Oh, Baby!

I haven't blogged in so long... I have thought about it many times, but just couldn't do it. For the past 5 months (well, ok really 4) I have been very sick. As most of you are aware- I have been sick for good reason! I am expecting a little one on February 17, 2011. Nathan and I weren't even trying to have a baby, but through God's graciousness, He saw it fit to bless us with a wonderful surprise! We weren't even sure of our chances of conceiving. I have had "issues" since puberty- but more so- Nathan was diganosed with and treated for testicular cancer 3 years ago. GOD IS SO GOOD! And even though this came as a complete shock- and even though it took a minute to get used to the fact that I am pregnant... I couldn't be happier! I will be 20 weeks this Thursday, and we find out the sex of the baby TOMORROW (Tuesday)!!!!! I probably won't even be able to sleep tonight, I am so excited! And even though I am just ready to know what we are having, I am more anxious to hear that the baby is wonderfully perfect!

As I mentioned before, I have been very sick. This has been the hardest 4 months of my life! I started throwing up the day I turned 6 weeks, and I am still getting sick! In the beginning, I lost 8 lbs. due to how sick I was. I have made that weight up though- haha! I am not nearly as sick as I was just a few short weeks ago, and I am so very thankful for that! I have hyperemesis gravidarum, and unless you have been there and have been that sick (which many of you have), you just have no idea of the level of suffering. I know there are a lot of people in this world that have truly debilitating diseases that cause a lot of suffering, and I am not at all trying to say what I have is worse. Completely separate from that- I'm just saying- it has been rough! But at least I have a wondeful bright light at the end of the tunnel! Now, I am not bringing all of this up to have a pity party.. and I am quite sick of complaining about it (haha), but I am just wanting to bring you up to date.

On a brighter note, I have been feeling a little bit of movement for about two weeks now. It is not all of the time- but occasionally it will happen. Every time it does, I am amazed that there is something alive inside of me! It makes me feel like I am the only perosn on earth that has ever experienced something that special!

Don't worry fellow blog readers, this blog is not about to become a pregnancy/baby/family blog- we plan to write as usual (except hopefully a little more often!), but I will share any funny/special stories that this experience may bring to my life!

I will ask now for a special prayer tonight for my little one. First and foremost, please pray for a healthy baby to be shown on the ultrasound tomorrow. Secondly, pray that this baby will cooperate, and we will be able to catch a glimpse between those sweet little baby legs!

Disney!!

I need help, advice, tips...whatever you call it. Patrick and I are going to Disney World in two and a half weeks. We have been SO excited about this trip! We are actually going without our kids...I know, I know. Who goes to Disney World without their kids? Isn't it made for kids?? Well, we are basically twelve years old at heart, so it's actually quite fitting. We've been wanting to get away (just the two of us) and take a little mini-vacation. Everything we came up with just paled in comparison to the glorious fun that is Disney. So...we booked it and haven't regretted our decision on the place at all. I would like to add that we are planning on taking the kids in a year for a big, huge vacation with my whole family. Can't wait!! We are telling ourselves that we're just going to "check it out" for everyone. haha:)


Anyway, back to needing advice. You see, the closer we get to leaving, the more anxious I am getting about leaving the girls. I have been ridiculously looking forward to this, and now all I can think about is how much I am going to miss them. We will be gone four nights, and I've never ever been away from them for more than a night. (Well, Lily went to Alabama with my mom for two nights, and that was tough!) So...I need some words of wisdom from my friends who have been on a mini-vacation without their kids. Will I have fun?? Or will I miss them terribly and be miserable?? Is there anything I can do to help me NOT sob the whole time? Does it get easier each time? I know this probably all sounds silly. I mean, it is only four nights. But...it's our first time. And I really love my girls:) So, please...give this nervous mother some encouragement!! If you read this and do not have kids, any tips on Disney World would be appreciated too. Favorite restaurants? Best rides? Skip this? Don't miss that? I'm desperate for some sort of feedback.


Thanks for reading, and thank you for the words of wisdom that I just KNOW you will leave me:) And now I leave you with these two adorable little faces: Can you see why I'm not looking forward to leaving these babies?? Oh, I love them so!!

I love my first friend!!

Due to how very sick I have been, I am late on a very important blog! I will be blogging about all that goodness in a later post (no promises to when because it is REALLY hard for me to even look at a computer these days).

I missed Corrie's birthday blog.. a while ago. It was not forgotten about. In fact, I had been excited all year to write her birthday blog. But I missed it :( Not on purpose, but I still missed it. Before I can write another single blog about anything, and although it is not her birthday anymore, I still want to say a word about my first friend. I knew it would kind of be a hard one for me to write because it is hard to say how much I love her- and the reasons why.

She is my best friend. All of my life (even when we were fighting like crazy as teens) I have looked up to Corrie. To me, she, almost always, knows best. She has, almost always, done what is right. She truly was my first friend. We have always been very close, but there were a few years (those preteen and teenage years) that I highly doubted we would ever be best friends. But as the years went by and as we both matured, we became super close. I can't even remember the last time we argued. And now, there is not a day that goes by that I don't talk to her at least 3 times. Most days, I even get to see her! I have so much fun with her every time we are together- even if we are just sitting on her couch talking. It never gets old or boring. And it is our dream to live next to each other... hopefully that dream will come true sooner rather than later :)

She is so wise. I know that I can go to her for the best, most God-centered advice- always with my best interest at heart. She isn't scared to tell me things she knows I will not want to hear. She is the best mediator when I am upset in situations involving others.

She is the best mom. I adore watching her with her girls. Luckily, we had a wonderful mom growing up that taught us well. But now that Nathan and I are so close to parenthood, I pay close attention to the details of parenting. Corrie (and Patrick) are such awesome role models in that area. I ask Corrie all the time if she cares if I copy an idea. I am literally writing them down. I am constantly impressed with her.

She is a godly woman. Again, in every aspect of her life: marriage, motherhood, friendships, etc.. she shows God's love in an awesome way. There is no doubt who comes first in their household! I love that we can talk about all that stuff together! -- it is so encouraging and it keeps me held accountable! I love it!

She is so fun. She is crazy and so funny and a little nerdy. haha. She always makes me laugh. Sometimes, I am laughing at her... but laughing nonetheless!

So.. in a nutshell. I love my first friend! I just wanted to post a short little note about her greatness :) I think she is great- and anyone privileged enough to know her loves her too! You just can't not.

Sorry...but it's my blog, so I can

Hey blog readers! Okay, so we decided to sale our house. We're going to try the FSBO route for a few weeks before actually listing it. So...yes, I am about to post a link for all of you to view a few pics of my house. I realize that probably no one that reads this is going to buy our home, but I'm going to give this "for sale by owner" thing my best effort. Besides, if someone comes soon...we can certainly negotiate a little more if we don't have to pay a realtor a large chunk of our cash. So people, if ANYONE you know is interested, please give me a call or send me a message!! Okay, that's all of the soliciting I will ever do on this blog. I promise. I think. Unless I need to again... Oh, and if anyone brings me a buyer without a realtor involved, I promise you I will literally give you a thousand dollars. We are willing to co-op with a realtor if necessary, though. However, I cannot guarantee $1000 at that time. :) Okay, I'm shutting up.

http://www.forsalebyowner.com/listing/RRGWT

Check us out! Have a GREAT labor day weekend! I know I will as we make small, but necessary, improvements to our house :/