his broken shoes to work again, all while smelling like soup for the rest of the day. It's one of those long, 16 hour days that he will have to work today; second one this week and after not having a day of rest in about a month now. If I just didn't spend all the money and we got him another pair of cheap jeans...

Last one: Through some miracle David doesn't work the Thursday morning when I'm having my doctor's appointment. We go in. My blood pressure - good, baby's heartbeat 150 - good. After measuring me the doctor seems very concerned though that my measurement is way off. I'm 32 weeks and I measure 37. He goes and talks with someone then comes back telling us that we need an ultrasound to make sure that everything is ok. Another $400 ultrasound but it's our baby and all we care about is for me and her to be healthy. Rent and utilities due in two weeks. Another month of student loan payments that we won't be able to make; hopefully they approve us and the payments will be deferred for a while... Gas cost a lot this month again... all this commuting to Salt Lake, then driving to Riverwoods, then back to Springville seems to put quite a strain on the car. Those breaks are squeaky but hopefully won't beak down. This is the only way David can get to work.

Or maybe this is the last one... On Monday I have the first of four childbirth classes. I shouldn't have used the last bit of credit on that card to register for it but I am scared about this 'natural' yet so unpredictable event that I know I'll have to go through in only a few more weeks. David works a 16 hour day again on Monday and won't be there with me. Actually I don't know if I'll even make it as he will have the car and the class is in Provo. He tells me that he'll leave work in SLC early to come get me, I'll drop him off at Borders and then I'll have the car to go to class. He'll ask Borders to not schedule him on Monday nights for the next few weeks so he could come to the last 3 classes with me. Of course, that means he'll make less money but he loves me and knows how much I need him.

He suffers. I suffer. We encourage each other but they all seem empty words. He tries so hard to take care of us but he looks so tired all the time. He never sleeps. And then there's the trains passing constantly by only 20 feet from our apartment.

Last year at this time we were just getting settled in Ireland. A month and a half later we came back and started our life over hoping for some better times. We're still hoping as we hold each other tight. I try not to cry anymore. I don't want the baby to feel my pain. Maybe she'll be born soon and then at least she won't feel my physical pain anymore. I hope we'll be fine. I hope she's healthy. I hope David will make $2000/month soon... I hope I'll be able to work after she is born... I hope... I hope...

Doing well

Hello everyone! Heaven't posted much in a while and that's because even though things have happened they were kind of normal pregnancy developments or work-related. Today I decided that it's about time to post an update on how we're doing, knowing that more things will happen in the next few weeks that I will want to write about as well.

So, life's been ok for us. David switched jobs within Simply Mac once again. He was initially hired part time to teach computer programs and usage to customers. Then, after doing really good in the sales department they made him full time but also asked him if he would be a sales guy. He doesn't like selling all that much but given the opportunity to work full time he accepted the challenge. After only a month of working hard doing sales a new position opened up. It was a full time teaching position, exactly what he wanted and enjoys doing so he asked the management if he could get that and they okayed it. So, starting August he works as a full time SA guy which he enjoys much more and also fits his career goals and personality. He continues working at Borders part time and puts really long days every week. I wish I could say that all his hard work is paying off financially... Things are better for us and improving slowly but there's still a long way to financial freedom and lack of major worries. We're still trying to find one job that would be both rewarding and financially stable. All this hard work and long days away from home puts a lot of stress on David and me. We don't get to spend time together and do much other than say good morning to each other in the morning and greet each other with a warm hug and a nice home-made meal (when I have the energy to make it) at night. It's hard and I really hope that his schedule will change before our little girl arrives in November because I know how much he wants to be around to love her and see her grow.

On a more positive note, our baby girl is growing fast and seems to be happy and full of energy. At the last doctor's appointment the doctor said that all the measurements are normal, including her heartbeat, which was at 140. I get so excited every time I hear her heartbeat and I thought that this time it sounded more like a heart than it did before, one more sign that she's growing and developing. On the 29th of July I had to have a mandatory glucose test (they do it sometime between the 24th and 28th week - mine was at 26 weeks) and unfortunately my glucose level was a little high so today I went in and had a three hour test, during which they have me a whole bottle of orangey, really sweet glucose drink and took blood from my arms four!!! times. Not fun. I couldn't eat for almost 16 hours and my arms are now purple and a little painful but what I really hope is that both baby and I will be ok and healthy.

One other thing that happened a couple of weeks ago is the fact that we found a cute two-bedroom apartment in Springville (just South of Provo) that we think will be great for us and our little girl. We signed the contract already and will be able to move in anytime after the first week of August when all the paining, cleaning and other work that the manager wanted to get done should be finished.

These past few weeks had been a little more fun for me thanks to my friends Eni and Lia as well. We went to see Eclipse together and just yesterday we had a great time at the Seven Peaks water park in Provo. Eclipse was awesome. It's so far my most favorite movie in the Twilight series. As I keep telling everyone, I love the books but the movies didn't impress me at all until I saw Eclipse, which was more dynamic and interesting (except for the part where the vampires break into pieces as if they were made of glass or marble). The day at Seven Peaks was fun too. The morning was hot and perfect but the afternoon brought lots of rain and thunderstorms which lingered through the night and half of today as well. Even with the rain I did manage to get a nice sunburn on my shoulders, which I kind of missed since back in Romania we used to go to the beach for a couple of weeks every summer and burn and be happy. :) So much fun. I miss those days and the Black Sea. Speaking of which, I can't believe that last time I visited Romania and my family was in 2006, before we got married and that last time I went to the beach in Mamaia was in 2004. Time flies when you're busy and I can't believe that I've been married for a little over three years, I graduated college and I'll be having a baby in about 13 weeks. I'm content with my life and with all the experiences I've been through these past years since I left. I am in love like I've never been before and I'm so happy to become a mommy. Little girl is kicking me in my ribs :) so I guess I'll go lie down for a few minutes but I just wanted to thank each and everyone of you my dear friends and family for being here for us and for loving us unconditionally. I love you too.

Our Love Story

I've been thinking about writing the story of how David and I met for a long time... actually since before we got married, but for some bizarre reason I never got around to doing it. I hope that I haven't forgotten the most important details of our relationship.

Let me start a few months before I met him because this does play a part in the story. It was towards the end of the fall semester 2005. The year's been good as far as school and work were concerned, but not as good as I wanted, especially in the "boys department". The year before, I dated Aric for a few weeks but apparently the impact had been greater than I realized. After stopping seeing each other I was left with a broken heart and a fear of trying. I didn't trust that I had anything to offer to any guy or that anyone would ever try to get close to me again. With that in mind, I heard a lot of talk at BYU about a challenge that the President of the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley made to all the members. He promised that if one would read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year, he/she will receive the blessing of the Spirit and many other blessings. What I felt that I wanted and needed the most was to find a nice young man who would fall in love with me and who I would fall in love with, eventually getting married. So, with only a few weeks left until the end of the year I started listening to the book whenever I wasn't doing anything else. After putting quite a few hours into this activity I finally finished the book on December 31st at 10:06PM. I knew that I did my part. Now I could just wait for the promise to come true. And it started working... I started going out with different guys quite a bit. I was being liked by guys and I liked some back but not to the extent of possibly getting married. The winter semester kept me really busy. I applied and got accepted to go to France (Dunkirk) on an internship, I was doing well in school and I liked my computer lab assistant job. Everything was perfect, except I still hadn't met 'the one'. I eventually decided not to go to France because I needed to work full time during the summer so by the beginning of spring term I was being very busy working 40 hours a week. I was also getting tired and bored with doing only one thing all the time so I decided to look up folk dance classes. If I took one I could practice more, learn new stuff and have some fun. The only class that fit my work schedule was Beginning Irish taught by Jeanette Geslison. It was a class I had already attended before but since it was taught by someone different and I really didn't have any other class to choose from I decided to show up one day, about a week into the term. The students were already testing but I got to dance even though I couldn't remember everything very well. That day in May was the first time I met and danced with David. There were a couple more guys in the class but none as attractive as he was. Plus, I wasn't there for the guys. Jeanette said that she would approve me to stay in the class so I stayed and had fun. I would dance with David every class period and we would walk home together after class. I started to like him and I could tell that he liked me a little bit too. I remember that one time I invited him to the Krishna Temple festival and another time we went together to an Irish contest in Salt Lake. We had fun together and eventually our walks home became longer and longer and we also went on walks that were not after the Irish class; dates, sort of... We would talk about our life, our experiences, the things we like and the things we'd like to do.

The first time David held my hand was one day after Irish class. He was walking me to work, as he's done other times before and as we walked out of the RB, going up a long flight of stairs, he grabbed my hand. Neither one of us said anything about it. It was a little awkward and I was pretty shy and probably red in my cheeks but I didn't pull my hand away. After that, holding hands became natural and something we did all the time. Others started to notice us holding hands and my roommates kept asking me if he's kissed me already.

The kissing came a few weeks later. We went to Salt Lake and it was evening and we were walking at the Gateway. And I don't really remember why we went to Salt Lake or what we did. All I remember is that we sat on some rocks by a little river at the Gateway and he took my face and kissed me on the mouth. I was sooooooooo nervous, I was shaking really bad. The kiss was pretty short but I loved it. I was so happy and I knew then that we might end up married. I think this happened in July but I don't remember if it was before or after Independence Day. We spent Independence Day with David's family who were visiting Utah from Japan for the summer. I remember being nervous to meet them but it turned out fine. Unfortunately the only other time I met them that summer was when we took them to the airport. Oh, there's one detail that I just remembered about the kissing episode. One of my roommates was friends with one of David's roommates and would visit their apartment all the time. She knew that David and I were dating and asked me several times if he'd kissed me. I would keep telling her that he hadn't but that I really wanted him to. So, one day soon after we'd actually kissed, she asked me again and I triumphantly said 'yes'! :) To that she was like: 'Finally he did it. I told him that he should do it but he kept putting it aside saying that he wasn't sure if it was too early to do it." I was like: 'What?' We laughed and I was so thankful that she talked to David even though I felt a little embarrassed too.

The summer was almost ending and a new semester was going to start soon. Another thing to remember happened at the beginning of October. It was Homecoming night and we went up on a hill by the Y Mountain to watch the fireworks. On the way to the car we decided to just walk around a little longer and look at the pretty houses that were up there since it was a very nice evening. It was during that walk that I knew that we were going to get married. I had no doubt in my mind and I kind of said it out loud at one point as we were looking at some house and I said something like 'I'd like OUR house to be...'. I quickly said something else hoping that he didn't get what I said the first time and I was lucky, as he didn't seem to have noticed and kept talking.

The semester was progressing. David and I had only one class together, clogging. Not my favorite but one of his. And he was doing pretty good in it too. I was doing allright but seeing him succeed so easily started getting to me and soon enough I became jealous of him. I couldn't stand it and would frequently get upset and even cry when he would tell me how do dance better and I didn't want to be around him in that class anymore. I eventually started getting upset and thinking over everything he did or said and I started considering him as a competitor. I loved dancing but he was the one succeeding and I was being slow at making progress. Plus, he was always such a show off! I decided I didn't want us to see each other for a while. I didn't know for how long or if I ever wanted to see him again but I stopped talking to him completely. I wasn't happy and I would watch him when he wasn't looking but I was scared and afraid. Everything was happening so quickly and I felt threatened and unimportant. After one of the happiest summers of my life I was deciding if I was ever going to see David again. All the letters and messages he sent apologizing and asking me what he could do to make things better, made me even more sad and confused. All this went on for about a month, until one night when, even though I was really tired, I decided to say hi to Chris Chan, one of my friends and a guy who liked me for sometime. He knew about David and he asked me why I was so determined to end the relationship. I realized right then that I was wrong; that my reasons were, most of them wrong and that I loved him and wanted to be with him. At the end of our next clogging class I went and sat across from David. Rosie, one of our classmates gave him an invitation to some activity and when she left I suggested if he would maybe like to take someone on a date for the event. We left together and decided to meet again later that evening. He came and we talked outside, in front of my apartment at the Avenues for hours but what made that evening perfect was our make-up kiss and hug. I wanted so desperately to kiss him and it was one of our most passionate kisses we've ever had. Of course that we got back together but even now, almost four years after David still reminds me of how much sadness I inflicted upon him and how he would cry himself to sleep many nights. He said that he knew that getting back together was the right thing to do but it wasn't easy for him to just forgive and forget.

After this incident things started looking much better and in November we started looking for engagement rings. Didn't buy one, as we wanted it to be a surprise for me but he still needed to know what I like and what my size was. At the end of December we went to Romania together. It was so much fun to spend Christmas with my family and have David there with us too. Little did I know that I was going to have the happiest Christmas of my life. After wrapping up the gifts David told everyone, except my dad to leave the living room. We left and a few minutes after my dad came out and told me to go in. I was so nervous. I went in and we sat on the couch and David asked me in Romanian: "Vrei sa te casatoresti cu mine?" - meaning 'will you marry me". I said "yes" and he slipped a beautiful ring on my finger. I was so happy. We kissed and then told everyone. My parents already knew, as he asked for their permission first, in Romanian still. Everything went well after that and we got married on March 3rd, 2007 at the Manti, UT temple. Our marriage wasn't easy for the first couple of years but I'll leave that for another story. Suffices to say that I love David with all my heart and I never regret the decision to marry him. He is the one man in this world who makes me happy and loves me. I know that we'll be together for the rest of our lives and that we are a 'match made in heaven'. :) I love you David, with all my heart!

Hello world!

Well, I'm new to this but I'm excited to share a bit of our life with you.

I'm Daliana, a senior at Brigham Young University, Utah. I'm a French Studies major and I have three minors: World Dance, Computers and the Humanities (CHum) and TESOL (Teaching English as a second language). I'll probably graduate in a year and might go to grad school to become a certified TESOL teacher. I love to dance, to travel and also to have fun. I love foreign languages like French and Spanish and other cultures too.

On March 3, 2007 I married David Johansen. He is a student at BYU as well, studying Exercise Science and planning to go to Med School. He loves Mac Computers, folk dance (clogging and Israeli in particular) and watching movies. He also plays computer games sometimes.

So, this is our little life in a nut shell. We love it. We live in Provo for now but would love to travel and live around the world. I was born in Bucharest, Romania and came to the United States on December 31st, 2002 to study at BYU and David, who was born in Provo, Utah has lived in Germany, Korea and Japan and visited many other countries. He's also been a missionary in the Philippines and speaks a language called Visayan (Cebuano).