Growing Pains

And the Painting/Fixin' Begins!

2011-12-01T12:29:00.001-06:00

Ok so last night Ryan started on the tile work in our shower. This morning he was able to start the tile only to find that the box of tile we bought a month ago has 12 broken tiles in it! So instead of getting the bathroom tile done he's now having to take an hour to go return and get new tile. But hey that's what this stuff is all about right? My dad came this morning and cut in the hallway by the girls rooms which will save a lot of time. He will be back tomorrow afternoon too.

I have some before shots of the bathroom and hallway that I have included below.

Day 1- Designing to Sell Our House

2011-09-11T17:55:00.000-05:00

It was something that we figured would be inevitable one day even when we first built our house. But at the same time while living here I always thought it was a long way off. But now its here. Its time to think about selling our house and getting a bigger one. We are out-growing our house and are feeling the growing pains. We want to have another kid at some point in the next year or 2 so we would need at least 1 more bedroom and more storage. Right now no place to put clothes and toys that the kids grow out of. So last week we started looking around Spring Hill for houses. We kind of have an idea of what we want but a lot of things have to fall into place before we can make it happen. First off we have been consulting God for wisdom in how best to go about this. We know we need more space but we don't want to get carried away and get in over our head with things that we "want" but don't necessarily need.
Some things in our favor are the low interest rates. We can get a lot more house for not much more than we are paying now on our house simply because the interest rates are lower. However, the opposite side is that means we may not get out of our house what we would need to when we sell it so we can have a down payment on the next one. Another thing in our favor is that Ryan is working close to home and will hopefully be around more as a result so we can start getting our house ready to sell.
So today I went and picked some paint colors at home depot so we can paint our Great Room, Entry, and upstairs hallway. We will also be re-painting our master bathroom a nice neutral. We figured not everyone would like our purple we have on the walls now. Then I went and got some bathroom accessories to match on clearance/sale at Target - in the event after we paint that we would be showing it I'd like to have nice matching soap pumps- towels- rugs etc- which we do not have right now. Something I always thought wasn't a priority because nobody sees our bathroom. Well now people will want to go in and out of it so I am going to make it look nice.
We won't start painting til after the first of November until our new church building is done. This would mean Ryan would be free on the weekend and we could hopefully knock it out in a Fri, Sat, Sun.- weekend project with the help of family- and sending the girls to Gram-ee's over the weekend. But until we can paint Ryan started today on power washing our deck so that it looks like we have a cedar deck again! Its amazing what a little water pressure will do to 5 1/2 year old wood that has been sitting outside. Then we will be sealing it or staining it soon.
We also will be storing a lot of stuff so as to make the house not look so full and cluttered. And I know that toys should not be visible if at all possible when showing. This will be difficult because I stay at home and toys are out ALL day long. But we are hoping that with a couple open houses that maybe we can narrow the window of when I would have to show it. I would need plenty of notice before showing so I can clean!
We plan to start off selling it FOR SALE BY OWNER and seeing what happens. Then our next option is to do a trade with a builder that we like and see what price we can come to on the house we want to build. We'll see. We will just trust God that if this is supposed to happen that He will lay it all out for us and open doors where we need them. We figure what's the harm in trying? The stuff we do to our house will only make it nicer and were things we had planned on doing at some point and in a way now they are ACTUALLY getting done!

So stay tuned for updates on our Design-to-Sell our house! Its exciting but at the same time I feel totally at the mercy of what God would have us to do. We want to be good stewards for what he has blessed us with. Ultimately I would like for this next house to be "it" for us and that we could grow old in it and not have to move again.

Could this be the day????

2011-05-11T16:32:00.000-05:00

So I almost hesitate to even write about this because I fear it will all come back. With regards to potty training these last 4 months. I hope that today was a HUGE milestone for Lily. Let me first start with if you don't like to read about pee pee and poopy please just stop reading now. I've learned that since becoming a Mommy its inevitable that you will talk about peeing or pooping with regards to your children on a daily basis. It almost always comes into the conversation. Its simply a part of being a parent. That being said. Lily has been pee pee trained (for the most part) for the last month or so with the exception of going when we are away from home. Which she is getting better at as of this past week. For the first couple months she has gone really good at home and at places she's familiar like Grandparents' houses. Only recently, as in the last week or 2, has she gone when we are away from the house like the Doctor's office, Target, and Church. Not for lack of throwing a fit mind you. It finally took her doctor telling me that she's past the point of it being "up to her" to learn and train. She's (Lily) where she knows what she's doing and is the one in control. Dr. Ray said that WE need to be the ones in control now and to turn her little fits and "I don't need/want to go potty Mommy" into--No you are going potty and you are going here right now. Now don't get me wrong please, in the beginning this is not the way to approach potty training. My doctor only suggested this because she's past the point of the early training and is now into the stage where she could develop bad habits that we need to end now. So she suggested that instead of letting her "get away with" not having to go potty by yelling and telling me she doesn't need to go when I KNOW she needs to. So we'd just let her tell us that and we'd stop making her go. So she's learned that this works with Mommy and Daddy. She thinks all I have to do is throw a fit and they won't make me go. Then she just would wet her pants. So Dr. Ray suggested the next time we are out that if she acts like she needs to go that we need to MAKE her go by giving her 2 choices. One, if she can go potty where we are on her portable Dora potty seat, or two, she can put a diaper back on. Lily now does not like diapers and is VERY fond of her princess and various big girl pants so I knew that would work. After talking to Dr. Ray about it, Lily immediately wanted to go potty so, much to my surprise, she went in the potty at the Dr's office! I was so stunned and proud! She got to pick from one of the big stickers and they sent me home with some that I could use to give her when she would go while we are out somewhere other than home. I am so glad she didn't fight me. Then last weekend we were at Target and she had to go. I am so thankful they had a family restroom at this Target because I knew she'd be crawling under the door at a regular one. She screamed and cried at first, but I just kept telling her its just like the doctors office and that I had a sticker waiting for her. So I held her on the potty while she cried and we counted to 30. (another thing I've started doing when she says she doesn't need to go, but I want her to at least try). She almost ALWAYS goes by the time I get to 15 and she forgets she's upset because she starts counting with me. So when she went in the potty I started clapping as I finished counting and I told her how proud I was of her. By now she was excited and happy she went! We washed our hands and she ran out the door yelling that she had gone potty. That night she wanted to wear the Dora sticker (from the doctor) on her jammies to bed too. It was great!
Then this past Sunday I got her to go at Church in between services. Course she cried again but didn't fight me near as bad and didn't crawl under the stall. The counting worked again this time. I have found that creating things that are familiar to her has helped. By counting she forgets where she's at and now has a "routine" we do when we are out. I was so proud of her!
Now Monday I thought we hit a big milestone, but it ended up being one step forward two steps back. She pooped in the potty at home after telling me she needed to go but then later on she pooped her pants while in her room for her nap. I was so excited that Monday would be THE day....which is why I hesitate to say that TODAY is the day but, I feel if I have high expectations for her maybe that will help.
Last night I went to Target and bought Lily 2 packs of princess big girl pants. 7 Repunzel (tangled) and 7 Little Mermaid. Two kinds she does not have already. I decided that each time she'd go poopy on the potty I'd let her pick a new pair of princess pants to wear. So today we were at my friend Steph's house playing with her kids outside and Lily comes to me in the middle of playing to tell me that she needs to go potty....that she needed to go POOPY!!! She RARELY if EVER has told me this especially while in the middle of PLAYING, while OUTSIDE, at SOMEONE ELSE'S HOUSE!!! And she went! She was excited about it too! I was still in shock. So I showed her the new princess pants and told her that she could pick one of them each time she pooped in the potty. She was pretty excited about this. I am hoping and praying that TODAY is the day that she decides to only put her poopy in the potty and not in her pants. I feel like we've tried everything. From buying her toys in the beginning when she pooped the very first time in the potty, to giving her 2 stickers and 2 pieces of candy, to giving her cookies w/ sprinkles on them, to now the princess pants. I have learned so patience so much through all of this. Whoever said girls were easier to train has not worked with Lily, my VERY smart and independent little girl. I pray that Charlee is easier and that Lily will train her. I've often joked that Charlee would end up training Lily because at times I have feared that she would never get it that she would never go away from home and that I would always have to carry extra underwear and pants with me everywhere we went. But I am seeing hope now. Seeing a light at the end of this 4 month long tunnel. My goal is to have her going poopy in the potty and going places other than home before we leave for San Diego in 2 months. That is my prayer. I give it to God because only He can help me through this and give me the patience to endure the clean-up. To God be the Glory.

I'd like to remember this

2011-02-28T22:00:00.000-06:00

There are so many things that Lily says now that I tell myself, "I need to write that down because I'd like to remember that", but then I don't. I think its because I am terrible at at writing stuff down, but I think I can blog it when I hear things so I am going to try to do that more now.

Lily after falling and "hurting" herself:
Daddy: "are you hurt what did you hurt?"
Lily: " my princess jamies "

Lily after falling out of her high chair when climbing out:
Daddy: "what did you hurt?"
Lily: "my chair"

This is all I can think of for now. 'Til next time. I hope I have more of these because she is just so funny these days.

Potty Training, God is Good!

2011-01-26T16:35:00.000-06:00

WOW it has been awhile since I have updated my blog!
I will try to make this quick.
Last Monday January 17th we started potty training Lily because she said she wanted to go potty and she actually went on it!!! This has never happened! She had sat on it numerous times and never went. So I let her have candy and we made a big deal about it. From that point on we said no more diapers! So we started using training underwear and pull-ups during sleepy time. She went one more time on Monday but then Tuesday she wasn't as successful because I wasn't able to be home with her all day because I had to work. Then Wednesday was just awful! She pooped in her underwear after we had been sitting on the potty for over an hour. I felt like we spent all day in the potty and she only went once. In addition to this frustration I was feeling bad because I felt I had been neglecting Charlee. Spending hours in the bathroom meant leaving her in the bouncer and only really interacting with her when I nurse and feed her. When I got Lily down for her nap I was rocking Charlee just bawling about to give up when I felt overcome and I started to pray. I prayed out-loud to God in tears just pleading for wisdom and patience to follow through with training her and to not give up on her. I was determined to not go back to diapers, but I realized I could not be patient with her in my own strength. I needed God's help for that. Because as most people or maybe just Ryan know I am not very patient when it comes to stuff like this. I wanted her to just get it. She is SOOOOOO smart and I knew she could do it, but after Wednesday I was really questioning whether she was ready. Thursday morning went ok but starting Thursday night into Friday she really started doing better. Friday she pooped in the potty!!! I was so excited and shocked at the same time! I figured it would be awhile before she was ready to do that. But she did. So Friday when Ryan got off work we went to Target and bought her some dresses that went with her Belle Beauty and the Beast doll. We left he house for over an hour and Lily stayed dry the whole time. We were so proud of her. Saturday went well and Ryan got a chance to work with Lily. I think it was important for him to be with her so she could be just as comfortable going with him as she was with me. If there's one thing we've learned about Lily she is very much about routine and sources of comfort. Anything out of her daily routine just throws her off. I feel that consistency and staying home has been key in this process. And most of all PATIENCE and WISDOM to not give up on her. BELIEVING in her. And it has paid off so far. God is so good! I definitely felt his presence this past weekend as I had more patience with her than I have had in a long time. I know God was working and I felt the prayers working. Lily has done so well in only a week! Today she has already started telling me she needs to go and then she actually does!
God is so good....God is so good....God is so good... He's so good to me!

Adjusting to TWO, Ryan’s Job, Expenses

2010-08-09T15:19:00.001-05:00

So no one told me it would be easy and I never thought it would be, but it seems like this summer hit me pretty hard. First we had to fork over $6800 for a new AC/Heat Pump and that was before Charlee even got here. Then Ryan went back to work and started working Saturdays and late almost every night if not every other at least not getting home til 7pm or even 8pm some nights. Then he’s gone Sunday mornings for Worship team. Needless to say I was feeling the burn of some “single parenthood” right after bringing home a new baby. Adjusting to having 2 has been hard for me. I think its mainly all timing of everything though. If Lily wasn’t entering her “terrible 2’s” and if Ryan’s job wasn’t so crazy and if we didn’t have to fork out almost $7K while still trying to pay medical bills…it wouldn’t seem so overwhelming would it? I guess I will never know.

When did life get so overwhelming? I have to at least say that the last 5 years we have had it pretty good. God has blessed our marriage since the beginning. We have never really had any issues financially or with anything else really. So now is the time I guess for God to be testing me. However, I already felt like He tested me with my pregnancy by putting me on bed rest for the last month. Now its patience in dealing with my sweet 2 year old who definitely knows how to push mommy’s buttons and patience in being content with Ryan’s job. I want to be able to say “oh I need to just be thankful he has a job and that he enjoys it” sure easy enough. I am THANKFUL. But that doesn’t mean that it still isn’t hard on me. It doesn’t mean that I don’t miss him when he’s gone or that I just long to be able to have a Saturday together as a family. I do. And I think I am entitled to feel this way after just having a baby. My emotions have definitely gotten the better of me this summer. Sometimes I don’t even know why I am crying. Just being overwhelmed at times. God tells me “HEY” you need to slow down and just breathe ME in! And that has been my life line. I had sorta set aside my personal quiet time right after Charlee was born and I don’t doubt that by not spending time in the word and not spending time in prayer it made my struggle even worse. So the last 3 weeks I have been doing it every morning after feeding Charlee at 5 or 6am before I go back to sleep. And let me tell you it has made a huge difference to my day! Imagine that! I knew it would. I just needed to get in the habit of doing it again and making it a priority.

Life seems to be settling down again. Ryan had this past Saturday off and we enjoyed time together as a family then got to spend time just us. I will never again think about Saturdays home with the family the same way again. The time is precious. I am sure that God longs to be with me the way that I long to have Ryan home and time together as a family. Wow but what a way to give a girl a wake up call! I hear ya! Loud and clear. Thank you Jesus!

Now its just the waiting game again. Waiting to hear either this week or next week where JE Dunn will be sending Ryan next. I pray that its close to home. Really anywhere would have to be closer than Warrensburg at this point. But ultimately I pray that Ryan will enjoy his next project and that it won’t take away anymore of his time with his family. Because I am sure he’s sick of hearing how tired I am of him coming home late. I know its not his fault but sometimes a girl just has to VENT! And that’s kinda what I am doing now too I guess. So thanks for listening….er reading!

Charlee's Arrival- Summer- Trusting God

2010-06-10T10:52:00.000-05:00

Well it has been awhile since I have written an update. Obviously because Charlee was born and I haven't had much time to get on the computer.
I wanted to tell a brief story of how she got here.
Sunday May 23rd I started having mild contractions in the afternoon and they progressed to the point that I did end up calling my doctor. They were 8-12 minutes apart and lasting about 20 sec. I was told to call when I had more than 4 in an hour. She advised that I take a warm bath which actually did help but as soon as I got out they came back. Thankfully they didn't happen all night. But they did start back up Monday (24th) morning so I called back and she had me go ahead and make an appointment to come see her. They hooked me up to the non-stress test machine and tracked my contractions. They were showing as mild and I was not dialated so she sent me home with "pre-labor" contractions that I would just have to deal with til my C-section the next morning.
As Monday went on into the evening the contractions got worse. In fact from about 8pm on they were pretty intense and after midnight they became closer together and longer. I wasn't able to sleep at all and about 2am I decided it was time to go to the hospital because they were every 3-5 minutes apart and lasting for over a minute each. So I showered and we got everything in the van and Ryan's dad came to be with Lily so we could head to the hospital. I had strong contractions the whole way to the hospital. It was about 3:15am once we got there. They hooked me up to the machines and started a fluid IV to see if they could slow them down. I was fine waiting til 7:30am for the C-section as long as they could give me something for the pain until then. After about an hour or so the fluids were not working so they called the on-call surgeon which happened to be the doctor that did my c-section with Lily. I am certain this was God's doing. At 5am they decided to go ahead and do the c-section at 5:30am. They quickly got me prepped and gave me my spinal block which didn't hurt hardly at all. This time around was strange to be so alert and not in pain while they got me ready for the surgery. As soon as the meds kicked in I no longer felt my contractions. My doctor arrived and they started the surgery on time. However, there was something unusual about my surgery, according to the doctors and nurses. Without going into too much detail about it. My intestines were not where they were supposed to be and they had adhered to my uterus. So to get Charlee out they had to detach them and rearrange them where they were supposed to go. The doctors said they had never seen anything like this before. And with that there would be a greater risk for an illeus like last time. In order to prevent further issues down the road they had to do this and they put a cheese cloth between my uterus and my intestines to prevent them from adhering again. Charlee was then born at 5:49am. Weighing in at 7 lbs 11.8 oz and 19.5 inches long. Perfectly healthy! I am so thankful that we had the surgeon we did because the lady that we were supposed to have apparently was worried after hearing about my post-op 2 week illeus after my first c-section. Not exactly what you want to hear from someone who would be doing major surgery on you.
After the surgery everything went well I was able to go home on time without any issues and I have not had any issues since then. Praise the Lord!
Charlee has since passed her birth weight weighing in at 7 lbs. 15 oz on Tuesday. I sure wish her belly button stump would fall off so I can do her newborn pics and Lily's 2 year portraits. Hopefully this week.

As far as this summer goes. I am trying to stay positive and not complain about the fact that Ryan is most likely going to be working every Saturday through the middle of August. I know I should be thankful he has a job and that he will be getting overtime which will help pay for the new air conditioner/heat pump we just had to buy. But when will we get to do stuff together as a family? When will we get to go swimming? Or to the Zoo? I guess we will have to wait til August. I just am sad because this means he will not get as much time with Charlee as I know he would like. But God is good and I know that we are blessed by Him by Ryan getting this job. And who knows maybe his reward for driving that far and working that much will be that his next job will be closer to home. Like maybe a 30 minute or less drive! That would be my prayer but I know we should just be thankful that he has work and that he will have a job to move to once this project is complete. God give me patience and understanding!

Lady in Waiting

2010-05-14T10:40:00.000-05:00

So as much as I don't want to admit it I am fairly certain that we will be going to 39 Weeks. After this week's tests and blood pressure check I am fairly certain that I am not preeclamptic this time around. Which is a good thing. It actually gives us hope for the next pregnancy which we were unsure about. I think a lot of what has happened with my blood pressure this pregnancy has been "worry" induced because of what happened with my first pregnancy (emergency c-section at 35 weeks due to severe preeclampsia). That being said I am encouraged that with me not having it this pregnancy that our chances will be even less in the next pregnancy. Because I wasn't ready to say this is it for us. I'd like to at least try for a boy next. Now we may wait longer than having them 2 years apart. Like maybe waiting til Charlee is out of diapers before we have another one. That would make things easier if I am to be put on bed rest again for any reason.
So I am operating on the assumption that I have 2 more weeks of bed rest until little Charlee's arrival. Some things that make me sad about this are that now I won't be having another little baby like Lily was. But at least she will be healthy and full term. We won't be able to participate in Life Spring's child dedication service Sunday May 23rd with my friends who had babies this past year. I've had to miss out on family gatherings and will be missing out on more in the next coming weeks. My recovery is now going to get pushed back which might prevent me from doing some things that I could if we had her this week. Like I won't be able to swim this summer until July now. But those are all just reasons, not good excuses for wishing this pregnancy be over. I want her to get as much time as she needs in there and now I know that's what God has planned for us at this point. There's a reason my protein wasn't high enough. There's a reason my blood pressure couldn't get high enough yesterday at the doctor. God does not want Charlee to be born yet. And now that I have accepted that I know that He's in control and whatever complications can still happen at this point I know that He is in charge and not me. And now I actually have time to read the books for our Women's Ministry book club this summer. I wasn't sure if I'd have time to read the first one with Charlee arriving this week but now with 2 more weeks of bed rest I should be able to. Currently Reading:

37 Weeks & Counting...

2010-05-12T14:33:00.000-05:00

Well the test results weren't as high as we were hoping. So no scheduled c-section for Friday. But my doctor did say that if my blood pressure is high enough at my appointment tomorrow then we can plan to have the c-section done tomorrow and not mess around.
I know a lot of people have been telling me that its better to wait for her to stay in there longer but I am sure that if my doctor felt that needed to happen she wouldn't be willing to do this for us. She knows my history and knows that Charlee has been doing really well on all the Non Stress Tests and the sonogram 2 weeks ago showed a large healthy baby. I am full-term now so she most likely feels it is in my best interest to go ahead and deliver before anything else happens with me. Especially since last time we caught the preeclamsia too late. Now I do want to do what's best for Charlee and myself obviously. But I completely trust my doctor's opinion because she knows me and she knows what my body can handle at this point. My first c-section wasn't normal as in they had to make an extra incision to get Lily out. This is also a concern at this point because with Charlee being so big she doesn't want my extra incision to cause problems the bigger she gets and the more stretched I become in that area. So while I do want to do what is best for Charlee and to wait til she's "ready" to come out I also want to trust my doctor knows what's best for me and for the baby and that she would never do anything that wasn't going to be good for both of us at this point.
I'm just ready to be done with bed rest. Ready to spend some quality time with Lily outside on nice days. Ready to help around the house again. Ready to sleep at night. Ready to be done with the day to day worry about when she's going to get here. I trust God with this pregnancy and have since the beginning. If she is to arrive tomorrow then it will happen. And if not then I guess we wait one more week and hope things don't get worse. God, I know you are in control. But a little plan would be nice sometimes ;-)

36 Weeks, More Answers, A Plan Maybe???

2010-05-05T10:53:00.000-05:00

I hate to even write this cause it seems like things keep changing each time I see my doctor. As a quick background of what's going on, first I apologize if this is more info than you want but at this point its the only way to explain my situation. I am now seeing the doctor twice a week. Mondays for regular OB visit, Non Stress Test, and to start my 24 hour urine. Thursdays I go in for blood work, NST, and blood pressure check. The 24 Urine is to check for protein which is a sign of preeclampsia. My count has to be 300+ for them to consider me "preeclamptic". Last week's hospital visit and 24 Hr test only showed about 220 counts. Today's test showed 275. Which is a big jump. So at this point my doctor is fairly confident that if we do the next 24 Hr test that it will be over 300 and then we can schedule the C-Section for next Friday (which is the 14th). Now if my blood pressure reaches above 150/100 (last Monday it reached 158/98 which is what sent me to hospital overnight stay) while in the doctor's office they will forgo the 24 Hr test and just do the C-section that day. This is what we are trying to avoid at this point. So for my next 2 dr's visits we need to pray that my BP stays down so we can PLAN to have her instead of having an emergency. Because we believe that is what caused all my issues last time was the fact that I hadn't fasted before the surgery and the urgency of it sent my body into shock (the ileus).

All that being said. It is highly likely that we will be having Charlee next Friday unless my blood pressure is off the charts or my 24 Hr doesn't reach 300 count. In which case it would be emergency (high BP) or we wait til 39 weeks.

I go to the doctor tomorrow for my blood work and NST. We just need to keep my pressure down below 150/100 for this visit and the Monday visit. A nice way to celebrate Mother's day weekend staying at home with my feet up praying that my blood pressure is good for Monday.

35 Weeks, Hospital, Bed Rest

2010-04-29T10:58:00.000-05:00

Wow it seems like every time I write I have something major to write about. My next pregnancy book is going to have some long journals in it this time!
Let me start with last weekend. We had Lily's 2nd birthday at my parent's house because I didn't want to mess with the stress of having it at our house with my blood pressure. Even with just inviting local family we still had about 30 people there. It went very well. We had sandwiches and cake which my sister-in-law Abbie made. The theme of her party was Toy Story so she put a Buzz and Woody on the cake. Very impressive! It was delicious too! Lily enjoyed opening her presents but became a little shy and tired towards the end. Plus it was approaching nap time. I pretty much just sat there the whole time with my feet up. Which is what the doctor ordered.
Monday was my 35 week appointment and scheduled non-stress test. I knew it was going to be interesting because my blood pressure was high that morning. I was expecting to be sent home on bed rest but instead they sent me to be admitted to the hospital for monitoring ( de ja vu?). My blood pressure was 158/98 by the time my mom got there and we left for the hospital. No ambulance this time. Thank God! Once I got there and got settled in my pressure came down. They did an ultrasound and Charlee looked great. They even estimated that she was about 6 & 1/2 pounds. They were calling her a big baby. Which is good considering we were thinking we could be having her the next couple days. After some blood work and monitoring as well as a 24 hour urine test they discovered that I am not preeclamptic. At least not yet. This could be the very early stages of it so we will continue to run tests each week to try and catch it. That being said. If its ONLY blood pressure that is the issue at this point then they have to make me wait til 39 weeks before they can deliver. This would mean bed rest or blood pressure medicine until then. But if signs of preeclampsia show up then they will deliver at 37 weeks. It may sound crazy but I was disappointed to hear this. I was kinda looking forward to having her in the next 2 weeks just cause I want her to still be little and I don't know if I can take 4 weeks of bed rest! Plus she has really been kicking me hard these days. I know she's going to break a rib!
I go back to the doctor tomorrow as a follow-up so we should know more about whether I will be put on blood pressure medicine or if I am to be on bed rest for the next couple weeks. We are so thankful and blessed to have family close by that can take care of Lily for me. I don't know how we would do this without them.
So keep praying that these next few weeks go well and that I don't go crazy from having to sit in a recliner all day! At least I have gotten some reading done. I have read more in the last 5 days than I have in the last 4 months. So that's been nice.

33 Weeks- Update on Previous Weeks

2010-04-12T19:15:00.001-05:00

Well a lot has happened since I last gave an update. I will try to recap all of it.
About 31 Weeks:
The weekend of my birthday, Saturday March 27th I stared having some mild abdominal pains that came and went. I figured it was Braxton hicks contractions. But since I had never experienced them I wasn't sure. As the evening went on they started feeling sharper and more often. By the time we got home they hurt pretty bad and I checked my blood pressure and it was pretty high. I figured it was because of the pain and the fact that we had been out for the night. From about 10:30pm until about 11am I started throwing up about every 30-45 minutes. It got so bad that I ran out of food to throw up and I started throwing up stomach bile. So at about 11am I decided to call the doctor because the pain was unbearable and I had started throwing up more often. The on-call doctor told me that I should go to the hospital and get on an IV and get some fluids back in me while they run tests to see what is wrong. So we spent Sunday afternoon at the hospital and learned that dehydration can cause pre-term labor contractions. I know that throwing up did not help the fact that I was dehydrated but they aren't sure if that's what caused me to throw up. It was strange. My white blood counts were high which indicated my body was trying to fight off an infection but they never figured out what exactly. After being there for about 5 hours they had pumped 3 liters of fluid in me and even after that I was still really dehydrated. Everything else was fine including my blood pressure and the baby's heart rate. So none of this affected her, which is good. I really didn't start feeling normal again until Friday or Saturday of that week. Ryan decided to take a sick day that Monday because I wasn't sure how strong I would be and be able to take care of Lily. Which proved to be a good idea because I decided to have a follow-up doctor's visit with my doctor. I spent 3 hours in the doctor's office while they monitored Charlee's heart-rate and my contractions. They were about every 5 minutes, but not as painful as they had been on Sunday morning. Everything was fine other than that I needed to get hydrated to stop the contractions. Wednesday they finally stopped.
About 32 Weeks (Easter weekend):
This was a busy weekend for us. Saturday April 3rd we went van shopping. We started the morning with the community Easter egg hunt with Lily then we left about 11am and went to a dealership off Shawnee mission parkway. We test drove a couple vans then we went and got lunch. After that we headed to Frank Ancona Honda where right away we saw a van that we wanted to test drive. From the time we test drove it til we finally had signed the loan and were able to drive the van home it had been about 6 hours. Needless to say a long day. We got home and my blood pressure was a little high 140/84 (normal is 120/80). My doctor told me to call her when I hit 140/90 or higher consistently. Sunday morning (Easter) we went to our Sunrise Somewhere service at 8:30am and it was still on the high side 135/89. It continued to stay high most the day as we went on to my family Easter lunch then Ryan's family Easter egg hunt. When we got home at 4pm it was pretty high 132/106 (bottom number not good) but after I rested for awhile it came back down to 122/75. I probably would have called the doctor but I had a scheduled appointment for Monday so I figured I could just wait til then. Needless to say it was an emotional day for me as I was preparing myself for the worst report from the doctor. I really didn't want to hear that I'd need to go on bed rest. Monday at my doctor's appointment my blood pressure was ok. So she recommended that I do another 24 hour urine test and more blood tests at the hospital to check for pre-ecclampsia (like I did at 27 weeks). So I did that and everything came back fine. So other than periodic spiking of my blood pressure I have no other signs of pre-ecclampsia as of yet. She does say that I am a "ticking time bomb" and that we just need to get me to 36-37 weeks at this point. Meaning if I get that far and blood pressure is still a problem most likely we will just go ahead and schedule the C-Section that week.
33 Weeks (today): So far no swelling. I can still wear my wedding rings and I am not embarrassed to wear capris. Unlike with Lily, at this point I was really swollen in the ankles and I couldn't wear my wedding rings anymore. So that's a good sign. I just need to be better about drinking water and taking it easy. Easier said than done. So that has been a big prayer request of mine is that I am able to know when to say no and when to rest. Thankfully most days Lily is great at just watching a DVD or TV show and plays well by herself while I sit with my feet up. 4 More weeks is all I have to do. This will be the longest month I am sure. I am anxious to meet Charlee so I am excited of the idea that she will be here early. I just don't want her too early that I can't bring her home with me.
I think that's about it for now.

Dr's Appt.- Lily's Toddler Bed

2010-03-23T13:52:00.000-05:00

Quick update about my 30 Week Doctor's visit (3/22/10). Blood pressure good. I think it was 129/74. Belly measured 30 cm. Gained 3 lbs. Baby's heart rate was 150 BPM.
Everything looks good for now. I asked if we could schedule the C-Section and she didn’t want to yet because she doesn’t think I will make it to 39 weeks. Not in a bad way (she said it with a smile on her face). I just think that if I make it to 36 weeks and my blood pressure is a little high we will just go ahead and to the C-section then. But if I am doing fine then it will be May 24th and no later. So that being said. It could be anytime between May 3rd and May 24th. I go back to see her in 2 weeks. We will probably know more then too.
My blood pressure is still good, but it is creeping up slowly. Which is why I think she knows I won’t make it another 9 weeks. So be praying that I at least make it 6 more weeks preferably 7 more weeks. :-)

Last night we converted Lily's bed to a toddler bed. She loved it! It was so much fun watching her get in and the get out of it and then get in and out of it about 30 more times. I think she will transition just fine. She slept in it all night and woke up and was playing in her room quietly with her toys and books. In a way its better cause now she has something to entertain herself with while she waits for Mommy to get ready for the day. Its not as bad as I thought it would be. We just have to make sure that she doesn't leave her room and everything will be fine.

About 30 Weeks, Ryan's Job, Lily's Climbing

2010-03-20T10:43:00.000-05:00

Well where do I start! I am about 30 weeks pregnant. I go back to the doctor on Monday to give report of how well my blood pressure has been doing. I'd say I have averaged around 119/69 most days. Which is really good since normal is 120/80. I am not sure if she is still going to have me do all the other tests like we did last time. But being cautious is good. I wouldn't want to miss something this time around. I also hope that my weight gain has subsided. I feel like I haven't eaten as much these past couple weeks. My appetite doesn't seem to be what it was with Lily but I still seem to be gaining the weight.
Charlee had the hiccups for the first time the other night (Thursday). I was beginning to wonder if she was going to have them at all. Lily had them constantly and still gets them occasionally. Charlee has been a lot more active these days. The other night Ryan and I were playing with her as she was poking us and we were poking back at her. Can't wait to see what she's going to look like. Charlee's room is basically done. We need to do some minor cosmetic things but for the most part if she were to come early we would have everything we would need immediately. There are a couple things that I'd still like to get before then like a hamper, another Diaper Champ, some more changing pad covers, extra bed sheets, and stuff like that. We have plenty of Newborn diapers as I have been buying one pack a month since I found out I was pregnant.

Ryan has been on his new job site for a couple weeks now and is enjoying it. The only down side is some days he has to work late. I am going to do my hardest to not complain about this because I know this is what he wants and that he's happy. Its just hard when earlier this week he didn't get home til 9:30pm. He went 48 hours without seeing Lily. I know that was hard on him. We can take comfort in knowing that this project is only supposed to last til Mid-July and then maybe he will be moved to another project closer to home. Which will be nice when Charlee gets here. I am going to be positive about it because I am thankful he has a job and that now he is doing what he wants to do for a change. It just would be nice to have him home before 6pm most nights. At least he gets paid overtime.

Well Lily has officially become a "big girl". Friday afternoon I came in her room after her nap and she had been playing in her room OUT of her crib. Course I didn't know this because the batteries in the monitor I had were dead. So who knows how long she had been out of her crib. At least she didn't hurt herself. It looked like she was enjoying herself as she had scattered all her diapers on the floor and pulled off come barrettes off of her bow/clip hanger. No real damage was done. I was most concerned for the space heater and humidifier in there. She knows the heater is "hot" so she knows to leave it alone most days. I was thankful this was one of them. So last night we decided to still leave her in the crib to see if this climbing episode was a one time thing or if she was going to do this every time. We woke to a thud and then her crying on the floor in her reading corner. We aren't sure if she had just climbed out or if she woke up there confused and scared. She didn't appear to have hurt herself. The "thud" we heard could have been her bumping her head on her book shelf. So we most likely will convert her crib into the toddler bed. It has a 3/4 rail that attaches to it. I just hope this means she will sleep in her bed and not get out and play. Especially during nap time. Nap time is the only time I have to get stuff done like anything I need to do on my computer like work on photos or reconcile business stuff. So we'll see how it goes. As long as she can't get out of her room I am ok with her staying in there to play if she doesn't sleep.

27 Weeks Dr's Visit, Van, & 22 Months

2010-03-01T20:01:00.000-06:00

Had my 27 week doctors visit today. I had to be there 30 min early to do my glucose test. I had to drink this sugar drink then get my blood drawn an hour later. I will await results.
Turns out that I have gained more weight that I was thinking I would at this point. I am up to 23 pounds total. Ouch! Hopefully that will slow down. I gained 38 with Lily and I still had 5 weeks left with her.
My blood pressure was a little higher than the last time so she told me that I need to start monitoring it from home. Luckily my parents have a blood pressure monitor that I can borrow. She is not concerned at this point but just wants to be cautious. I also go in tomorrow for another lab to check for any other signs of pre-eclampsia. Again just another precaution. She just wants to catch it early if it is going to happen again this time. I tried my best in the office not to worry about it but my pregnancy hormones got the best of me and I got a little emotional. She reassured me that she's not worried so I shouldn't be. Still....I can't help but think about it. So the whole way back to Olathe I prayed about it. Mainly for God to just take the situation and give me a peace about it. Because I know that the added stress of me worrying is not going to help matters. I was also told that I need to "take it easy" from here on out. So whatever that means. I will do my best.

We dropped off our taxes last week and we hope to get our refund soon. Our plan is to pay off the truck with it then start shopping for a van. We figure we can get a pretty good deal on a Toyota Sienna right now. We'd like to get a used one like a 2009. Right now they are pretty decently priced considering they just came out with the 2011 version. All I really feel like I need on it is a remote that opens the doors and the option to add a 8th seat. I never thought I'd be excited about getting a van. I never saw myself driving one. I always wanted to go with the SUV instead. But the more I think about it a VAN is going to be more practical for us. Each time I lift Lily into the truck I think about how nice it would be to just be able to set her in her carseat in a van or better yet let her climb in the van herself and climb in her seat. Plus the thought of 2 carseats in the back of the truck worries me a little. It doesn't leave much room for groceries or anything else that I would need to get while running errands. Even though the idea of running errands with a toddler and a newborn seems like it would be impossible at this point. But we'll see how it goes.

We got a mattress, changing pad, and double stroller last weekend. So I feel a little more prepared now. Ryan finished painting Charlee's room and all that's left is putting up the chair rail and then we are going to have his cousin Kendra paint care bears on the walls. Our furniture will be delivered March 9th. I will feel better about the whole idea of this baby wanting out early if the nursery was ready. Once the furniture is here then I will start washing her clothes in the Dreft soap. Right now they'd just be in the way if I started washing them.

Lily has been so much fun to watch these days. Everyday there is something new that she says that we had no idea she even knew. Objects she knows and animals she knows after just reading them aloud to her in a book once. She remembers. I don't want to sound biased but I am CONVINCED she is a genius. She of course takes after Ryan. She has also been playing "mommy" a lot more lately too. I made some burp cloths for Charlee and Lily has been using them as blankets for her dolls. She calls them her babies. She carries them around wrapped in the blanket and she even tries to feed them and lay them down for a nigh night. Its pretty darn precious. I love it. She will be a great big sister. I can't want to see what she does with her REAL baby sister when she gets here.

Well its time to put Lily to bed so I better go for now. I'll keep everyone posted on my status. I return to the doctor in 3 weeks.

24 Weeks, Hawaii, Avon

2010-02-12T11:27:00.004-06:00

Well here I am 24 weeks and a few days pregnant. The last week she has really been kicking me. Especially at night. The other night I couldn't fall asleep so I stayed up reading until she calmed down. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE feeling her move its just ridiculous at night when I am trying to sleep and she feels like its the best time to make her presence VERY known. I am trying to remember if Lily was like this.
As far as the nursery goes we haven't gotten very far. We bought paint about a month ago and last weekend we got my old day bed out of there. Now we or I need to get my stuff out of there so we can paint. Our crib and changing table/dresser is going to be delivered the first weekend in March so I know we need to get a jump on things. We have the bedding so we know the theme. We are doing Care Bears. Which are surprisingly hard to find these days. I have one that I grew up with and we haven't been able to find them in stores or online anywhere except ebay and amazon.com.
*****
Hawaii. Our trip was just what we needed. Ryan was having some rough days at work and I was in need of seeing some sun and relaxation time. We went to the island of Kauai which is probably the 3rd or 4th most touristy island. Its more for those that want to find some neat beaches and just relax. There were a few other things to do but nothing that was like "WE HAVE TO DO THIS WHILE WE'RE HERE". Our honeymoon in Waikiki was like that. I felt like everyday there was something that we had to do. We only spend 1 day at the beach back then. Whereas this trip I got to go to the beach almost everyday and if not then I sat by our amazing pool and read. I almost finished the 3rd Twilight book, Eclipse which is a 620 page book so that tells you how much relaxing time I got. It was great. The part of the trip that made this possible was that we went with Ryan's parents and his sister and brother-in-law. So there were 6 of us adults for our 1 toddler. We took turns watching her during naps so we all could enjoy our time there. We were very thankful for this. I don't know that we would or could do another vacation like this without other people there to help us. Especially on the flights. We had so much stuff to carry on that we didn't have enough hands. We had her carseat and stroller plus each of our carry on bags as well as my purse and a diaper bag. The whole flight process was a lot better than I expected it to be. Lily did AMAZINGLY well on the way there. If it weren't for the portable DVD player though I don't know how well she would have done. She only had the equivalent of about an hour nap the day we left and she stayed up to what would be 2am our time when we landed in Hawaii. She was amazing. But when we made it to the condo she didn't exactly sleep very well. It was kind of an adjustment for her for the first 2 days but then she fell right into her old routine only in Hawaii time. Hawaii is 4 hours behind us. So 8am home time was 4am Hawaii time. She adjusted better in Hawaii than when we got home. It took her a week to break the Hawaii time once we were at home.
The beach initially was not Lily's favorite. She didn't like the sand sticking to her. This may have been remedied if we had introduced her to playing in the sand this past summer but her sand box wasn't done yet. But she did play in the ocean and with the sand a little. She really liked the pool at the hotel. It had a kid area that was the Zero depth entry but the bottom of the pool was a sand gravel. The kind that didn't stick to you. She loved playing in this type of sand. She wanted to go play in the water every day regardless of the weather. There was one day we all sat around the pool while she played and it was sprinkling. It didn't bother her at all.
We did go to a Luau one night and we did a tubing adventure as well. So it wasn't ALL beach and pool but mostly. Its amazing how easy it was to not get on the computer while we were there. I wish I could do that when I am at home. I just always felt like "I can do that at home so I'm not doing it here". I did get on occasionally to check emails and our accounts. But other than that I am amazed at how easy it was to ignore the internet and even the TV.
******
Not that I want to be one of those people that has their sales pitch in everything, but Avon is becoming a fun part of my life now so I thought I'd share. I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I do. Selling Partylite was so completely different. I felt when I was selling it that I was asking people to spend so much money on stuff that they don't necessarily need. Now don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with spending money on things you want...when the price is reasonable. AVON doesn't make me feel like that. Avon's products stand up to their reputation AND they are AFFORDABLE!! I was a customer before I started selling so I feel I can say that without feeling biased. I love the makeup....that's where I started as a customer and now I love the lotion (Skin So Soft) as well as the jewelery and fashion. I most recently took a skincare clinic and learned a lot about AVON's skincare line. These products are great. I just started doing an anti-aging regimen. I know what you are thinking...I'm only 27 but after doing this clinic and reading more about the products I have discovered that its never too early to start an anti-aging line. 97% of dermatologists agree: the best way to treat and protect your skin throughout your lifetime is to start a daily anti-aging skin care regimen as early as possible. What is a regimen you say? Basically a cleanser (Cleanse), day cream, night cream (Moisturize), and an eye cream (treat). All of these products are available in AVON's Anew skin care lines. They are each targeted towards a certain age group or skin type. I started with the Rejuvenate line which is recommended for ages 30+. Its mainly for those with no or very few lines and somewhat still young skin. I love the cleanser and face creams. I think that I will continue using it. Now initially they are kind of expensive, but AVON has trial kits available for less than $20 and you can buy one product at a time too so you aren't spending it all at once. I would start with the day cream because it has SPF in it and that's the first place you want to start when protecting your skin against aging. Each of the 3 Anew lines have SPF 25 in their day creams. These products while seem expensive up front are worth it because they work and they last. The little jars really have a lot of product and it doesn't take much product to cover your face so you will get your moneys worth. You will not be disappointed either. I never thought I'd start an anti-aging process now especially since I still get told I look like I am in high-school. I just know that down the road that will be a HUGE compliment to me. I'd like to always look younger especially once I turn 30.
There's a reason AVON has been around so long and that's because they have a great reputation for putting out products that work and people keep coming back to products and a company they trust and love.
Alright I think that's it for now. I'm off my sales pitch. If you read this and you want to try some of AVON's Anew skincare products let me know. I can get you some samples or you can order "try it" sizes for very little money! You won't be disappointed.

2/1/10 Dr. Appt.

2010-02-02T15:22:00.002-06:00

Monday Feb 1- 23 Weeks pregnant doctor's visit.
Heartrate- 148BPM
Belly Measurment- 22.6 cm
Weight Gain- 4 lbs.

Hawaii blog coming soon!

20 Weeks Pregnant and 11 Days til Hawaii

2010-01-12T15:57:00.000-06:00

I am "officially" half-way done with the pregnancy when you count weeks. If you count the fact that I will be having a c-section a week early then I have less than half left. Its all give or take a week anyways.
Last Monday was my doctor appointment and I had a blood test to test for anemia and downs syndrome. My results came back normal. PTL! So this time I am not anemic, which I was with Lily. So I won't have to take an iron supplement this time.
Tomorrow I have my 2nd official ultrasound. This is when I would have originally found out what we are having. I am excited to get to see her again. I am hoping the lady will show us some 3D too.
We hope to get a crib this weekend. We are going with Ryan's parents who have offered to get us a new crib so that Lily doesn't have to give hers up. We also need to go get paint so we can start that now that we have the bedding picked out. I just want to have everything done and ready good and early this time around so there are no worries if we get to bring her home early.

11 Days til we leave for Hawaii. Cannot get here any sooner! However, it has creeped up on me and I feel like there is so much to do to get ready. Mainly packing so we don't forget anything. I am certain that I have over packed which is ok because when you are pregnant you never know what is going to be comfortable to wear so I want plenty of options. The average temps this time of year are 75-78 F. Which sounds amazing compared to the 10 degrees that it has been here. Can't wait! I am a little nervous for the plane ride and how Lily will do. But I am not going to let my worries ruin the vacation!
I think that's it for now.

17 Weeks, Christmas, & Baby #2

2009-12-21T16:17:00.001-06:00

A lot to update and Lily is waking so I am going to try to make this brief. I am 17 weeks pregnant today and feeling great! I am confident that the morning sickness is gone because I have not gotten sick in over 2 weeks. I am still cautious as I do still eat a blueberry mini-muffin before I get out of bed every morning but I am certrain that I am on the home stretch and have entered the best part of pregnancy. A little side not to the feeling great was that I had to have a root canal done a week ago and had it finished today. That was not fun but needless to say something that couldn't be avoided. Now I have to get it filled in 2 weeks and a crown put on after the baby is born. Never thought I would have either but what can you do!

I think this is definitely the most excited I have been for Christmas in a long time. For selfish reasons I am sure. I cannot wait to see Lily open her gifts this year as well as Garrett open his gifts. Its so much more fun when there are kids involved. We did manage to get each other gifts this year too but I am more excited about what Lily is getting. I am also excited to start our tradition of reading the Christmas story from the Bible on Christmas eve to Lily. We will be using her Fisher-Price Little People Nativity to help tell the story. She already knows who all the characters are as she calls Mary, Joseph, Jesus and the Shepard by name. If we think of it we will be sure to put cookies out for Santa as well. Another tradition I hope we can continue for some years. This will also be our (Ryan & I's) 7th annual trip to the Plaza on Christmas Eve to eat at PF Chang's. A tradition dating back to before we got engaged; the night before to be exact. It will be fun to take Lily. We hope to get off to an early start so that we won't have to wait long to eat. And so we can get her home early enough to get to bed and read the Christmas Story.

We are also excited about Christmas because we were able to find out what we are having last Monday and shared it with our families yesterday. Another wonderful Christmas gift from a friend of ours, Mell, who does ultrasounds for a doctor at SMMC. Thanks Mell! We were 16 weeks and very thankful that the baby cooperated and we were able to see without doubt that we are having a GIRL!!! I am so excited that Lily is going to have a little sister to play with. She will get to share in everything that my sister and I did growing up. Playing dolls, barbies, dress-up, and much more! I pray that they are close and that they get along good. But more importantly until then that she is healthy and that I am to carry her full-term without complications.
That's all I can think of for now. Merry Christmas!

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Feeling the Baby Move

2009-12-09T19:24:00.001-06:00

So I have been denying it for the last couple weeks because I figured 13 weeks was a little early to be feeling the baby. But last night I definitely felt the baby. There was a portion of my belly that stuck out for a second and I pushed it back in. I could definitely feel the baby when I pushed it back in. And just a few seconds ago I felt baby move again. Its so great!!! I am pretty sure I have at least been feeling the baby for a week now, but now I am certain! With Lily I was about 16 weeks when I felt her for the first time but wasn't certain til 17 weeks.
Now is the part of the pregnancy that gets fun. I can endure any sickness I get because I have the joy of feeling the baby move in return. I am starting to feel more tired during the day now. I find myself needing to just sit and rest and read a book or something to catch my breath. I know it will be harder to do this once we know what we are having because I am going to want to work on the nursery. We haven't decided yet whether we are getting a new crib. Part of me is not ready to let Lily get in and out of a toddler bed. I kinda want her in the crib as long as possible. It will help in the mornings I am sure. Plus we don't really trust her just being able to get up and around by herself. There are things in her room that aren't baby proof like her space heater and her humidifier. We'll see!

Pre-Natal Dr's Appt

2009-12-04T15:39:00.000-06:00

Saw Dr Ray today. Got my flu shot. Heard the heart beat again at about 150BPM. I have gained 5 lbs. more since last visit. So 6.8 lbs. to date. Hopefully I will not gain as much as last time.

14 Weeks

2009-12-03T15:53:00.001-06:00

Well this should be the end of the road for the nausea and morning sickness. So far it hasn't been. It has gotten better, but we're not out of the woods yet. With Lily I was still getting sick til about 20 Weeks. As long as its gone by the time we go to Hawaii (50 Days away).
I go to the doctor this coming Friday for a regular pre-natal visit. I assume she will start measuring my belly since I am showing now. I looked at my belly pictures from my 1st pregnancy and I look like I did at about 18-19 weeks with Lily. So I am definitely showing a lot quicker this time around. Hopefully that doesn't mean a big baby!

Lily has been nothing short of entertaining these days. She repeats EVERYTHING you say so she knows more words than I can count now. We are working on colors now since she has most her animal noises down. Its so much fun hearing new words and sounds from her these days. I can't wait for Christmas this year because she will actually get to interact with the gifts and toys. We also plan to start a tradition of reading the Christmas story out of the Bible. It should be fun since we got her the Fisher-Price Nativity Set and she already is very familiar with who Baby Jesus is.

Preparing for Baby #2. So far all I have done is buy a few newborn diapers when they are on sale. I recently discovered that Luvs makes newborn diapers which is awesome! If you can find a store that actually carries them. I did have to cave and buy a pack of Pampers (which are my favorite but most expensive) I at least had a coupon. I am going to try to buy a pack a month til the baby comes to get us pretty well stocked up. Just hopefully we won't need 2 months worth of premie diapers like we did with Lily. I am planning for a normal end to the pregnancy this time around. We haven't done anything to the baby's room as of yet. Kinda hard to get motivated when we don't know what we are having. Until then we are trying to figure out where we are going to store my old day bed as well as a TV and bookshelf. I am sure we will figure something out. I hate to get rid of the bed cause we could use it for Lily when she gets older. So we'll see. So right now we just wait a couple more weeks til we know what we are having then we can really get started. I am thinking I might be crafty this time around and make the bedding. We shall see!

Dr's Appt. 11/5/09

2009-11-07T12:10:00.000-06:00

Appt. went well. I have gained 1.8 lbs. so far. Probably because I am not throwing up anything. She put me on Zofran for my nausea which so far has been working. She was able to find the heartbeat with her little microphone thingy. Heart rate was 177BPM. So really fast which is normal at this stage in pregnancy. It has made me really anxious to know the sex. I kinda want to get started on the other room while I still have energy and can get around.

Halloween & 10 Weeks

2009-11-04T13:30:00.005-06:00

I was going to use the babies online site for my blogging but it has just become annoying to use with facebook so I am going to blog this pregnancy on my original blog.
Halloween could not have been more perfect. We spent the day together as a family. Then as soon as Lily woke from her nap we headed out trick or treating. We visited friends and family in town then went to Gram-mo and Grandpa Biery's to meet up with Garrett, Bekah, and Greg. Then we headed to Gardner to see Uncle Justin & Aunt Rachel. It was a fun filled evening. We even stopped to get a corn dog at sonic for 50 Cents! Lily scarfed hers down. Then we came back to town and trick or treated in our neighborhood. The weather could not have been more perfect. Maverick came with us too. He wore an old costume that was actually a bit small for him but it worked. After we trick or treated we went and FINALLY had OUR dinner at Ryan's parents. It was almost 8pm by this time. Which proved for me too long to wait to eat. And I paid for it. I'll just leave it at that. Lily was so cute in her chicken costume and it didn't seem to bother her. She didn't try to remove the hood once. We were so proud of her. I think next year we are going to have her go as one of the Veggietales.

10 Weeks and a couple days pregnant. First trimester cannot get over any sooner for me. All day nausea is just not doing it for me. No relief. But one positive is that I seem to have more energy this pregnancy than the last. I think its cause I am getting more sleep at night and Lily lets me sleep in til 8:30-9am which is wonderful!

CRAVINGS: So far I am still liking the idea of pizza all the time. And lately for lunch all I want is Kraft Macaroni and Cheese which makes Lily happy too. I haven't wanted Chinese as much as normal which is very weird.

Friday I go in for my 2nd prenatal visit. I am not sure what all will happen there, but I am going to talk to her more about my nausea. I am wondering if I have gained any weight yet. I am guessing no since my appetite has gone down if anything. My clothes still basically fit. I have had to move to the next size up in jeans I own. Other than that I don't really feel like I am showing yet. That's about all I can think of for now. Excited for the Holiday season. Can't believe Star 102 is already playing Christmas music. And I went into the Carter's store at the Great Mall today and they had a Christmas CD playing. I think its a little early for that yet. Especially since its still 60-70 Degrees outside. The weather outside is certainly not "frightful".

Where does time go?

2009-10-21T15:54:00.002-05:00

Oh boy, still can't believe Lily will be 18 Months old on Sunday. Where has time gone? I feel like we just brought her home from the hospital. I realized this today as I held my friend's new baby girl not even a day old yet. She weighs just under 5 lbs. Tiny little angel. It made me forget how little they start out. Even though Lily weighed almost a pound more than her it still reminded me of holding her. Lily came with me to the hospital and as soon as she saw me holding her she immediately wanted to be on my lap on top of the baby. She kept saying baby and pointing at her. I don't know if she was jealous or just interested in the baby. She had a cute pink hat on and a pretty pink outfit. I was able to share Lily's preemie clothes with them as they will most certainly need them for awhile. We didn't have many cause we were blessed to borrow some from friends whose 1st baby was pre-mature as well. But I am glad that they are getting worn again.

I look at Lily each day and notice new things she's doing. So much of me wants to be able to remember how she is at this age because she's most certainly entertaining and so funny with everything she does and says. I know I should be journaling things and I do but I am just afraid that I will forget the little things like the way she sings "Veggietales" when she wants to watch them. Or how she runs from you in her crib in the morning like she can really get far. Or the boat noise she makes in the bathtub with her boat and fish toys. Each moment so precious each moment passing so fast. I just pray that I am able to take time to notice each new thing she does and that I can cherish and remember these things later when she is all grown up and I am wondering what happened to my cute little toddler? She will always be my baby.

Our family will be taking a vacation to Hawaii this January. We will be going with Ryan's parents and sister & brother- in- law. We are very excited. Hoping and praying that the plane ride will not be torture to us or those around us. We may just have to invest in a portable DVD player and put on some Veggietales for her. This trip is supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable. Most of the vacations that Ryan and I have taken have been so planned and each day filled with things we HAD to do. This trip will not be that way. Ryan's even saying he doesn't want to bring his cell phone. I don't know if I will go that far. But I am looking forward to getting away from distractions of everyday life and basking in God's amazing creation. Can't wait to lay on the beach and read. It will be just what we need.

Currently Reading:

Loving EACH member of our family

2009-08-05T15:10:00.003-05:00

I come to you all today with mixed emotions. Today I had a scare with Maverick. Praise the Lord he is ok but at one point I was afraid we might lose him. We were out in the back yard just playing on the swingset with the neighbor kids and all of a sudden Maverick started scratching at his mouth so hard he had blood all over his paws, his mouth was open as if it couldn't be shut and his teeth were bloody. I freaked out and asked if our neighbor, Megan, could watch Lily while I take Maverick to the Spring Hill Vet. I was shaking and almost in tears at this point. Megan carried him to the truck and we put him in his travel kennel. He was still scratching on the way to the vet and I just laid my hand on his kennel (its soft sided so I could feel his back through it) and just prayed outloud that God would protect him whatever was wrong. We got there and I told them what was wrong. Immediately two ladies came over to look at him when we found a small stick about 3 inches long inside the kennel. He seemed fine at this point. They figured he got it stuck in the roof of his mouth and when this happens they freak out and claw at it til they get it free even if it means hurting themselves. His nails are pretty long so he scratched himself pretty good but at the same time that's probably what saved him or enabled him to get it out. I am just so thankful it wasn't something worse like he was choking and coughing up blood. I've always thought our Vet was pretty great but now I think even more of them. They were so sweet with Maverick and always have been. They didn't even charge me for their services today. I plan to write a thank you note to them to let them know how much I appreciate having a vet that actually CARES about the animals. They are pretty great.
They cleaned his paws and clipped his nails for me and made sure nothing else was wrong. I have always loved Maverick, but I know that since Lily has come along I probably don't show it as much or even feel it as much, but boy did I get scared today at the thought of losing him or him being in any pain. He's been such a good dog and I know that Lily loves him and will grow to really enjoy having him as part of our FAMILY. I realized today that I still love Maverick as a member of our FAMILY. We always considered him part of our family, but today I was reminded of how special he is to me and how much I still love and care about him.

One Vacation to the Next

2009-06-05T00:04:00.004-05:00

Sunday we left for Omaha, NE. We got there around 5pm. Lily slept a whole 40 minutes the way there so she was pretty tierd. We didn't do much Sunday night but run errands to the local walmart and then got dinner. We put her to bed and then watched TV.

Monday we woke and went to the Omaha Zoo. We arrived there at about 9:45am. Lily had so much fun and did SOOOOOOOOO well on no nap all day long. We saw lions, tigers, and bears...oh my! (I had to) as well as elephants, giraffes, monkeys, gorillas, all kinds of birds, butterflies, etc. She really enjoyed the lions and the fish at the aquarium. I am so proud of her and how well she did. She finally conked out at 5pm when we were getting ready to leave the zoo. We bought her a stuffed lion that she immediately became attached to and is now one of the animals she sleeps with.

Tuesday we spent the day walking around downtown Omaha. We walked across this neat pedestrian bridge over the missouri river. We then ate lunch at the spaghetti factory. After lunch we went and got ice cream at this hole in the wall homemade ice cream shop called Ted & Wally's it was pretty good. I got White Chocolate Cappuccino Ice Cream and Ryan got Root beer ice cream. His tasted like a root beer float. Both were excellent. Lily enjoyed them as well. Tuesday evening we went to an Omaha Royals game but Lily was tired so we had to leave early in the 6th inning. It was about 8:30pm anyways.

Wednesday Morning we woke up and ate breakfast then headed home. Lily slept a little on the way home then just sat there like a perfect little angel the whole way home. We got home and she napped for over 2 hours! Much needed after the last couple days she had.

Today we left for the airport before 10am and flew to Denver for Bekah's wedding. This was Lily's first plane ride and she really enjoyed it. She liked the take-off but as soon as we were in the air she fell asleep and slept until we landed. So she was awake for the exciting parts of the flight. We got to the hotel after waiting FOREVER to get our rental car and we put her down for a much needed nap which she decided playing in her bed was more important and finally fell asleep after an hour or so. Then we had to wake her up cause we had to be at dinner at 6:30pm. Course this is all an hour "earlier" with the time change so dinner was starting at what would be Lily's bedtime. She did pretty good during dinner. She had a blast running around the room at the restaurant. She got some kind of second wind and got all this energy all of a sudden right before we left. She never ceases to amaze me.

Tomorrow is the big day (or today since its past midnight back home). We get our hair done at 11:30am then I go with Bek to help with pictures at 3:30pm then the wedding is at 6pm. Ryan and his parents are taking Lily to the Denver Zoo during this time. Which is great for her and for me so I can spend this time with Bekah helping her do whatever she needs me to do to make her day less stressful! So be praying that everything goes well and that Bekah isn't stressed out.

Walking Everywhere!

2009-05-19T15:27:00.002-05:00

I didn't realize how long it has been since I have written. I guess I have been pretty busy chasing Lily around. She seemed to pick up on walking pretty quickly. After taking some real good steps Sunday, April 26th she has been unstoppable. She still needs to master being able to stand back up after falling. Right now she crawls to something she can pull up on then starts walking again. I know she can do it but she's only done it twice. Now all we need to work on is making sure she can make it down the aisle at my sister's wedding. We most likely will have to use an incentive at the other end like puffs or mommy's keys. I don't know what her fascination is with my keys but she knows where to find them and if you try to take them away from her she gets very upset. Sometimes I give them to her just cause I know it will make her happy for the time being.

This week we switched her carseat around to face forward. I think she's happier now in the car because she can see what's going on better. This week we also changed sleeping schedules. Lily used to wake up about 8am drink some milk then go right back to bed til about 10am. No such luck anymore. Now we wake up at 7:15am and stay up til about 9:30am and nap til about 11am. This pushed back her afternoon nap til about 2 or 3pm. Either way she's still getting the same amount of sleep just at different intervals. It also means that mommy can't go back to sleep in the mornings like I had been doing. But thats good cause now I can get stuff done around the house while she is taking her morning nap. Like right now I am blogging which I have not done in 2 months.

Things are going well for us otherwise. Ryan has been working on a wooden swingset for Lily but lately has not had much time to finish it. Once it is done it will be great because Lily loves being outside and it will give us something else to do outside together.

Photography has been kinda slow for me this year which is good and bad. Good cause it gives me more freetime and bad because I am not making a lot of money. I have been trying to come up with ways to generate more print sales after portrait sessions have past. So if you are a former customer of mine stay tuned for discounted prints if you still have some you'd like to order that you couldn't quite afford at the time.

This summer is jam packed for us starting with this weekend:

Saturday, May 23rd- Going to Lincoln for a family BBQ at Ryan's Cousin's house

Memorial Day- Royals game with Ryan's family

Sunday, May31st- June 3rd- Going to Omaha as a family to visit the Zoo and maybe an Omaha Royals game.

Thursday, June 4-6th- Going to Colorado for Bekah's wedding. I am the Matron of Honor, Lily is the flower girl and Ryan will be an usher.

July 3rd- Royals game

July 4th- Annual Biery family dinner and shooting off fireworks in Topeka, KS

Friday, July 10- Bekah's in-town wedding reception.

Saturday, July 25th- Andrew & Abbie's wedding in Fort Scott, KS

That's about all I can think of for now. I am sure other events will pop up.

Love of Spring

2009-03-17T14:58:00.002-05:00

Ah Spring... I know it isn't "technically" here yet but it feels like it now. While Fall is my favorite season...Spring is a close 2nd. For several reasons:

1. There's nothing like that first time you get to wear flip flops after its been cold and snowy.

2. March holds my birthday. Which in the past I got excited about but now have come to dread because I know it means I am getting older and closer to 30.

3. Flowers start to poke out of the ground and I get to see what color Lilies I will have for the Summer. I also get to plant new annual flowers.

4. I love having the windows open (until bad allergy season kicks in for Ryan's sake).

5. I can take Lily and Maverick on walks so I can enjoy my day and not feel trapped in the house all day.

6. The days seem longer as it stays lighter out and we can enjoy dinner outside on our deck.

7. Baseball season starts. I love going to Royals games and getting a free T-Shirt or $1 hot dog.

That's all I can think of for now off the top of my head. Now for some updates on us and what's to come this Spring and Summer.

Ryan- Is now working on the plaza at the St. Luke's Hospital there. He doesn't really have a set task their yet but is thankful to have work right now. This job is supposed to last from 3-6 months. So we'll see where he ends up after this. I know the guys at Lawrence would love to have him back there. I will be happy as long as it is in the KC area. We are trusting God with that one.

Joanna- Not much new with me other than I got a new iMac recently and love it! It has made both my business and my job at the church so much easier and more efficient. I thank God and the gov't (can't believe it) for providing the funds for it. I am preparing for 2 weddings in the family this summer. My sister's first which I am the Matron of Honor for. I have started preparing my speech for that as I want it to be as good if not better than the one she delivered for me at my wedding 4 years ago. Then my brother's will follow a month or so later. Both weddings are out of town so it will be like going on 2 mini vacations this summer. I pray that Lily is walking by then.

Lily- She is getting around pretty fast now. She pulls up to everything and has started walking around furniture and scaling walls. Lily recently learned to clap as well. Its pretty precious! She is trying more and more to repeat what we say when we tell her to say things. I am sure her first word will be any day now. Course she says the "mama" and "dada" and has for sometime but we aren't really counting that as words at this point. Lily also will wave goodbye to you if you are leaving and wave at her. Lily also interacts with other babies with a huge smile and laugh! She just lights up when she sees another baby and often giggles to herself. I am sure she will make a wonderful big sister someday!

Maverick- Can't believe it will be 3 years this summer since we got Mav. He will be 3 years old on May 10 this year. He has really mellowed out this past year and does super great around Lily. We couldn't ask for anything better!

New Computer..?

2009-02-13T11:37:00.004-06:00

Well recently I realized that its time for me to get a new computer. My iMac is 3 1/2 years old and my hard drive is full. It runs photoshop pretty slow when working with large files. Plus for my job at the church I am in need of internet explorer which can only run on windows which can only run on the intel core based Mac's which I do not have. Its tough because I wasn't really ready to buy a new computer but we will be getting a decent tax return this year as well as a bonus from Ryan's job. We plan on saving most of the money for our next baby as we didn't plan well for what Lily was going to cost. We also are in need of a new dishwasher soon. Life comes at you fast I am afraid. We want to make the best decision regarding our finances especially in these hard times. We are blessed that Ryan still has a good job and part of me thinks we should just save it all for emergency if Ryan ever loses his job. But would that be living by faith? I know we should just pray about it but I am anxious to solve some of these issues.
Ultimately I knew I would need a new computer at some point soon. It would be nice to be able to do my jobs at one station instead of going back and forth from my iMac to my 6 year old pc laptop. My warranty Apple Pro Care plan ran out last August so if something were to happen to my computer I would be at a loss. So part of me wants to replace it while I can save everything on it before something happens. Then maybe I could donate or sell my old iMac assuming I can clear off the hard drive safely and securely. We'll see. I will wait til we know what we are getting on our taxes and Ryan's bonus before I make any rash decisions. We meet with our tax accountant this afternoon at 4:30pm so we shall know soon enough. Until then.

Lily had been really crawling and pulling up to stuff. She is getting into everything! I am constantly moving things out of her path. I think its precious. I love seeing her smiling face as she stands in her crib when I go in her room in the morning. I hope that never gets old.

Praise You in This Storm

2009-01-28T13:59:00.003-06:00

I want to post some lyrics to a song that speaks to me today. Today I went to a funeral for someone who was taken too soon. But she is in Heaven rejoicing with her Savior. This is dedicated to her sister and to the rest of her family who are grieving for her.

“Praise You in This Storm” By: Casting Crowns

I was sure by now God you would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
that it’s still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear your whisper through the rain,
I’m with you
and as your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

And I’ll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
that you are who you are
no matter where I am
and every tear I’ve cried
you hold in your hand
you never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise you in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
you heard my cry you raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can’t find you
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear you whisper through the rain
I’m with you
and as your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

If you haven't heard this song here is the youtube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji2rLXr3cE

Thankful for So Many Blessings!

2009-01-24T12:31:00.003-06:00

After our Women's Bible Study this past Thursday I was inspired to do a gratitude journal. This means an actual journal not just blogging it. So I went and bought a journal. I haven't journaled in a couple years mainly because I just don't have time to. But I should make time to thank God for everything He has given me. I will try to list as many as I can here so don't be upset if I leave out anything.

I thank God for (in no particular order):

A wonderful, loving husband who treats me like a princess
A beautiful healthy daughter who never ceases to make me smile
An amazing church (Life Spring) to worship at and a Life Group that I know I can turn to for anything
A wonderful family who I know would do anything for us
A warm comfortable home
A husband whose job allows me to stay home with my baby girl
A job at our church that allows me to work from home freely and is something I enjoy
An amazing finished basement (thanks to my husband) that I can work on photography as well as my scrapbooks.
A sweet, loving, and obedient (for the most part) dog-Maverick who is very good with Lily
Wonderful friends who we know love and care for us and us them
Two cars that work and get us from A to B

That's all I got for now. I am sure there are WAY more, but those are the first that come to mind. Until Next Time!