That's Life...

Wow, how long has it been?

2011-06-22T06:05:00.000-04:00

It has been quite some time since I have blogged. Lack of internet and extremely busy schedule makes that happen. But, here I sit at 5:50 in the morning, thankful and happy as can be. Why you ask? Probably because I am sitting here next to my new little baby boy. Brenden Cole was born yesterday at 11:50am. He weighed in at 7 pounds and 1 ounce, measured 20 inches long and he is the most beautiful little boy. He actually looks a lot like Donovan. It is really neat to see how much he looks like him. The other neat thing is that we are nursing and I love it. It is going well, Brenden has taken to it very smoothly and Lord willing, we will continue with it! It certainly helps to have a support system and to have read about it before going in to it and figuring out how it works. The birthing process went super smooth yesterday. We came in at 7 to be induced, but didn't get anything going til the doc got here at 8:30. They broke my water at once because they said I was at 4, and started the pitocin shortly after that. By 9:30 or10:00 I was having contractions ever 2 minutes and begging for an epidural...yeah, I am a weany! I don't remember what time I got it, but by11:35 I started pushing and little Brenden arrived at 11:50! It was funny because summer "officially" started at 1:06 yesterday afternoon, so I was wondering whether B would want to be born in the spring or summer, and apparently it was spring!

Caleb was blessed to get the rest of the week off of work, so he is laying on the couch across the room snoring. I sure enjoy having him here with me. He is such a good daddy and helped so much yesterday. By last night I was exhausted, between giving birth and visiting with people, it certainly wears a person out! I got some good sleep in between nursing and such last night, so I should be good to go today. I am thankful to have him here with me again today to help facilitate things.

I will blog again before we leave the hospital and hopefully add a couple of pictures, as for right now, I am going to go enjoy some cuddle time with my new bundle of joy.

2011-04-12T14:58:00.000-04:00

I have had a fairly productive spring day today. I have done 3 loads of laundry and managed to put about 7 loads away! I also cleaned Donovan's room, which was an ordeal, but it got done! AND, to top it all off, during naptime I sat down and went through the toybox matching up toys that had gotten mixed up and sorting out ones that will go back in his room instead of out in the front room making it look quite a bit cleaner in here. I am thankful for the time I have before this baby is born that I can get little stuff like this done. Over the next week or so I want to go through closets and drawers to clear out winter things and box away clothes that are too small. I also need to bring up the tote of clothes for the new baby and get that all organized in his room.

We have also decided to gate in the back porch so that Donovan can go right out the back door while I am in the kitchen and play right outside where I can see him and not have to be right there with him. I am excited for this to happen, he will enjoy that so much! I think it will clean up our porch a bit too and Caleb and I will enjoy sitting out there watching him play in the evenings. I am also glad for after this baby is born that D will be gated in somewhere so I won't have to chase him if he takes off outside. We will let daddy do the chasing!

I am so thankful to see the green leaves coming out on trees and the green grass growing. I am also thankful for the ideas that I am coming up with to save gas and money. I have started planning out my week lots better and also assigning major tasks to certain days. For instance, Monday and Thursday will be laundry day. Monday will also be paperwork day. Wednesday is grocery day so we can go after services to walmart and save a trip into town. I am starting to schedule appointments and such all on the same day and in general just get more organized than I am now! I am also realizing that this baby will be here in about 2 months so I need to really get my housework under control. I am going to try and plan some meals and make double to freeze some for after the baby is born so I can just throw it in the oven. Lots of ideas, but hopefully it will get accomplished.

It sounds as if naptime is over, so I will sign off for today. If you all think about it, pray for my sister in law's cousin. Her name is Kaylee Brooks, she just had a baby on April 4th, he was 10 weeks early and had some major heart defects. He has made it up to today, but they are going to take baby Jett of his ventilator this afternoon. I know that is hard and I know she needs lots of prayer to get through these next few days, weeks and months.

2011-04-07T09:59:00.000-04:00

The weather is warmer and my motivation becomes very mixed. I am motivated to do things, but probably not the things that I should! I want to read a book, I want to play outside with Donovan, I want to "spring clean" the van, I want to clean up the yard and pick up all the sticks that fell over the last 5 months. But while I do those things, my laundry, my dishes, my house inside in general remains in its mostly unsettled state. I am thankful for the warmer weather because it encourages me to stay home and enjoy time here rather than using gas and going to town.

While reading some other blogs I saw that some of them were doing something called 1,000 gifts. I got curious and looked into it and I have decided to try it. The general idea is to eventually have 1,000 things you are thankful for written down. You see, as humans we often overlook the everyday blessings which can also double as gifts. So, my desire is to become more thankful for the things that I normally take for granted by writing them down and reading over them as the days go by. Lord willing, that will help me to grow more content and thankful for the way my life is now.

I have a couple books I want to read. One is Gone with the Wind. I like the movie, but I would love to read the book in its entirety. The other is a book on nursing our soon to be here baby. I would love to nurse this baby and hopefully with filling my head with knowledge and information about it I will be better equipped to take on the task instead of resorting to the much easier but slightly more hassle-filled bottles.

It is times like now when I have so many spectacular ideas and desires running through my mind that I want to do, and yet in 30 minutes I will have mostly forgotten them all. Therefore, I find a notebook, write it down and there it stays until I find the time to devote to it to fulfill my goals. Well, I am wasting precious sunshine and daylight as I sit here, so I am off to enjoy the day. I will be doing laundry and dishes and general picking up, but also accomplishing some of my "warm weather tasks" too!

2011-03-29T14:37:00.000-04:00

Well, I was awakened this morning to that wonderful sound of heavy machinery and the beeping of backing up. Apparently our neighbors have some major construction going on over there. Not only did it wake me, but also my son who normally at least sleeps til 8:30 but today was around 7:45. Since then we have been going nonstop with laundry, dishes, picking up toys, and working in the baby room. I said good-bye to green paint and hello to tan today. It looks very nice! It took 2 coats and my mother came up and helped me get it done quickly. I am really impressed with it. I cannot wait to get the room put back together now and put up the crib bumper and dust ruffle and all that stuff. It will be really cool looking. Then Thursday I am going shopping with a few friends to see if it will be cheaper to buy or make curtains for that room. I am thinking a solid red color for curtains because I think it will go good with the room. We shall see though.

The rest of the week will be busy with miscellaneous tasks. This Saturday my mom, sis-in-law, and myself will be journeying to Lafayette for a baby shower. Then hopefully back in the early afternoon so as to watch the final four basketball games. I never would have thought I would get as interested as I am, but it is pretty enjoyable to watch them. I cannot wait for Spring to get here and STAY! I love seeing the sun come out and feel its warmth, but I really want to feel the warmth outside instead of sitting in my window! I saw its supposed to warm up this weekend, maybe it will stay. Donovan sure loves being outside. And I love being outside with him. I am hoping to get a turtle sandbox for him soon and bring the slide out from the basement for him to play on while we are outside. It should be a fun spring between here and the various parks I want to go to with him! He is really getting lots better about walking on uneven terrain too. Since he was a late walker, it has taken him a bit to get it under control, but he is always going now! Caleb sure loves playing with him too. Makes for fun afternoons when we can spend the time together playing and laughing. It will be so fun to have 2 little ones! I can't wait! We did decide on a name, but I don't think we are going to announce it until the baby is born. :) I am off for a quick power nap before Donovan wakes up....enjoy your afternoons everyone!

What's in a blog?

2011-03-25T10:03:00.000-04:00

I am sitting here with the computer while Donovan eats his breakfast. He successfully smeared banana all in his hair securing himself a bath for the day. If I ever run out of hair gel I will know to just use banana, looks like it works the same way. Anyway, my thought for blogging is to think about what's in a blog? Is it all about me and my family? Is it silly to tell everyone whats going on in our lives? Should I be more interesting? Have more topics? Well, here is what I decided.

Blogging is whatever I want to make it. I enjoy telling people about whats going on in our lives. I enjoy sharing how God is working and how Donovan is growing to love Him. I enjoy sharing about my pregnancy and the upcoming arrival of our new bundle of joy. I also want to learn though. I want to teach too. I want people to be able to learn from us and likewise me learning from you all. For instance, I am planning on homeschooling my children and am taking advantage of the early years to find just the right curriculum for us. Does anyone have any advice? Does anyone like one more than the other? What is everyone using so I can go look it up?

I just this morning found what I may use for an early Bible curriculum. Its on grapevine.com. Obviously the website may not have the same belief system that I do, but they say the way they created their system is so people can input their own beliefs and not have to stick solely to theirs. I like the idea of having the kids draw out the story. Obviously I need to research it more, but I think it is worthy of that.

Anyway, these are a few of my thoughts for the morning. I am off to start a load of laundry and then spend some time in the Word of God and time with my little manny. :)

I am thankful for the many blessings that God grants me. I am also thankful that today is Bratwurst day at Miller's Quality Meats and Catering!

2011-03-24T10:16:00.000-04:00

I got the new crib set for the baby room today. I am pretty excited about it. It will be so cute! The room will hopefully get painted sometime next week! Then once its painted I can put the crib set all together and call it done until June! Except for making some curtains, but that won't take much from what I hear. :) Just thought I would share my excitement with you!

2011-03-22T10:01:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had one of those days when you just can't figure out which day it is? I had that last night, I couldn't for the life of me remember which day it was. It felt so much like Friday or Saturday but it was only Monday. But, I got a lot accomplished yesterday, so that was nice. Over the weekend my house exploded! Friday, we had a couple guys over for dinner and then they played a game with Caleb that he likes to play. I had a couple friends over to play Scrabble. Then Saturday, I got up, and lounged. I didn't do dishes from the night before and I didn't do dishes all day Saturday. I made lunch for us, so there was more. We left Saturday afternoon to go to my parents house for a birthday party for my sister in law. We got home late, and so still I did nothing. Sunday we got up and left for services, went out to eat lunch, came home and I napped.....still doing nothing. By this time, there are dishes everywhere, game pieces from Caleb's game everywhere, toys and Donovan's clothes all over and the kitchen looked like it exploded. Monday came along and I had ladies Bible study at 9:30, then home to a completely disastrous house. I got my mountain of dishes done...it took 4 sinkfulls of water. I found the bedroom floor....folded 3 baskets of clean laundry and carried 4 of dirty down to the basement. I rearranged a bit of furniture to create more seating in the front room and more room in Donovan's room. So, the house got some back to order, but I have lots more to do today. I want to mop the kitchen floor and finish laundry and get it all put away. If the sun comes out, I want to play with D outside, but it looks like it may rain right now.

I am now off to start laundry....maybe I will update later saying I got all my work done!

2011-03-14T10:41:00.000-04:00

Well, it's official. I am excited for this new baby to come. Don't get me wrong, I have been excited the whole time, but now I am ready and excited to meet the baby. We know what we are having and have told some people, but I do enjoy the excitement of not everyone knowing, but don't be surprised if I slip up on here and say one way or the other. And, we or more like I decided that I don't want anyone to know the final name choice until after its born. But, in light of this excitement, hopefully I will finish getting the room done! I have quite a bit to do still, but it shouldn't take too long.

This weekend has been fun and relaxing at the same time. Saturday Caleb had to work so Donovan and I played that morning and then hung out with daddy when he got off. Sunday, was busy! We went to services then to Greencastle with the Sils. We then made it home in time for the evening service at Southside and came home afterward. I was so exhausted I slept til about 9:10 this morning and D slept til 9:30. I think we were adjusting to the time change too.

Now I am gaining motivation to go get busy. I have laundry to put away and dishes to do. Floors to sweep and mop and then hopefully back to the baby room to work back there for a while. I have been looking online for free or nearly free offers for baby things, if anyone knows of anything, please let me know! I am off to get busy now, have a wonderful Monday!

Fishy, fishy, fishy...

2011-03-05T17:58:00.000-05:00

So, here is a story for you. Yesterday, Caleb came home and says "why don't we get Donovan a rabbit?" I personally don't want an animal like that to take care of. If I am going to have a "bigger" animal, I would much rather take a dog over say, hamsters, rabbits, cats, mice, gerbils, etc. I said I would rather not because a rabbit is a lot of work and if its for Donovan we should wait til he gets older so he can take care of it himself. So, in leu of that, I said what about a fish. I figure, sure, I will probably end up cleaning the tank, but at least they don't stink, don't take too much work, they are cheap to feed and they die quick. Caleb kind of liked that idea when I said it, so I suggested we look at the fish at wal-mart. We went last night and they all looked mostly dead. But, he liked the idea even more after seeing them. So far my plan was working. So I suggested that we go to the pet store today and look at what they have. We did, and they had the fish that Caleb fell "in love" with: a fancy guppy. So, after a trip to the pet store, walmart, back to the pet store and then back to walmart, we came home with a tank and a promise from the pet store that they would call on Wednesday when there new guppy's that they were ordering for us came in. Exciting huh? After rearranging Donovan's room and getting the opportunity to deep clean it, we have a 5 gallon tank on top of his dresser and he is in love with it, even though there is no fish yet.I figure along with being a wife, mother, maid, cook, errand runner, what's pet caretaker too?!

Oh the drama...

2011-03-01T14:56:00.000-05:00

So, I went into town today for some fresh air and to visit my mom for a few minutes. While I was there Caleb calls me and says that I need to call our OBGYN because he has heard rumors that today was his last day. I thought surely, if today was his last day they would call and tell me, ESPECIALLY since we had an appointment set up for friday. But, I decided to call because I was curious too. I learned that today is his last day, and that I needed to come in and sign a release to get a copy of my file so when I find a new doctor I can give them my file. I thought surely, this is not happening to me at 25ish weeks pregnant, but then I went in and talked to him in person and it is happening. He gave me the names of 2 doctors he recommends up in Lafayette. I call the first and they won't take my insurance for about 8 more weeks. I don't want to wait that long, so I called the other doctor. They were able to take our insurance and get us in next Tuesday, which is better than what I was hoping for. I really don't like the idea of switching doctors mid-pregnancy, but there really isn't anything else I can do. So, we are off on a new adventure. I am hoping we like this new doctor and that everything works out. Thankfully we were at mom's while I was making all these phone calls because Donovan was definitely active today. He was all over the place at her house, but now we are home and he is sleeping! I love this part of the day, I love when he is awake, but I can get some much done, so much faster during naptime!

Other than that, I am just bracing for the busyness of next week. We have a dr appt on Tuesday, possibly still an ultrasound on Wednesday, and then moving on with other miscellaneous things the rest of the week. Time is going fast though, I can't believe it is already March! That is quite exciting. Now that Donovan is walking a lot more I can't wait for it to be spring so we can go to the park. It will be lots of fun this spring and summer.

I am hoping to get some pictures up here of Donovan soon. We shall see, but as for now, I am off to do dishes! Have a great day everyone!

We survived...

2011-02-28T13:12:00.000-05:00

From Thursday evening through Saturday, Donovan had the flu, then from Saturday night through Sunday night I had it. It was a nasty beast and I am hoping Caleb stays well. I changed sheets, washed everything imaginable and lysoled what seemed like the whole house. Hopefully that will help. I am still quite weak today. I couldn't eat or drink all day yesterday, so I am recovering today. Donovan seems to be doing really great though. He doesn't have his full appetite back yet and he is still sleeping more than usual, but its to be expected with that powerful little bug we had.

Other than all that, we haven't had much going on. This week is going to be mostly busy, so I am hoping to have all my strength back by tomorrow. So, in light of that, I am off to take a nap while Donovan is sleeping!

2011-02-24T14:37:00.000-05:00

We had a lovely week last week and now they are saying a snow storm tomorrow. I want spring to come and stay! Today is dreary and cold and windy and a good day to sit by the fire while Donovan is napping and enjoy some rest time! I cleaned house this morning and then mom came up for a brief visit and lunch. Tomorrow we are tentatively planning to go to Illinois. I am pretty excited to see Caleb's Aunt Bev and Uncle Wayne. We will stay with them tomorrow night and then Saturday go over to see his Aunt Donna and Bill and their kids. Should be a full weekend, I am sure Sunday afternoon I will be ready for a nap!

Donovan is finally walking more! He isn't all the time yet, but it shouldn't be long. He walks all over the front room and occasionally all over the house on his own. If he is holding your finger he will walk wherever you want him to! It is so fun to see him walking, but it is a reminder of how he is growing up! I can't believe he is almost 20 months old! Wow, time flies!

Nothing new is going on with Caleb or I. This pregnancy is going well. We go in a few weeks for an ultrasound. I am still up in the air as to whether we want to find out what we are having or not. I don't think I will be able to make it til June, especially going to that ultrasound in a couple weeks! It will make picking a name much easier too. I am just up in the air for a name. I just can't decide on anything concretely. Any ideas?

I hear a little man who is calling for me, so I will have to go for now....

2011-01-28T13:44:00.000-05:00

This week has been a little crazy. The beginning of the week began with the hospital announcing that their maternity ward would be closing and all births would be transferred up to Lafayette to the new St. Elizabeth hospital. Then I started wondering about our doctor and what he would do, but after a few days and a reassuring phone call we found out that he would remain our doctor through the rest of our pregnancy. Hopefully, he will also be doing the delivery.

Donovan is now coming down with something. I am leaning towards the cold that Caleb and I have both had. He had a fever last night and a small one this morning along with quite the cough. Lord willing, with rest and some good nursing, he will be back to normal before long! I do hope it doesn't get any worse. Nothing like being sick on the weekend and the inability to do anything about it til Monday. I have come to the realization that we are 20 weeks pregnant which means I only have 20 weeks left to get everything done that I want to get done. That's not much time! Especially some of the bigger things that I really can't be hugely pregnant for, so I have been getting busy around the house trying to get some things done. I have two dressers to paint, a room to clear out and turn into a nursery, a basement to organize and a laundry room down there to turn into something that I actually enjoy going down to.

Caleb has been working and will work tomorrow so maybe I can get some more stuff done. We got our taxes filed and lots of other paperwork done so now I can devote my time to other stuff. If anyone has any fun ideas on how to turn a basement room that is not finished into a neat looking laundry room for CHEAP, let me know! I would love some feedback and ideas!

2011-01-16T14:59:00.000-05:00

Wow! How long has it been?! There are quite a few things that are new that have occured since my last post.

First and foremost, however, is that we are expecting our third child! Can you believe it? Donovan a big brother! WOW! Our due date is 3 days before Donovan's 2nd birthday so that should be exciting. I must say, I really enjoy being pregnant. It makes me happy. Just the idea of having a baby growing inside of me is a wonderful thought.

We are still living in Waynetown although have been looking for another house to buy for quite some time. We are just ready to be out of Waynetown, hopefully out in the country but a bit closer to Crawfordsville too. Just yesterday we got a "new-to-us" kitchen table, which is a blessing because our other was on its last leg....literally.

Caleb is still working at Miller's, and is now taking classes on Tuesday's and Thursday's. I love seeing how excited he gets when he learns new stuff and has a new dream of things he could do.

Donovan, at 18-months, is refusing to walk. Oh, he knows how for sure, but he is content to either crawl, sit or be carried. Little does he know in about 2 weeks he will start walking whether he likes it or not! He is HEAVY! He is saying lots of words and has just started Bible class at Southside this year. He really enjoys going. I elected to be the teacher for Sunday mornings and it is such a joy to see him learning so much. He loves to sing and hold his Bible.

I am doing well. Handling the pregnancy well and keeping up with everything that is going on. I really enjoy the second trimester...even though it seems like the due date will never get here, it is fun because I am still able to be quite active with Donovan, but still knowing that I am pregnant. We are going to attempt not to find out the sex of this baby, but it is stressing me out because I have to come up with a boy and a girl name. If I were to say, I would tell you this baby is a boy. It is carrying a lot like Donovan. Although I do secretly wish for a little girl, I will be content with whichever God blesses us with. There are many things that I want to do before this baby comes. I want to clean out the room that we will move D to, I would really like to move actually, I want to spit shine the entire house, I want to paint the hallway, I want to paint some furniture. So many goals, so little of me!

This year I have made a few goals for myself. One is to cut down on soda. I just can't give up all my caffeine so I thought cutting down on soda and enjoying my coffee. I have set a goal to be more diligent in my Bible reading (although I say that every year, this year I really mean it!) and my prayer life. I have come to find that prayer is such a major part of life and I cannot live without it. I have also said that I want to step into my role as wife/mother more productively. I don't have internet at my house so I have to do things the old fashioned way, but I want to learn simple things to do to save us money. I really want to learn how to sew this year. I want to adapt Caleb and I's food to be more healthy and natural. I want to take time to enjoy Donovan, take pictures, teach him, love him and mold him into being an obedient, God-fearing little man. It seems like a lot, but I have a whole year to work on it!

I am off to surf the web and look up some information I have long wanted to know about while I am in town. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

2010-10-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

You know those days when you need to write because so much is on your mind but you can't write anything because your thoughts are so scattered? Well, I am having one of those days. My mind is full of thoughts racing every which way, but I can't hold on to one thought long enough to get it on paper! I am sitting at the bookstore drinking a coke and thinking of everything I have to do today, and tomorrow, and the next week for that matter. I am thinking about money and the fact that we don't have any. I am thinking about Cleaning and how I have this really strong urge to deep clean my entire house, but I know that 3 hours after I finished it would be a mess again. That does not mean that I won't clean it, I just won't be as excited about it. I need about 4 more rooms in my house. I keep thinking that someday, something will change, and I am sure it will, I just wish that someday was today! I am trying to learn patience in many areas of my life. Such as the desire for a different house, more kids, having the internet at our house...you know, the small things in life! :) Did you know that it is almost November? Where does the time go? Caleb and I will be celebrating our 3rd anniversary in a week or so. That is exciting.

I would stay and write more, but Donovan is calling.

2010-10-03T15:00:00.000-04:00

Hooray for fall, cooler weather, changing colors, and coffee. It is a lovely Sunday afternoon in October, it is cooler outside and I am sitting, listening to my little man jabber instead of napping and drinking a lovely cup of coffee. Hunting season began Friday and my husband spent yesterday between the woods, work and the woods again. He knows once gun season starts he will be working a lot more, so he is doing all he can to spend time in the woods now! I am ok with that, maybe he will bring home some meat!

Donovan is growing up before my eyes. He only has his top 2 teeth, he does the army crawl and refuses to walk unless he is holding both of your hands and even then he will not let go! He has a death grip on my fingers and if I pull one out, he immediately stops walking and usually sits down. He is so precious though. He is beginning to get into testing authority. He is doing all he can to get his own way. He is really getting into these high pitched screams and seeing how long it will take before I take action, which is usually just about half a second after he starts screaming!

Caleb and I are doing well. We are ready for the cooler weather and sitting outside and drinking coffee on the porch. The next couple weeks are going to be spent fall cleaning, and trying to organize the basement and make it as warm as possible for winter. Since our washer and dryer is down there it is much better motivation to do laundry when I don't have to put on my winter coat and shoes to do it!
Well, my mind is running in 3 different directions now of things I want to get done, so I will leave you with the picture of Donovan from the wedding we went to on Friday. Isn't he handsome?!

2010-09-12T16:42:00.000-04:00

Wow! Has it been a while or what? Life has caught us and we are coasting downstream with it! Donovan is getting bigger and bigger! He does the army crawl all over the floor now. He is also finally teething! Can you believe almost 15 months old and not a tooth in his mouth! He does good with eating though, it hasn't hindered him at all!

I am now working for Mary Kay as a sales consultant. It is actually a really cool deal. I get to work on my own time, be my own boss and put in as much effort as I want and make money doing it! I love the product of Mary Kay, it really is amazing and not just because I sell it! I used it before I even thought about selling, but our family could benefit from a few extra dollars every now and then, so I thought why not sell what I love?! So, my mission for you all is to tell all your friends and family that I am selling Mary Kay and if you need any, come talk to me. OR, if you are interested in a really sweet business opportunity, to let me know that too and I will let you know what its like!

This weekend we are planning on having a garage sale at our house. I am hoping to make it a big success, so that is the bulk of what I will be working on this week. Garage sales are a huge build up but hopefully it will be worth it once its over.

Other than that, nothing else major is happening. The usual things combined with the occasional event equals a busy time. I have tons of pictures of Donovan that I need to upload, but don't have time right now. They will come soon though! Just keep watching!

2010-08-04T14:48:00.000-04:00

Two years ago today at 12:31 pm, my baby girl was born. I still remember vividly the events of that day. I remember waking up that morning, at like 4:30 am, shaking uncontrollably. I remember waking Caleb up and telling him something was wrong and that we needed to go to the hospital. I didn't know for sure something was wrong, I just felt different. I remember getting into the car and on the way into town I thought to myself that my baby girl was dead. I never said anything to Caleb because I wanted so badly to be wrong. We got to the hospital and they hooked everything up. They looked and looked for the heartbeat. They brought in the little ultrasound machine and looked and they saw that her heart was no longer beating. That crushed me. The pain that I felt all of a sudden was so intense I couldn't hardly think. I remember having to call my mom and tell her that my baby girl was dead. I remember the doctors putting all kinds of things into me to make the birthing process as quick and painless as possible. I remember looking at Caleb and seeing the pain in his eyes. It hurt us so bad. I remember everythind. I remember giving birth to her and the doctor so kindly placing her in my arms. I remmeber looking at how incredibly beautiful she was. I remember thinking "maybe she will start breathing". I remember hoping and pleading with God to change what just happened. There were so many people in and out. I remember wanting them all to go away but thankful they were there at the same time. I remember telling the nurse that I didn't want people in the room that I just wanted to be alone and if I wanted someone I would send for them. I remember Caleb going in and out. More out than in. I remember him coming in and telling me about this man named Ken. That he was the preacher at Southside and that he had no idea who we were but he came for us anyway. I thought that was weird. (I remember seeing him a few days later at Walmart and reaffirming my thought of how weird that was....little did I know this man would become like a father to me. I am so grateful for him and I truly think of him as not only a really great friend but as a father.) I remember going that night at about midnight with Caleb to the nursery and saying good bye to my baby girl and allowing them to take her to the morgue. I remember telling Caleb that was the last time that I wanted to see her, and I stuck to that. I remember how gently the nurses were with us. I remember it all. I miss her terribly, but I have the hope that she is in a much safer and better place, and Lord willing, I will be with her again someday.

2010-07-25T15:58:00.000-04:00

How can life be so busy but yet seem so slow all at the same time? There has been so many different things going on. Donovan is 1 now. I can't believe it! He is now crawling...somewhat! He pulls himself and goes more sideways than forward, but it is so cute to watch. I think he will be walking before long. He is pulling up to things and only wants to stand when someone has him. I just love him to death. Sometimes he can by trying, especially when he is testing the waters, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I truly love him to death. I am sitting here watching him play with his cars. He sits on the floor and spins in circles while talking to them. He loves books, and I am glad because I love reading to him!

Caleb is still liking his job at Millers. It was an adjustment for us, but we like it. He gets so much more time with Donovan and I and we get to all go to church together for every service. They are getting busier there as it is fair time. I am so thankful for Caleb. He does so much for Donovan and I.

Me? Well, I am still fortunate to stay home with Donovan. I love being able to keep house, make dinner, raise and teach our son, and be waiting for Caleb when he gets home. I am going through the house looking for things for our yard sale I am working on for next month. I am hoping it goes well. I am always concerned about planning for them because I don't have a garage for in case it rains. I am also going through closets and drawers for clothes that don't fit and try to clean out that way.

There have been a few things running through my mind that I would love to get involved in. Want to hear about them? If not, stop reading now!
1. I would love to get better at taking pictures and editing them to make them super cool. Does anyone know some good photo editing software?
2. I would love to get into sewing! I want to be able to make things and sew and possibly quilt. But, there are two small issues with that. I don't have a sewing machine, and I don't know how to sew. I know the concept of sewing, how hard can it be right? But I need a sewing machine. Anyone know where I can get one fairly cheap that is a decent machine?
3. I want to write. Not a novel or anything, but more like a blog only without the internet. We don't have the net at our house right now, so it would make it hard to blog. I journal, but it just isn't the same. I am not sure of the alternative.

So, that is where we are. Life is going well. I love where we are at right now. I am thankful for what I have and the people I have to share it with.

2010-05-22T15:08:00.000-04:00

It has been so long since I posted. Life has been very busy and with no internet at the house, blogging seems to be a thing of the past! I wish I could update more often, but I would much rather spend time with my family and friends then go to town to use the internet!

Donovan is almost 11 months old now. He is getting so big. He rolls to get his toys instead of crawling, and he still hasn't gotten his teeth in. He loves to talk! I love to listen to him though, so it works really well! I am having a birthday party for him next month. Nothing major, just cake and ice cream and lots of fun.

Caleb is still enjoying his job. I am enjoying his schedule. I like having him have weekends off and having the evenings to spend with us!

I am still holding down the homefront. I am looking for odd jobs to do though, does anyone have any ideas? I don't want to go into the workplace because I don't want someone else to raise my son. But, I would like to do little things that I can still have Donovan with me for. I would really appreciate your input if anyone has anything that they have done.

I don't have much else. If I can get into town in a couple weeks, I will post some new pics of my little man. :) Have a great week everyone!

2010-03-27T17:59:00.000-04:00

This last month seems to have been chaos. I have my spring cleaning pretty much done, I need to finish in the green room, but nobody is ever back there anymore so that room can wait. We did get a "new to us" kitchen table. It is round and much bigger than our old one, but still fits in the kitchen. I like it because it allows me a bit more space to cook and such with.

Every day I just get more and more thankful for my son. He is such a joy to me. He is so relaxed and comfortable with wherever he is. I have to admit though, it makes me feel good when he is with someone else but still looks around to see where I am at. He turns 9 months old in a few days and I am truly enjoying every stage he goes through. He still doesn't have any teeth, but he sure likes to eat! He is almost preparing to crawl, but still nothing yet. Donovan has been such a trooper this week especially, he goes with the flow and is hardly ever fussy. Seriously, hardly ever.

I am getting ready for the warm weather to come and STAY! I am ready to work outside and to go on lots of walks and to go to the park and all that stuff. Donovan loves his walks, and he loves going to the park. It is just great to watch him experience new things. I am looking forward to this summer when we will be outside quite a bit! I am also in love with the fact that Caleb has Saturday and Sunday off. It is so nice to be able to plan things and to have evenings off to do things or to just stay home. I just love it!

I had someone ask me the other day how I was doing. That made me think, how often do I just give them a skim the surface answer to avoid conversation. Not that its a bad thing persay, but I need to make sure I am being truthful when I say that I am doing good. Usually I am, but there are those days that everyone has where they are a bit rougher than the other days. Anyway, I have been looking at my life and trying to make sure that in every area of my life I am doing things truthfully.

I am going to go watch basketball with my husband and friends now, but have a good weekend! Enjoy the nice weather!

2010-03-06T17:31:00.000-05:00

It seems as if I have been so incredibly busy, but when I sit down and actually think about what has been going on, I can't come up with much!

Donovan is 8 months old now. He is getting so big! I can't believe that 8 months can change a little guy so much! He is so much fun to be with. He laughs and smiles, and he is so entirely easy going. I am so thankful for him! He is a professional at sitting up on his own, has no desire in learning to crawl and will only roll over if he absolutely has to! He is content to just sit and watch what is going on no matter where he is at. He sleeps all night and takes 2 really good naps in the day time, eats a LOT and enjoys cuddling with me! I am excited for spring so we can go on walks and enjoy time outside.

Caleb is still in love with his job and I am in love with his schedule. We have every evening together and every weekend...for the most part. Donovan really enjoys the time when Daddy comes home. He gets so excited and has to be with him for a long time after he gets home. Caleb has spring fever though. He was out at the creek out back today fishing. It will be fun to see how Caleb and Donovan enjoy the summer!

As for me, I have been spring cleaning before spring so I can be free to do things. I have the living room done, it has been cleaned, painted, and rearranged. The hallway closet is done...that was scary! I thought I was going to get stuck in there and not be able to get out! Our bedroom just got finished. The last touches was a new bedspread and shams and new curtains. They did wonders for the room! I went through Donovan's clothes, but I still need to scrub down his furniture and such. Then I have the bathroom and the spare room and I am done!!!! Then it will be on to outside projects. I have so many things that I would love to do if I had money. I am trying to find a cheap way to build a porch onto the front of our house and put some railings and such on the back steps.

I guess for not having a lot to say, I sure did a lot of rambling! A picture post to come soon! Have a great Sunday tomorrow.

2010-02-20T14:39:00.000-05:00

It has been quite a while since I have updated. As you are well aware, we do not have internet at our house anymore, which has been a blessing in disguise. I get so much more done through the day and have so much more time to spend with Caleb and Donovan. (And likewise for Caleb) This past week I have painted our living room and cleaned it to the utmost, which is exciting. I am well underway on working on spring cleaning. I think my next room will be the kitchen and then to our bedroom. I have a new bedspread and curtains for our bedroom which makes it much more exciting to get the room cleaned so I can put them up.

Donovan is 7 1/2 months old. He is growing like a weed and I love watching his personality come out. It is so much fun to play and see him interact with me and the toys. I am so thankful for him. He adores Caleb too, which is neat. Everytime Caleb comes home from work he gets so excited when he sees him and has to be with him for at least a half an hour.

Caleb and I are doing good. We are really growing together more and more. We are both excited for spring and can't wait to get outside. Donovan will have such a fun summer this year. (Even though he still doesn't roll!) I need to run now though, I will add a couple pictures as I leave.

2010-01-06T13:03:00.000-05:00

I was driving home from town today and found myself driving by the cemetery. Lately my heart has been hurting so much. Christmas morning Caleb and I were both hurting thinking about how this would have been such a fun Christmas with a 16 month old running around. Since then I haven't been able to get Abby off my mind. Last Sunday night we sang a song at church that reminds me of Abby because it was sung that very next Sunday after we buried her. Not only then, but while I was in the hospital, I could hear my dad in the hallway whistling the song. "It Is Well With My Soul" has always been the song that when my family is going through rough times you always hear my dad singing or whistling it. Since then all I do is think about Abby everytime I hear it. I fought it hard, but I just wanted to cry when I heard it Sunday night.

Thinking back to that time, they gave us the option of seeing her one last time before we buried her, but I said no. I wanted to remember her like she was in the womb, active. When we saw her after she was born, she was so lifeless, but I loved her nonetheless. That whole day and most of the night, I just wanted to hold her and cry. I no that thinking about it, it sounds a bit morbid, but I didn't want to let go of my baby girl. Thinking about it now, I still want to go back, I want to hold her and hug her. I want to go back to the day before we went to the hospital and feel her move one last time. I know that can't happen, but it doesn't stop my longing.

I stopped at the cemetery today. It was cold, but I needed to. I need to see, I need to experience, I need to cry. I cannot explain to you how much this hurts me these days. I don't really know what is going on. I look at my son and I am so thankful for him. I think about how much I love him and I love every milestone that he reaches. I love to hear him laugh, and I love to hear him cry. But I keep thinking about the 17 month old that should be running around my house that should be laughing and playing, jabbering and enjoying life to the fullest. I didn't plan on going all the way into town today, I was going to go to the Sils' house and go home, but when I stopped by the cemetary I was so overcome with emotion that I had to write it all out. I just couldn't hold it in anymore. There is one song in the song book at church that I have been aching to hear, but I don't want to ask Caleb to lead it because I know it would hurt him to much. It's called beyond the sunset and I can't remember all the words, but I need to hear it, I need it to be sung sometime. I know that my baby girl is in a far better place, but that doesn't take away all the hurt I feel. I just miss her so terribly that it hurts. It hurts my heart.

I am not going to apologize for a depressing post, because it helps me. It helps me to let my feelings out. I would love to sit and just talk about all of this, but it makes Caleb to upset and I can't do that to him. So instead, I keep it inside until I cannot handle it anymore and I let it all out on here. Thanks for listening.

2010-01-02T16:51:00.000-05:00

So, I haven't blogged in a while...do you wonder why? Caleb and I took the step to get rid of the internet in our house. Why? Well the reason is two-fold. 1. It will save us quite a bit of money every month. 2. It will give us time to organize our life, focus ourselves on God, grow together as a couple, and spend quality time with our son.

It has been going quite well. Caleb and I have spent a lot more time together and I think Donovan is enjoying more time with us.

I will still be updating, but not on an entirely regular basis. More of just when I get internet and think about updating.

Donovan is 6 months old now and not quite rolling over yet. Odd? I think so, but he is so close. I am really enjoying watching his personality come out. It is so neat to see him grow and develop into a wonderful little boy. I will post more pictures soon. I am headed to my mother's house now and will make a longer update later on this week.

Snow!

2009-12-07T09:45:00.000-05:00

It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! I love the snow and cold weather, but I don't like the cold without the snow. I just watched a man hit a pole in his van outside my house. That was a couple minutes of entertainment. I know we live in Indiana where it snows every winter, but I still think that I benefited more than most people in snow driving experience because I lived in the country. I lived where the roads are never cleared off and always slick. I lived where you drove with a shovel and a bag of sand in your trunk and always had a coat and a pair of boots in the car. I lived where you would get entertainment out of going to drive in the snow and see who could get to town the fastest. I hear about people who live in town who won't get out when there is 1/2 an inch of snow on the ground. I realize that today's snow has a layer of ice underneath, but still, I lived where you knew how to drive on the snow. Whenever it snows or ices, I generally drive because I am better at driving in it than Caleb is. He just doesn't know that if you start to slide don't turn the steering wheel and don't slam on your brakes. He doesn't have the experience of sliding almost every day until you learned how to manage through it. I don't know, but with Donovan now, I am definitely a bit more cautious.

I feel super-bad for my sister-in-law Dayonna. They just took out their old furnace over the weekend and got a new one ready to go, but the gas company said they would be there on Monday to hook it up. I don't know if they will make it out today or not. I hope so. They have a fireplace, but it is still a bit nippy everywhere else in their house.

I am thinking that we are somewhat settled on some ideas for Christmas. Caleb is going to have Christmas off, and then the weekend, so hopefully we will get to spend time with everyone. I think I might go make some hot chocolate. All this talk of snow and Christmas has really gotten me in the mood. PLUS, I found my FAVORITE Christmas CD. It is called Santa's Top 10 Favorites and it has the best Christmas song ever on it - "It Must Have Been the Mistletoe" on it. Amongst other great ones like White Christmas and Jingle Bell Rock. Now I have to go listen to it... : )

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2009-12-03T14:01:00.000-05:00

I love snow! It flurried a bit last night and this morning and put me in the mood!

Donovan and I have both been fighting a nasty cold. He has had a runny nose/cough for a couple days and I have had a runny nose/sore throat for a couple days, so hopefully we get over this soon. Caleb to this point has stayed well, although I think he may be coming down with a little something. I took Donovan to the doctor this morning for his check-up. He had to get a shot from last month that they were out of and then they just checked him over. He now weighs 16 pounds 10 ounces and he is 26 inches long. My little man is getting so big! I cannot believe that he turned 5 months on Monday. Where does the time go. Speaking of not believing time, it is true that Christmas is this month?! Wow! This year has flown by. I don't think we are doing much for Christmas and I am excited about that. There are a couple options we have and Caleb and I are holding out for the latter option. We will see what happens though!

I put up the Christmas tree and did a few decorations, but I am not going all out this year. I am just not feeling it! Maybe next year when Donovan will be old enough to really enjoy it we will do more. I do like to drive around and see all the Christmas lights though, some of them are really pretty! I think the inflatable things that everyone has in their front yards are a little much though.

Donovan is napping, I finished some housework and am about to go work on some laundry. I am still trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight. I am just not hungry so it is hard for me to come up with something. We may just do salads and baked potatoes tonight. That sounds pretty good. Caleb and I have decided to eat healthy. Which in turn means that we would like to lose some weight. I am still working on baby weight. Actually, I lost all of Donovan baby weight, but I am still working on Abby's! I am off to get busy, have a great weekend everyone!

Organized chaos...

2009-11-30T15:00:00.000-05:00

In an effort to get on a schedule, I am seeking advice. Caleb's new job is officially consistent in hours, he leaves home at 7:25 and gets home at 4:15. I would like to be up and showered before 7 am because Donovan wakes up for his morning bottle at 7. I would like to have my morning devo's during Donovan's 1st morning nap which is around 8:30-9:45. I would like to also be cleaned up for the day by 9. By noon I want to have the house picked up in and the sweeper ran. Does this sound impossible yet? That way in the afternoon I will be able to do various things. I am thinking about designating a certain day of the week as "cleaning day" where I deep clean the house. Then the rest of the week can be whatever. Wednesdays are already booked. Tuesday evenings are full but the rest of the week is flexible (Except for Sundays).

Currently it is 2:58, Donovan is down for a nap and I just got out of the shower. I haven't read my Bible yet today, but the house is cleaned up and I have a meal plan for the week, and a grocery list for this afternoon when I go to the store. My last load of laundry is in the washing machine and the 3 other loads are folded but not yet put away. I really just want to get life organized so it is not so chaotic. I want to be able to be stress free and not worry about housework. I want to be confident that of an evening if someone comes over, there will be places to sit and through all of this I want to spend quality time with Donovan and Caleb. Can it be done? Does anyone have any tips?

2009-11-25T14:19:00.000-05:00

It is the day before Thanksgiving and what am I doing? Sitting on the couch, looking at a messy house and thinking of all the things I need to get done before tomorrow. Not like cooking or anything, but I need to clean up the family room, do dishes, finish dinner for tonight, do Caleb's laundry when he gets home, change the sheets, and clean the bathroom. Wow, the more I sit here the more stuff I can come up with.

Right now in my life I am working on being content. Especially as the holidays come up. This year is going to be a bit odd with everything that happened this year with Caleb's family. I am hoping that we can just stay home and cozy up by the fire, maybe watch a couple movies and just be together, Caleb, Donovan and I, as a little family. Whether that happens or not, I don't know. Anyway, it just seems like the holidays are so stressful and I am always so glad when they are over. I succesfully put the tree up, however it is not decorated yet. I am not doing a whole lot of decorations this year, I am just not in the mood. I do think a little bit of snow would be nice. I would also like to see the sunshine again. It's cloudy days like these that always bring me down a little bit.

I put a pork roast in the crockpot for dinner tonight, I am still up in the air about what to do with it. I might shred it and make bbq, or I might just cut it into pieces and make some stuffing and corn, but that is so much like Thanksgiving. I just don't know.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving tomorrow. I have lots to be thankful for, and I hope that I don't take those things for granted.

2009-11-11T10:18:00.000-05:00

It has been a little while since I updated, so I figure I am long past due.

Caleb is still really enjoying his new job, and for that I am thankful. We kind of stepped out on a limb and chopped it off on this job. The positive aspects outweighed the negative, but it was still a bit of a risk. I enjoy that it is just 5 minutes from home and if I need him he can be here in just a couple of minutes and they don't care! The Miller's are such a sweet family, they truly are.

Donovan is doing well with his baby food. He enjoys it for the most part and he also enjoys his oatmeal cereal in the morning and evening. He is getting so big! I can't believe that he will be 5 months old at the end of the month. Time just seems to be flying! He is doing so many new things too. Last night he almost rolled over for the first time. He is so close! He is also babbling a lot more and he laughs all the time. I was truly blessed with an amazing little boy. He will go to bed between 9 and 9:30 at night and sleep for sure until 7 sometimes later the next morning. It is really nice to get a full nights sleep!

Me? I am doing well. I fall cleaned last week before our mini-vacation in which we ended up in North Carolina. It was sooooo much fun! I truly enjoy getting away with my two men. Now I am beginning to bake, and put stuff in the freezer for winter and spring.I am getting into a routine of getting up in the morning, getting Caleb's breakfast and lunch, feeding Donovan his morning bottle and then starting to get the house picked up. I have found that if I get all of my chores done before noon, it leaves plenty of time for the other things I need to get done before Caleb gets off. Fun huh? I do like the routine though, it helps to get going in the morning.

Well, I am off to play with Donovan for a few minutes before I work on laundry again! Have a great day everyone!

2 Years of Bliss

2009-11-02T12:30:00.000-05:00

Today is Caleb and I's 2 year anniversary. Overall, looking back at the two years it was the best two years of my life. Although it did have its lows, I am very thankful that I went through them with Caleb. In 2005, Caleb and I met. In 2006, Caleb and I were engaged. In 2007, Caleb and I were married. In 2008, Caleb and I had a baby girl, who is waiting for Caleb and I when we get to Heaven. In 2009, we were blessed with Donovan Cotham.

I cannot say enough how much I truly love my husband and how much I truly enjoy spending time with him. He is my knight in shining armor.

Waiting for what?

2009-10-28T14:54:00.000-04:00

I am sitting here on the couch, waiting. I am waiting for multiple things.
1. I am waiting for Caleb to get home so I can see how his first day at work went.
2. I am waiting for Donovan to wake up so we can go for a walk.
3. I am waiting on a call from the Realtor because there is a house we would like to look at.
4. I am waiting on myslef to snap out of my spiritual mediocrity.

Numbers 1-3 are very reasonable things to wait for during the day. Number 4 should not be happening in my life. What exactly am I waiting for? I can guarantee that God is not going to write me a message in the sky telling my to get my rear in gear and start reading and studying and learning like I should be. He is not going to come knock on my door and give me a list of addresses of people that could use a visit. He is not going to mail me a letter encouraging me to memorize Scripture and pray more often. So, that leads me back to my question...why am I waiting for that?! I guess I have reached a level of complacency. I am perfectly comfortable with where I am at now which is a very dangerous place to be in. In fact, it is so dangerous that I am saying right now that I am not going to be stuck in this rut any longer. I am going to take proactive steps to enriching my Spiritual life and becoming the Christian that I should be.

I have learned that it is easy to look at everyone else and feed off of them. If nobody else is really pumped about their Spiritual walk, then I am not going to be very pumped about it. But, when thinking about this cycle, I am going to try to make myself the motivator. Hopefully people will be able to feed off of my excitement and motivation for God.

Donovan is waking up, so I need to run, but I encourage you all also to consider your Spiritual walk and no matter where you are, bump it up a bit.

What's on my mind?

2009-10-23T22:09:00.000-04:00

I miss my baby girl...terribly.

I love my husband...a lot.

Our son brings sunshine to us when it is storming outside. I love him so much, I can't even explain it.

That's whats on my mind. Off to bed, I need some sleep.

2009-10-22T20:40:00.000-04:00

I am thankful that we do not have a Target in our town although I would tell you any day that I want one. I am pretty sure I would go broke! I went to Avon today with friends and we went to the Target there. I saw so many cute little boy clothes! I held back and just got one complete outfit, but if I had lots of money I would have bought the store! There is one outfit there that I am going to go back and buy near Thanksgiving. It was little dress pants and a dress shirt and a sweater vest. So cute!!!

I just gave Donovan a bath and I had a shower. That is probably one thing that has affected me most while being a mother. I just never know at what time I will get a shower! But, I can deal with that because my son is sleeping all night. And by all night, I mean all night. He goes to bed between 8:30 and 9:00 at night and will sleep as long as 8:00-8:30 the next morning. He has been doing this for a couple weeks, but it is officially consistent!

I have a strong desire to make pumpkin pie. Maybe I will make one tomorrow. :) As for right now, I am going to go finish my cup of coffee and enjoy the rest of the evening with my husband!

My son

2009-10-21T10:33:00.000-04:00

Have I said lately how much I LOVE my son?

He is so much fun! He giggles now and smiles all the time.

And he loves his big cousin Gavin. These guys are going to be such good friends!

And of course, Grandma has to get her hands on him every once in a while!

Yeah, I know that one is sideways, but you get the point!

Enjoy this beautiful fall day everyone!

Ramblings

2009-10-20T13:55:00.000-04:00

I am sitting here thinking about all that I have to get done and wondering why I am always going. Sometimes I need to remind myself to stop and enjoy the time that I have with Donovan or with Caleb or just with myself. I need to remember to slow down, that I am not guaranteed tomorrow and that I need to enjoy the time that God has given me. That doesn't mean that I let my house go or that I let the laundry back up or that I never cook a meal, that means that I take an hour and just enjoy. Just play with Donovan, go for a walk with Caleb or really study and spend time in the Word and prayer.

I am looking at the changing leaves outside and realizing that fall is going fast. It is almost November. Wow. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. I can't believe how fast this month has gone for that matter, it seems like October shouldn't even be here yet. I was thinking of how the rest of the year is going to go and how busy it seems, but I want to make sure I take time to enjoy it as it happens.

I am deciding what to do for Christmas presents this year and I think my sister-in-law and I are going to work on some things. We are both tight on money, so we are getting creative. It should be fun just spending time with her too. I think we will do some type of candy/cookie and then a craft of some sort.

I was thinking of taking my blogging to a new height, but I am just not sure. I am thinking one day a week I will talk about what I have learned in my devo's and then one day I would like to do just a picture post. I am trying to get more followers, but I guess I don't know very many people! Oh well!

Going to work on dinner! I think we are grilling out, I have to get the meat ready.

Change

2009-10-16T13:45:00.000-04:00

Since Jeremy has moved out, I have needed a change. So, in light of that, I rearranged my front room. I think I like it, but I am not totally sure yet. It is more functional to watch tv and is more centered around the fireplace. I think I will leave it like this for a few days and see how I like it through the ins and outs of everyday life. There is a bit more floor space for Donovan and his various floor activities. And in the future months I have a corner for a toy box and perhaps another corner for a Christmas Tree. We will see how it works out.

That's all I had to say right now, I need to go do some laundry while D is sleeping.

2009-10-14T09:44:00.000-04:00

I suppose now is as good as time as ever to update. Donovan fell asleep on our bed as I was getting ready for the day, so I just let him sleep! There has been quite a few things happen since I last updated.

-Jeremy is completely moved out.
-Donovan is officially in 3-6 month clothes, but I don't think he will be for long! That boy is growing like a weed!
-Caleb had a job interview
-Caleb got offered the job
-Caleb ACCEPTED the job!!!!
-Caleb put in his two weeks notice at Kroger...and we all rejoiced!

He will be working for a super-sweet family here in Waynetown as a butcher. Like a total butcher. Like the come in moo-ing and leave in packages! He is so excited and I am so excited. He will have Saturdays and Sundays off. He will get off by 4 every day. They are very flexible with his schedule if there is an appointment of something going on. It is just going to be great. :)

Today, it is raining. I am not a big fan of the rain, especially when it is cold too. I might be going with my mother down to Lake Holiday to see my grandma today...she has yet to see Donovan and he is 3 1/2 months old! Yesterday was my nephew's 2nd birthday...he is so adorable! I guess I don't have anything to exciting to say, I just thought I would talk about Caleb's new job. Hope everyone has a great Wednesday and gets the opportunity to go to church this evening!

Something new?

2009-10-09T15:00:00.000-04:00

When the possibility of something new, something great, something that we have been praying for appears, I can't help but get excited/anxious. I then remembered Philippians 4:6 "be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." I am learning at this time to slow down and pray. I am learning that God's will is ultimately what we want no matter how good something looks. I am learning to be patient and let things happen in God's time. I am learning that when you pray about something that God always answers, but it might not be in the way we had planned.

All this to say, please pray about something with me. There is a potential opportunity opening up for Caleb and I, please pray that if it is God's will that everything will work out with it. Please pray that I would be patient and understanding if this is not God's will also.

Thanks. I will update more and possibly give more details when I have some!

Pictures of my man,,,

2009-10-09T14:32:00.000-04:00

Here are some updated pictures of my little man. Oh how I love him. I am so thankful for him.

2009-10-01T16:24:00.000-04:00

Donovan is sleeping so I am taking this opportunity to sit down for a few minutes and breathe. Although the air that I am breathing is about 50below it feels like! I think I am going to ask Caleb to start the pilot light on the fireplace. I am not ready to turn the heat on yet, but it is so chilly in our house, I think the fireplace would take the chill off!

Today has been somewhat productive. I have gotten things picked up and laundry done and folded. I am battling an attitude issue right now though. Jeremy closed on his house yesterday and is making no effort to come get his stuff out of our house. I am just so in the mood to clean that room and re-organize the closet and move furniture around in our house. I guess I need to continue being patient. I hope he doesn't come get clothes just when he needs them though. I am ready to have that room back so I can clear out our other rooms. :)

I am working on getting Donovan to sleep through the night. He is laying down around 9:00 every night and sleeping until around 3ish. He gets up, eats about 2 ounces and falls back to sleep. Then he pretty much wakes up for good between 7 and 8. If I could knock out that 3 o'clock feeding, I would love it. Then he and I are both getting solid sleep and I would be awake at 7-8 and able to stay awake. So, I read a book about it and we are going to test a couple things out.

Hunting season starts today, so Caleb is very excited. He is looking forward to his days off next week so he can go hunting. I hope he gets a big one this year, we could definitely use the meat! I may go a time or two also, but I don't think I will be near as active at it as he is. We will see though!

I have learned that Donovan loves Veggie Tales. I put him in his little highchair and stick it near the tv and for 30 minutes he will just sit there and watch it. It is a good opportunity for me to get some things done while he is awake. I think it is so cute though how much he enjoys it.

I guess that is really all I have to say. I just thought I would update a bit about our life.

2009-09-29T22:16:00.000-04:00

After I don't know how long, I figure it is time for an update! My little man is going to be 3 months old tomorrow, I can't believe it! He is getting so big too!

Things have been going fairly well around here. Caleb has been working a lot, I have been doing things here and there and everywhere it seems.

On a super good note, Jeremy is moving out tomorrow! Hooray! I would let him live here in a second again if he needed too, but it will be nice to have my house back again. I already have plans forming in my head of what I want to do! We will see how it goes though. First I am cleaning this house from top to bottom for fall and getting things ready for winter. I need to get our winter clothes out and put some of our summer things away. I just love fall, I love wearing hoodies and drinking coffee at all times of the day just to help keep warm. I love the smells and the colors. It is just an all-around good season.

Fall makes me think of things too. So much happens in the fall in my family. October 1 starts hunting season. I might go one or two times this year, but I know Caleb is so excited to go. October 13 is my nephews 2nd birthday. October 29 is my birthday, November 2 is Caleb and I's anniversary. It goes on and on from there. It makes me thankful for everything I have. Lately I have been extremely overwhelmed thinking about my baby girl. It just seems like in the past week I have thought and cried so much. I am not sure if it is just being tired, or what, but I miss her so much. Someone was talking to me the other day while Donovan was crying and they said they don't know how I can smile and enjoy him while he is crying. I told them that the only thing that I ever wanted was to hear Abby cry, so everytime I hear Donovan cry I rejoice to have him with me. I am so thankful for him. The thing I have to keep reminding myself though is that Donovan is God's child. Whatever God wants for his life I need to agree with.

Anyway, enough of that line of thinking...I guess I will get off of here. I need to get some things done before heading to bed. Enjoy this fall weather!

Good days...

2009-09-04T16:59:00.000-04:00

Today has been a really good day. I have been able to clean the house, make a deliecious smelling dinner, have my dad help me install a new doorknob, and enjoy time with my son. The one thing I have really enjoyed about today is that I have taken time throughout the day to take pictures! I hardly ever remember to take pictures of Donovan, and I feel bad because I want to remember these times and then when we fall into large amounts of money I want to get them developed and remember physically the growth process of my boy. I haven't put them on the computer yet, but when I do, I will share a few on here!

I have been learning to just enjoy what time I have with people. I have learned that it is much easier to be happy if I stop worrying about tomorrow or next week or next month and just enjoy the time I have now. After all, we aren't even guranteed tomorrow, so why worry about it?! My little man smiles now, sometimes it takes a bit of work, but he will smile at me and it just melts my heart. I love it when he does that. He also has a feature that is cute now, but will not be in the near future. Right before he really starts crying he will stick out his bottom lip as far as it can go and wimper! I have been trying to get a picture of this because his facial expression is just adorable, but I have not been able to yet.

Caleb is working 6 days next week, so I will be looking for things to do. There is a new used bookstore here in Crawfordsville, and I know the owners, so I may go hang out there for a couple of the days. Other than that, I really don't have any major plans. I went with my mom yesterday to Lafayette and we got a few "warm" things for Donovan. It was cool a couple of days last week and all he has is shorts and t-shirts. So we went to Target and I got him a few long-sleeved onesies and a zip-up hooded sweatshirt for those cool mornings or evenings. Right now he is sleeping contentedly on the couch. I have been putting him in his bed to nap, but I cannot get him to sleep back there for more than 30 minutes, but if he is on the couch or in his bassinet he will sleep for close to two hours. Any tips on how to get him to sleep longer in his bed? He is only getting up twice at night now, so here in the next couple of weeks I would like to move him to his bed all night long, any advice on how to make that transition easier also?

Guess I better go get a few more things done while D is sleeping! Hope you all have a GREAT Labor Day weekend!

2009-08-31T22:35:00.000-04:00

Today Donovan had his 2 month check-up. My little man is now 11 pounds and 2 ounces, 23 ounces long. He is in the 50th percentile in both categories. He also got shots today, which he is currently not feeling well from, but I am expecting him to bounce back tomorrow. He did really well at the doctors office though. He has slept most of the day today and I gave him tylenol a few hours ago for the fever that he had. Now he is finishing a bottle and heading off to bed-hopefully he will sleep tonight too even though he slept most of the day.

In other news, I am going to the new "Used Book store" in town tomorrow. It is such a cool place, I totally reccomend it to everyone! It is at 108 S Green Street, beside Caldwell Sew and Vac. They have new and used books, but none of them are priced over $4. Also, you can bring in your books and get store credit. I love it! (Plus they have coffee...I love coffee!)

I am loving the fall weather. I love having the windows in my house open and wearing a sweatshirt in the evening. I mowed the yard today and wondered if it is time to start counting down how many more times I will mow it. I cannot believe that tomorrow is September 1. This year has flown by, but it has been such a good year so far. Caleb and I have grown so much, and I am so thankful for him and his leadership in our family. I am thankful that he sees Donovan and I as his priorities in life and that he enjoys spending time with us.

²⁰ Daniel answered and said:
      “ Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
      For wisdom and might are His.
       ²¹ And He changes the times and the seasons;
      He removes kings and raises up kings;
      He gives wisdom to the wise
      And knowledge to those who have understanding.
       ²² He reveals deep and secret things;
      He knows what is in the darkness,
      And light dwells with Him.
       ²³ “ I thank You and praise You,
      O God of my fathers;
      You have given me wisdom and might,
      And have now made known to me what we asked of You,
      For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”(Daniel 2:20-23)

I am thankful for the season changes, but more I am thankful for God who is in such control.

It is raining out...

2009-08-28T18:35:00.000-04:00

I think rain just sets the tone for how the day is going to go. It hasn't been horrible just stressful. Caleb is going to be home late tonight so I am going to try and get my focus back where it needs to be through some much needed Bible reading.

I am so very thankful that we serve a Big God whose moods do not sway as mine do. He is steady and He is my rock. I am thankful that he is the God of miracles and that I do not have to worry about how everything is going to turn out. I just need to realize that it is all going to go according to God's plan, however hard that may be. I am also thankful that God doesn't give up on me when I lose focus or lose faith.

2009-08-26T02:38:00.002-04:00

I am sitting here, in the middle of the night, typing one-handed because I am holding my little man in the other. As I struggle to stay awake, I provide him with nourishment. My mind wanders all over the place, I think about how thankful I am for Donovan I think about what he will be when he grows up. I think about what his personality will be. I pray for him. I pray that he will grow to love the Lord as Caleb and I do. I pray that in every child-rearing situation, I run to God before acting. I pray, that I will depend totally on Him for every thing in life that comes our way.

One of the areas in my life that I am struggling with right now is control. I try so hard to maintain control of our lives instead of letting God have the reigns. I cannot say that I am casting all my cares on Him. Please, pray for this area of my life.

In other news:
-Donovan is now 8 weeks old...wow, time does fly.
-Caleb may be switching to nights...pray for this adjustment.
-I was able to clean house today, and it looks so much better.
-Donovan is now waking up only twice in the night! Hooray, we are getting there! He goes to sleep around 9 and sleeps until 2:30ish. Then he goes back down after eating and gets up around 5:45-6:45. Goes back down until 9ish. How thankful I am for the sleep!

Well, I suppose since he is done eating, I should head back to bed. Thank you for listening to me babble.

2009-08-12T15:19:00.003-04:00

I haven't blogged in a while, I know-but I've been a little busy. Today, I accomplished an amazing feat...I cleaned the house. It was driving me nuts. I don't know why, but I just cannot handle having a dirty house. I am thankful for that, it makes everyone a lot less stressed here when the place is clean.

Donovan is now 6 weeks old. I can't believe how big he is getting. Although it is funny because a friend of our family just had their son and he weighs more at birth than Donovan does now. I really can't imagine giving birth to a baby that big. Fortunately my two have been smaller babies.

I absolutely am so looking forward to fall. I can't wait for the fall like weather...where I can open the windows and air the house out without sweating. Where the leaves are turning. Where the perfect thing to do of an evening is to put on a sweatshirt and go for a walk. I am looking forward to that.

Nothing exciting is happening in our lives. Jeremy may be moving out next month if this house he is trying to buy goes through. I can't wait-it will be so nice to have my house back! But, I would let him live here again in a heartbeat if he needed to.

I guess I will wish everyone a good weekend. I think ours will be pretty fun!

Venting...only read this if you don't mind my negativity!

2009-08-03T17:06:00.002-04:00

Well, today I feel the need to vent a little bit. I get so frustrated when people seem to think only about themselves and how to make things work out for them and make life better for them without thinking how it makes everyone else feel. For instance, when someone thinks only about how to make everything better for them, it makes me upset because depending on the situation, it makes Caleb extremely upset. He goes from sad to mad to just frustrated because he can't make everyone happy. Why can't he make everyone happy? Because the people he is trying to make happy want two different things. Unfortunately, I can't sacrifice what I believe to make people happy and Caleb can't either.

I just get terribly frustrated with people. I suppose I shouldn't get so upset, but sometimes I just can't help it. I would really like to tell people what I think, but I know that would make them upset. I know that in the grand scheme of things, the relationship that I have with people doesn't matter. I know all that matters is serving God and living for Him. I just wish other people would realize that and that even though having those relationships is good, at some point you have to let them go.

Not only does this venting have a reason, it does not have anything to do with the fact that Abby's anniversary is tomorrow. So, with this "reason" on top of the anniversary date, it makes me emotionally upset and frustrated and mad. Yeah, I said it, I am mad. I am mad that this happened, I am mad that they don't think about Caleb and I, I am mad that they don't think that they can talk to me about problems they may have. I am mad that they put all of this on Caleb and because they ONLY talk when he is there he feels like it is all depending on him. They don't talk to anyone else that is affected about it either, so of course, with Caleb's nature the way it is, he feels like he is the one that has to solve the problem. At this point, I just want to move away and never come back.

Ramblings of thankfulness

2009-08-02T14:54:00.002-04:00

I haven't blogged in a while, and I am not sure why. I suppose it is because I don't have anything exciting to say, but it could be because I have been a little bit busy and a lot a bit tired.

Motherhood is great. I love it. I love my son, I love my husband, I love the fact that their are 3 of us in our little family now. I cannot explain to you the joy I have for my son. He is such an incredible little boy and I am so thankful that God has given him to me. As it approaches Abby's first birthday, I am overwhelmed with a mix of feelings. I have a deep sadness that she is not here with Caleb and I, but I have a great joy that she is in Heaven. I am especially thankful for Caleb at this time because, were it not for him, I would be a lot more sad perhaps to the point of depressed. However, though I am sad, I am not "depressed". I still have the love of my life and a brand new son. I still have my faith and I still have my God. There is no reason for me to be depressed because I know without a shadow of a doubt, that I will see Abby in Heaven. I am sure I have said it before, but Caleb and I really grew up because of Abby. We learned that Caleb and I are a family, and that we need to make decisions ourselves. We learned that regardless of what other people think, we are going to do what we think is best, not what other people want us to think or do. We learned that serving God is more important than anything else in this life and we are going to do whatever it takes to serve Him to the best of our ability. I learned that it is ok not to please everyone. I learned that I should be extremely thankful for my family, but I also need to be willing to give them up. After all, God gives and God takes away-blessed be the name of the Lord. I cannot hold on to my family forever. I love my husband and my son more than anyone else in this entire world, but I am willing to follow God no matter what the circumstances. Abby taught me at a young age what it is like to go through an extreme hardship that affects every ounce of your life. She also taught me that only I can truly understand what it was like for me. Though other people may have lost children, how they felt and how I felt are more than likely different. Therefore, I feel a great sense of happiness when I think of the time that I did have with her. I am grateful that I got to feel her kick and roll for 9 months, I am thankful that though she was not with us, Caleb and I got to hold her and spend time with her after she was born. I am sad, but I am extremely happy and ready to celebrate her one year anniversary.

This post may have been confusing, but it has encouraged me greatly just to get these thoughts out on paper. Just to let myself know that I am truly happy and I am truly thankful for everything in my life. This last year has been extremely hard. I have been hurt more than I ever have in my entire life and I don't know if those wounds will ever heal, but I learned that all I need in this life is Caleb and God. I can live without everything else. In fact, I could probably live without Caleb if that was God's will, but I pray that will never happen. Caleb is such a rock for me. When we go through hard and hurtful times, we go through them together. They affect us together, we cry together and pray together. Even though Caleb and I have both been sad, happy, broken and emptied this past year, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I do hope this next year is better for us, I hope we continue to grow, but I hope we are able to put some of the past behind us and move on together serving God and raising our children to love God with all of their being.

Thanks for letting me ramble!

Thankfullness and sadness...

2009-07-24T20:55:00.002-04:00

There are so many things I am thankful for in life. I am thankful for my parents and the way they raised me. I am thankful for my friends that I have had my entire (or most of it) life. I am thankful for the safety God has given me in my life. More personally I am thankful for my husband. I am thankful for the love he shows our family. I am thankful for the things that he does for me and the way he leads our family. I am thankful that he is the Spiritual leader in our relationship and that he helps me grow in my relationship with Christ. I am thankful for the love he shows our son. I am thankful for the father that he is and the father that he will continue to be as our kids grow and as we have more, Lord willing. I am thankful for Donovan and the joy that he is in my life. I am thankful for the ways he is pushing Caleb and I to mature and grow, but also to love and nurture. I am especially thankful for my baby girl Abigail. I know that she is no longer with us and that still hurts tremendously, but I am thankful for everything she gave to Caleb and I. Through her Caleb and I became dependant on each other. We grew together so much and we are continuing to grow together every day. We learned to make decisions on our own and to stick by them. We learned to depend on God for our every need and desire. We learned that communication is so important.

Through all of this it brings me to the fact of sadness. Abigail's birthday is in 10 days. I think that is enough said.

Rainy days...

2009-07-22T14:32:00.002-04:00

I thought I would update briefly while Donovan is sleeping. Things are going well-I absolutely love having a son. I love being a mother-although sometimes it is still quite hard to adjust. I love cuddling with him and loving on him and just watching him as he sleeps. I am so thankful for him.

My mind keeps wandering though because it is almost August 4-Abby's birthday. I keep thinking about what it would be like to have her instead of Donovan or how life would be different with two. I am not quite sure really what to think about everything. I just hope to get through the next couple of weeks still sane. I just get overcome sometimes with a deep deep sadness. I guess that is to be expected, but it just hurts terribly. I am very thankful for Caleb also-without him beside me this whole time, I think I would be a bigger mess than I am sometimes!

I am trying to keep up with housework. I think the hardest part to keep up with is laundry. I wonder what it would be like if my washer and dryer was on the main floor instead of the basement. I really dread having to go down there to do laundry, so I put it off until everything is basically overflowing! (Like now) So, I am going to go start a load and get that going-hopefully I can get it all done in 2-3 loads. I am debating when Jeremy moves out to see if Caleb will turn that back closet into the washer and dryer area. I think that would be nice, but I don't know if I want to lose that closet space. I guess we will see.

Not too much else is happening. I would like to ask some prayer of you all if you think about it. I am currently struggling with keeping up with my Bible reading and such because it seems that my plate is full. But I know I have time because I am using some right now! For some reason I am just choosing to do this instead. If anyone has any helpful advice on how to handle everything in one day in an organized manner, that would be great!

Shh...Donovan is sleeping!

2009-07-11T15:17:00.002-04:00

Well, while my little man is sleeping, I thought I would update real quickly. (Since I actually have two hands right now!) Things are going well. We are adjusting to parenthood really well. There have been a couple bumps in the road and some things haven't gone quite like we expected, but I am sure it will all work out. We went to the doc on Thursday and he is growing, however I was talking to him about how after I would feed D, about an hour to an hour and a half later he would be screaming and wanting to eat again. I told him how this has gone on for a few days. He told me to pump a bottle and see how much I produce, so after I did that, I learned that I wasn't producing near enough milk to make the little guy not hungry, really I was just pacifying him. The doc said that we would need to supplement with formula after everytime I feed him. Our goal was not to have to buy formula, but since we are going to have to anyway, we just switched totally to bottle. I really didn't want that to happen, but you got to do what you got to do I guess. And little D is so much more happy now that he is getting fed in good quantities. He is only waking up twice during the night and after he is eating he is going straight back to sleep, so that is nice. It is still a little exhausting though, but I am sure my body will adjust to it.

Everything else seems to be doing well. We had lots of rain come down today, I am glad we got the mowing done yesterday! We also put an ad in the paper for Bo. Caleb and I agreed that having him and the baby is just too much for us right now. So, if you want a free house-trained, neutered dog that is just 1 year old, let me know! I suppose I should make use of the rest of my time to do some laundry and other things. Thanks for checking in on us!

Welcome Donovan Cotham Lynd!

2009-07-05T13:13:00.002-04:00

Last Tuesday, Donovan came to join the world! He was born at 12:26, weighing 5 lb 14 oz, measured 19 1/4 in long. He is absolutely adorable! With a head full of hair and the perfect complexion, I just want to hold him all day long. But alas, there are other things that need done too! Currently he is sleeping, so I thought it might be a good time to update.

A quick recap of last week:
-Monday-went in to the hospital to have an amniocentesis done to make sure his lungs were mature enough to be induced. I can honestly tell you right now that I will never have that done again! It hurt, and it made me sick, and if they had come back to tell me that his lungs were not mature, it would not have been worth it. The only reason it is worth it now is because I have a little boy to love on! Anyway, about 5 pm they came back and said that he was ok to come out, so they gave me some medicine to soften my cervix and told me to go to sleep for the night.
-Tuesday the nurse came in at 5 in the morning, told me I was dialated to 2 and that at 6 they were going to start the pitocin. They didn't really start it until 6:30, and at 9:30 the doctor, whom I highly reccomend, came in and broke my water. At that point I was 4 cm dialated. They told me that when the contractions get unbearable to let them know and they would call for the epidural. About 10:30 I told them that I needed the epidural and I needed it now. So they called and came back and told me that the guy would be in soon. So, I waited and waited, and waited some more. At this time my contractions were coming very strong at every other minute. Finally about 11:15 the epidural man came and gave me the medicine. After it finally kicked in, I was doing much better. The nurse checked again right after he put the epidural in to see how far I was and her response was "oh my". I was 9 cm and fully effaced...this baby was coming. So she ran off to call the doc and to get everything ready. I laid there happily carrying on a conversation with Caleb, after all, I couldn't feel a thing! She came back in about 10 minutes later and told me the doc would be here in 5 minutes. I said ok, but I am feeling a little bit of pressure, can you check this out. She checked and she immediately put on her gloves because she thought she was going to deliver a baby right there. She poked her head out the door and told a nurse to call the doc to come now. As I lay there peacefully waiting on the birth of my boy, I can feel him inching his way out. The nurse gets herself into position to deliver as the doc comes running through the door! (Meanwhile I am watching a pretty good show on TV) He tells me to push once and the doc replied with, "Wow, this baby is ready to come right now!" I pushed three more times and heard the jubilient cry of my baby boy. I was so happy to hear that sound it made me cry. (Caleb did too!) And the rest of the story is nothing more than your normal clean up of the baby and things like that. Now we are home and I am so thankful for my little man. Even if he does get me up in the middle of the night.

I am still working on the nursing thing. It is terribly painful right now, but I am hoping that eases.

Well, I hear him crying, so I am off to rescue and feed him! I will update again soon, but here is a pic so you can see him!

2009-06-21T13:19:00.002-04:00

I am working on organizing the baby room today. You know, a year ago I would have never thought I would be doing this all over again. Last year in July was my baby shower, now I had another one less than a year later only changing from pink to blue. It makes me sad and thankful at the same time. I am sad that I didn't get the chance with Abigail to use any of the pretty things she got from the shower. I am sad that Caleb and I didn't really even get the opportunity to spend any time with her. Sure we had the day and a half at the hospital, but that is just not the same as bringing your baby home and enjoying them. One thing that I am really looking forward to, that most people will say is nuts, but I am looking forward to hearing Donovan cry. That is one sound that I didn't get to hear from Abigail. I cannot wait to hear his cry though, I am sure it will only be the first couple of hours that I really treasure it, but I also know that there will be those moments when I miss Abby terribly, and then I hear Donovan cry and I know I will be thankful to hear it! I am thankful that God has given us another opportunity to have a baby so soon. A lot of people think it was to soon, and in some aspects I can agree. There have been times through this pregnancy that I have mourned Abby, and I am sure that will continue even after Abby is born, but Caleb and I decided that we can't stop living our lives. We know that Abby is in a very safe place and she is loved. All of this to say, that no matter what happens, I hope to remain thankful. Thankful for Abby and everything she gave to Caleb and I. We grew together more with her than we would have without. We grew up tremendously in the couple months after her death. We made a lot of changes in our lives and in the relationships of those we love, but we probably wouldn't have made those changes were it not for her. I want to remain thankful for God who is giving us another baby so soon. I especially want to remain thankful for my husband who loves me and both of our children tremendously and only wants the best for us.

If you all think about it, pray for us over the next week or so. We are going in Monday the 29th for some big testing and if everything comes back ok, they will induce that day. I am getting a little nervous and a lot excited at the same time. But also, I have been having off and on noticeable contractions for the past week, I am not sure what is going on with those, but just pray for us at this time. Thanks!!!

Baby shower day!

2009-06-20T11:45:00.002-04:00

Today is my baby shower for Donovan. It should be really exciting! A lot of my family is going to be there and quite a few friends, so it will be really neat.

Caleb and I made a decision on what to do about delivery. We are going to go in on June 29th and have an amniocentesis. The results take about 4 hours to get back and if they come back that his lungs are mature, they are going to induce same day. If the results say that his lungs are not quite mature enough yet, we are going to wait until July 13th to induce. With that being said, I am getting quite excited with the thoughts that I could be holding my baby boy in as little as 9 days.

Not too much else has been going on. There is a super fun new card game Caleb and I learned to play a couple weeks ago and we really enjoy it. It is called Hand and Foot. I recommend it to everyone! Well, I am off to get my dog in and head to the baby shower. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

0708052401-ssc 8666440148

Contractions and Robberies

2009-06-17T12:30:00.002-04:00

Well, yesterday my mother called me and was very upset. My mind immediately jumped to conclusions thinking that something had happened to someone in the family. Instead I was just as horrified at her telling me that she had just gotten home and their house had been broken into. I am not sure yet how this makes me feel. After years of living there and not a single thing happening and then all of a sudden yesterday someone goes through the entire house looking for something, but as far as they can tell takes nothing. What is going on with that? Needless to say my mom feels very violated at this time and is still quite upset. Well, once she called Caleb and I left our house immediately to go over to hers and as we were driving down the road I began feeling them. Yes, they were contractions...not just the mild ones either. I pushed them to the side of my thoughts though...I didn't have time for that right now. Once we got to the house and found out what we could. We just waited. By this time I could feel them coming more frequently. I pulled my sister-in-law aside and asked her what she thought was going on. She said they could be real contractions or they could be braxton-hicks. She said to call the doc and see what they say. So I did, and they said to just go on into the hospital and get checked out just to make sure. When we got hooked up to the monitor at the hospital they were coming about every 4 minutes. The nurse said we weren't dilating though. So, after 4 hours of contractions and 2 IV bags, they ask if they think I can sleep through them. I figure if the baby isn't coming right now, I would much rather be at home anyway, so sleep or not I was going home. Now today I am still having them, they are a bit more hit and miss. We go to the doc again in the morning, so hopefully we can figure something out then.

Other than that, all is going well. Caleb is working right now. Jeremy is sleeping, he is still looking for a house to buy. I have resigned myself to the fact that he is going to be here when the baby is born. I guess that is not a bad thing, it is just going to be a bit more stressful. But hopefully the boys will be willing to pick up after themselves a little bit more!

2009-06-12T12:35:00.002-04:00

You know, I never realized quite how "scared" I would be at the end of this pregnancy. I thought I would be able to breeze through it without a problem, but I am so scared at this point in time that it is beginning to consume my thoughts. I am attempting to keep busy, but really there is only so much that I can do before I run out of things to do! I already broke the mower on accident, so I have to wait for Caleb to fix that. I have cleaned the house, and am working on laundry. Tomorrow there is a baby shower from some ladies at church, so that will give me something to do and then organizing the clothes and stuff afterwards.

My main fear is that I am going to feel that same movement that I felt with Abby right before she died. I really don't like to think about it because that was a horrible feeling now that I realize what it was. It is not even the fact that I am tired of being pregnant. While that is true, I could make it until the end if it was just that, but more it is that I am scared that something will happen to this little guy inside of me. There are times where I am in tears because I just want him to be safe. It is times like that when all I can do is pray...pray for Donovan, and pray for strength for me.

So in light of all this, I ask you all to pray too-the end is coming near, sometimes I wish it was next week, but I want him to be healthy too-I don't want him to come too early. We do have a couple of decisions to make with the docs and I ask you to pray for wisdom and peace for us. Caleb too-I know this is hard on him as well. He asks me every day how Donovan's movements are and things like that, so don't forget him! Thank you all so much!

It is hard to clean without power...

2009-05-28T12:02:00.001-04:00

In fact, it is hard to do much without power except maybe read a book. I was sitting in the chair just finishing up my pb&j when all of a sudden, I think I've been shot. But really it is just the power going out with a bang. I look out the window and see that to the east, all of Waynetown is still on, but to the west everyone is running out of their houses like there is a fire in them, so I know that it is just that direction that people lost power like me. After 10 minutes, I decide to call the utility company to see what is going on. I ask them why my power is out and they tell me that its not. I said hmmm, that's funny because none of my electronics are working! They then say that they will send someone down. So, after I explain to the man that comes that there was a loud bang and then people start running out of their houses, he sets off to look for the cause of the outage. As I watch out the window, I see him circling the block...over and over and over again. After about 2 hours of this, my power comes back on. I am trying to decide if he was being like the people who marched around the walls of Jericho, only he drove around the affected electrical unit? I did not however, see him blowing a trumpet, so I figure he must have known what he was doing. That is my excitement for the day.

Now, I am off to start my laundry and finish running the sweeper. Just thought I would share my morning of excitement with everyone because I know you were all dying to know about it. :)

2009-05-22T15:40:00.003-04:00

I know, I haven't posted in what seems like ever, but here I am! Today is my dad's birthday so we are going out to my parent's house tonight to help celebrate. That should be a lot of fun. Especially since it is a beautiful day outside!

What has gone on the past few weeks?
-Caleb had his first softball game. They lost, but it was a lot of fun to go and watch!
-Jeremy put an offer on a house...unfortunately it is not move in ready, so I am learning to be content with the fact that he will probably be here after the baby is born.
-There is a family that is trying to move up from North Carolina that will go to the church Caleb and I go to in Crawfordsville. They are wanting to put a used bookstore and coffee shop in downtown. I keep wondering how that will go over...
-We hit the beginning of 8 months in this pregnancy.
-Caleb landscaped part of our yard!!! (I watched)

So, it seems like not much has happened, but thinking back, we were pretty busy!

What is coming up until July?
-Well, we have 4 doctor appointments in the next 2 weeks. 1 appointment has an ultrasound, the others all involve stress tests and check-ups. I believe they are starting to be super alert to what is going on. Which is totally fine with me! I don't think he is going to make it until July, but I don't really know.
-June 5-6 I am hoping to have a garage sale at my house
-June 13 is a baby shower put on by the ladies at the church I go to
-June 20 is a baby shower with my family and friends from where Caleb works.
-Softball games every Monday until the end of July
-July 4 party at my parents
-Hopefully getting induced July 6 if Donovan has not made an appearance by then. Our actual due date is July 20, but they don't want to leave him in their that long. If he keeps kicking me in the ribs like he has today, I am not sure if I want him in there until the 6th! But I will keep him as long as I can if it will make him healthier.

Other than all of that, just working around the house. I am thankful that I already have the baby room furnished and painted. Now I just have to wait for clothes! We hope to get some more landscaping done, but we have pretty much maxed out our funding on that this year. Guess that is really all I have to say. Hope everything is going well for all of you!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

2009-05-08T10:04:00.002-04:00

I am ready for it to be dry outside! I want to get back to landscaping our yard, but that is so difficult when there is rain coming down all day long! I also wish it would stop raining so our dog can dry out. Poor Maggie-she is our German Shepherd puppy. We have had her for about 5 weeks or so-she had been in the house until Tuesday of this week. After she was completely house-trained we decided it was time she go outside. Since we bought her with the intention of her being an outside dog. So Tuesday we went and picked up a dog house and all, and she is doing really fantastic out there. I just feel so bad for her because it is raining. She is so muddy. Luckily she is smart enough to realize that when its raining to go inside her dog house and she won't get soaked. But, I just feel bad for her. I don't feel a bit bad when it is sunny because she is out running around or laying out in the sun having a good time, but just when it is so wet and muddy. Poor little girl! Anyway-Caleb started landscaping on his day off this week and it has been raining ever since. Plus we haven't had tons of time when it is not raining. Like yesterday evening for instance. He got off of work at 5 and came home, we had dinner and then it was off to church because we are having a gospel meeting all week. Tonight is the last night for it though. Hopefully whatever day or days Caleb has off next week will be nice and we can finish up. I would be out there today, but I just looked at the radar and saw the big massive rain spot coming straight at us, so I figure I will just wait until it is over to get out there.

That's about all that is going on around here. I am about to go switch the laundry and get busy again. It seems that my work is never done! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Cloudy days...

2009-04-29T16:38:00.002-04:00

So, sometimes cloudy days are the worst, but today hasn't been to bad! I got a lot accomplished this morning and then sat down this afternoon to order some books online for Caleb and I. As we desire to take our relationship with Christ to a deeper level, we need some study books to help us study more in-depth. Caleb is also interested in preaching at some point in time, so these books will really come in handy when he is preparing lessons and such. I am so thankful that God has blessed me with such a loving, Godly husband! So, after picking those books out, Jeremy decided that he wanted some too, so I added his books too and we are just waiting for them now!

As far as the funny event of the day, well, it's one of those things that are funny now, but was not funny at the time. I was sitting on my front porch enjoying the afternoon and thought I would let my pup run around for a bit without her lead. She usually stays very close and doesn't run off. Well, I say usually because today was the exception. I let her off her lead and immediately she took off, ran down the back hill towards the creek smelling frantically. At this time I am chasing her (note, I am 7 1/2 months pregnant) down the hill yelling at her to come or stop or anything. She is apparently looking for something when I get a whiff of some horrible makes me stop in my tracks or else get sick, smell. I look down to where she is and notice she has a rotting fish corpse in her mouth. Yes, she found the fishes that Caleb had cleaned and threw over the bank. At this time, she is running back up the hill, and I am now turning to chase her back up the hill. After running around the house twice, I am able to corner her and make her drop the fish. It was really one of those "you had to see it" events to really get the full enjoyment, but oh my, she was in some serious trouble!

Other than all of this, my day has been nonchalant. I am now getting ready to go to church tonight and enjoy some good fellowship. Hope you all have a good night too!

Lots going on...

2009-04-27T11:07:00.002-04:00

I think this summer is going to be absolutely crazy! Caleb is off today and tomorrow, but he is out fishing with Jeremy (his brother), Ken (the preacher) and Andrew (Ken's son). Hopefully it will not turn into an all day thing because I was wanting to go to Lafayette this afternoon. I have a coupon for the Christian bookstore and would like to visit it. Tomorrow we have a big OB appt. and then we are meeting with Ken and his wife for Bible study tomorrow evening. Wednesday is catch-up day after Caleb goes back to work and church that night. Thursday-Saturday look like hit or miss days, I am sure they will be busy. Next week is the week-long gospel meetings at church. That should be a lot of fun, but I forgot and have to reschedule Caleb's eye appointment. I forgot that we had offered to have the speaker and his wife over Monday for dinner and also scheduled appointments for that day. Erg...I need to start writing things down! But the rest of the summer looks like this! It won't bother me though! It will make the summer go fast! The sooner we get to July the better!

On a bright note, I ordered a baby sling today that I am very excited about! I can't wait to get to use it!

Other than all of this, I am just plugging away at whatever I can. I prefer to stay busy, but I also like "down time" where I can sit and blog or just read a book. Doesn't everyone like time like that though?! Well, I am off to get ready to go to Lafayette with the hope that Caleb will not be gone all day!

I feel accomplished!

2009-04-23T21:36:00.002-04:00

I finished the bathroom!!!! AND its CLEAN!!!! That is a huge weight off my shoulders. Caleb and I also finished the new walkway we built from the driveway to the back porch. I will post pics later in the week of both jobs and the baby room. I am finishing the closet Saturday, so once that is done, I will put up pics. I love when I can mark things off the to-do list. It makes me feel good to cross things off. Now I am resting because I am exhausted, so I will get back with you all at a later date!

2009-04-23T11:03:00.002-04:00

I am sitting here waiting on my friend Michelle to come up so we can finish painting the bathroom. That will be such a blessing to have it done! After she leaves, I plan on thoroughly cleaning the toilet and sink and floor because it is slightly disgusting in there. After all of that is done, well, I want to get outside and enjoy the beautiful sunshine and warm weather. I am very excited about the prospect of opening my windows and leaving them open for days at a time!

Caleb and I went to Home Depot and Big R yesterday and got some much needed landscape materials. I can't wait to work outside a lot and get our house looking fantastic! I don't remember how much I wrote about, but Caleb and I ended up putting a second offer on the house we were looking at and they did not accept it, nor did they negotiate very well with their counteroffer. Therefore, we have decided to stay in our current house for a longer period of time. I really do love the house we are in now, but with Jeremy living with us too, we are growing out of it very quickly. Before I would use the room that is now Jeremy's as a storage room more or less. Now that he is inhabiting it, there is nowhere else for the storage in that room to go. Oh well, since I have been boxing things up, that is making more room. I am more than happy here, I just feel a little cramped. Oh well! If God wants us to have that house, then the people who own it are going to accept our offer or come back and tell us they want to negotiate better.

Anyway, back to landscaping...we are redoing the walkway we have leading to our back porch and we are also planning on getting some bushes at some point in time to add to the house. Caleb is going to mow soon (as it looks like we are growing a jungle instead of grass) and then we have some fertilizer to put on to make our yard look splendid this year! I also indulged yesterday and bought my tomato plants. I am debating on putting them in pots or having Caleb till part of the yard on the other side of the driveway. I would like them in pots because that would prevent having to weed them a lot, but the problem is I don't know where to set the pots at! Oh the menial issues I face.

Other than all of this jibber-jabber, not much is going on. I emailed a lady today that I found out about through a friend from high-school (actually elementary-high school) about a sling/wrap for Baby D when he comes. I am getting pretty excited. I was thinking about it last night. It is almost May now, that means I have all of May and all of June. We are due the 20th of July, but since they don't want to risk losing this one like Abby, they are going to induce 2 weeks early, so that means that right after the 4th of July I will be having a baby. Which then means that it is basically just 2 months and 2 weeks left! Hooray! I go on Tuesday for another OB appt in which they will start taking me every two weeks or so I believe. I am not entirely positive on that though. I know we are going to have another ultrasound fairly soon.

I guess I have talked your ear off enough now. I hope you all have a fantastic day...enjoy the weather!

I didn't know it would hurt that bad...

2009-04-19T15:17:00.002-04:00

Today, Caleb was working and I went to church with Jeremy. I wasn't expecting to have a hard day today, but of course, when you least expect it...they come. So as I was sitting in church (Sunday school had just finished) I look down the row at the couple that usually sit with Caleb and I and a new girl was there too. Shortly thereafter I hear the cry of a newborn baby. I look down again and she had a maybe 3-4 week old baby girl with her. At first it was really cute, she was cuddling with her and rocking her to sleep. Then of course, my mind started going. I went back almost 9 months ago to when my baby girl was born. I thought about what it would be like to have gotten to rock her and cuddle with her. I thought about what it would have been like to bring her to church in her cute little dresses, to feed her, to nurture her. It just hurt so much to see that little girl, knowing that I would have had one that was very similar to her. I have gotten to the point where pictures of little baby girls don't affect me much anymore, but this was the first time that I saw one up close for any period of time. It was just a little painful. It seems that lately, I have been thinking a lot about Abigail Renee. Some days I miss her so much, even though I only had one day with her, and that day was silent. I am thankful for this new life inside of me now, but he will never replace my Abby.

A New Day

2009-04-18T12:32:00.002-04:00

Everyone always says that tomorrow will be a better day. I am not so convinced! I am, however, officially a firm believer that you shouldn't go to bed with tension between yourself and your spouse. (Especially if they have to get up early to go to work) I mistakenly went to bed last night with tension between Caleb and I. Now he is at work and I wasn't able to talk to him this morning because he went in much to early. Not only did he go in early, but I found his phone under his pillow this morning. That means that we can't even talk things out over his lunch hour. So, what does this mean? It means that all day today I have felt horrible because I hate it when things aren't worked out between the two of us.

I spent this morning doing chores when I woke up, and now that they are done I am just kind of waiting until 2:o0 for Bible study. I am looking forward to it because we are studying a book called "The Excellent Wife". Hopefully this will give me insight into how to become a better wife for Caleb and how to deepen my relationship with Christ.

On a brighter note, I woke up to the sound of chain saws and lawn mowers this morning! I would take that sound over the sound of a snow plow going down the road any day! I am so thankful that it is springtime now and that it has been warm the past 2-3 days. I am also thankful that the grass is green, the leaves are coming out on the trees and the flowers are budding. I get to be in charge of the 6 big flower pots downtown Waynetown this year and I can't wait to plant them. I am going to have fun with that I think.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, enjoy the warm, dry weather today, I hear it is supposed to rain tomorrow!

I just love spring!!!

2009-04-17T14:47:00.002-04:00

The weather is absolutely beautiful today! I have the windows open, the dog outside, and I have really enjoyed my day so far. This morning I got up and started painting the bathroom. I got all of the trim done. It is just the walls that need to be painted tomorrow. :) I then proceeded to do some little odds and ends tasks that just go under the "everyday house chores" category, took some time to sit down and paint my nails and enjoy a few minutes of rest time, ate some lunch, and now I am blogging before I get busy again.

I am super excited for tomorrow, we are starting a new Bible study on the book "The Excellent Wife". I can't wait. I am ready to learn and apply all that I can to become closer to Christ and closer to my husband. (And on the side learn all the Biblical things that a wife should be doing)

I am still waiting to hear back from the realtor. As of 4:30 yesterday afternoon, they hadn't been able to get a hold of the people who are selling the house to tell them that an offer has been put on it. I am hoping to hear an answer today instead of the same thing as yesterday! I like to think that they found out this morning and are thinking about accepting our offer. If they have been able to get a hold of them, I am surprised we haven't heard anything yet. Oh well, I need to learn patience anyway!

Other than all of that, not too much is new in my life. Softball for the boys starts next month, so that will be fun to go and watch. I am looking forward to that. I can't believe however that it is almost MAY! Where has the time gone?! But, I am not complaining. When July happens, I will be more than happy for it to slow down, but until then it can go as fast as it wants to!

I am going to go enjoy some of this beautiful weather outside...hopefully you all can too!

The house...

2009-04-16T09:57:00.003-04:00

We put an offer on an amazing house. Pray that our offer gets accepted. If it doesn't, I will be content and trust that God has better for us.

2009-04-09T15:20:00.002-04:00

I think I want to write a book. Or maybe I just want to journal, I don't know. I just have this very strong desire to write something! So I suppose I might as well write here while I am thinking about it.

I got the baby room mostly done today. It looks really neat, but makes me a little sad sometimes thinking about how I should have an 8month old. I suppose this is how its supposed to be though!

Caleb and I are looking at buying a new house. I am pretty excited about it, and I am really praying that it will happen. I love it! It is out in the country and twice the size of ours now. The bedrooms are huge! I wouldn't know what to do with all the space. It would be nice to have too much space instead of not enough, but I am sure it would probably fill up fast. There are just so many possiblities with that house and I get excited just thinking about it. I have to remind myself though that it might not happen. The people might not accept our offer or someone else could buy it. But we are going to put our house on the market regardless. Seeing as it takes so long for houses to see nowadays we would like to get a jump on it! It is kind of exciting thinking about moving. It is getting me motivated to put things up and pack away unnecessary things that we have sitting out. And it helps me know that I HAVE to keep the house clean since we will be living here while people are looking at it.

I suppose I really don't have anything else going on. Softball is getting ready to start up...that is really exciting. I think the sooner it starts up the sooner July will come! But it is already the second week in April, time is flying! Just the rest of April, May, June and about a week into July and then I will be done! Hooray!

Well, I am off to take a nap I think, it has been a busy day. Have a good weekend everyone!

Busy times...

2009-03-19T18:40:00.002-04:00

These are some of the busy times and lazy times at the same time! How does that happen? I have been doing a lot of housework and extra-curricular activities in the evenings, but have also found myself sitting down for a hour nap in the mid-afternoon! I guess its ok as long as I get my work done. Things are going well, I have spring cleaned approx. half of my house, but the two rooms and a closet that I have left are going to be the worst! The kitchen, our bedroom and the hall closet...not looking forward to those. It will be nice to have it done though. I had decided to get all the rooms of my house spring cleaned and then paint the baby room that way after it is done I can feel like my work has been done and settle down to just shopping and other misc things to do around here. I got the paint the other day for the room though. I am pretty excited about that! I can't wait to paint it, so that is good motivation to get the rest of the house cleaned! I think I did about 6 loads of laundry today! I have been majorly behind on that, but as soon as the dryer gets done and put away I am done! Hooray!

I am sitting here looking outside and I see green splotches of grass! I am so thankful that spring is almost here...tomorrow morning actually, but the weather is nice too! It will make it seem like July is getting closer! I cannot wait to be done being pregnant. I will be very thankful when july gets here. I am not excited however that every time I go get another ultrasound, the date keeps getting pushed back! By my last period the due date should be July 12. The first ultrasound showed the 18th, the next one showed the 22nd and the one we just had on Monday now says the 28th. What is going on???? I am beginning to think I am becoming an elephant where they are pregnant for like 20 months at a time! Those poor abimals, and it is so hot where they live too, that would have to be the worst! Caleb and I have come to an agreement though, this child is going to be potty-trained before we have another one, or at least time it to where by the time the second child is born the first is no longer in diapers.

Well everyone, have a great weekend! I am off to a Bible study! Enjoy the sunshine!

2009-03-06T16:15:00.003-05:00

So, I am struggling with an attitude issue. Jeremy is still living with us and his plans have changed so instead of being gone at the end of April, there is no "projected" leave date anywhere in the foreseeable future. Is this a bad thing? I don't know. I don't know if my hormones are messing with me, or I am just tired of cleaning up after 2 boys instead of one. I don't know if I am ready to have the house to myself again while Caleb is working instead of Jeremy always being here. He initially went down to part-time to work on school, however, he must have spring fever because he hasn't done hardly any school since we got back from Arizona. I guess out of all of this I am just venting. I love Jeremy (as a brother of course) to pieces and really don't mind him being here, but I know life is going to change drastically again in July when we have our baby. Any advice on how to deal with something like this?

Spring Fever!

2009-03-04T14:30:00.002-05:00

Yes, like most other people I have officially caught spring fever! I took a wonderful walk this afternoon in a light jacket and was very comfortable. Although I think I am slightly out of shape because after the first mile of my usual two-mile walk, I was huffing and puffing! I go one mile out that way I have to walk the one-mile back to my house, but I think I may have to gradually work up to that again! I just love taking walks though, and I think Bo really enjoys it too! He is still outside playing in the front yard and chewing on the sticks that have yet to get picked up. I went out to start on it today and found out that it is still a little bit muddy where all the sticks are! So, I think that will have to wait for another day.

Lets see, what else is going on???
-my sister and her family is coming up from TN for the weekend. It will be great to see them! I haven't seen them since...Thanksgiving. Wow, that was a long time ago!
-We have an OB appt on Monday. I am pretty excited about that! The clock is ticking down (ever so slowly, but it is still moving!) We are a little over 20 weeks now. Hopefully we will start discussing when they are going to induce and maybe get a tentative date set!
-I have decided on colors for the baby room. Michelle said that she would help me paint it too. I am very excited. I didn't get to paint the room last time, but Caleb told me I could if it was warm out and I was able to open the windows and use the fan. It is going to looks so cute I can't wait! I will post pictures when it is finished, but it will be a couple of weeks.

I think that is about all that is going on right now. Other than the fact that I have found some areas in my life that have needed desperate "awakening" and I am now working on them. I have realized that my "desire" to go to church was gone. But more than that, my "desire" to study the Bible on my own was gone too. I did some much needed soul searching and praying and have found that "desire" again. It is no longer a chore to have to go to church or to study the Bible. I want to know more about my God and be able to share with others the complete joy that I have.

Well, I am off for now. I think I may run in to the library...or maybe I will go tomorrow. I haven't decided yet. :) Have a super day today...try to enjoy the weather outside!

HOME!!!

2009-02-23T16:15:00.002-05:00

The old saying "there is no place like home", is certainly true in my life. It is fun to go on vacation, but I was ready to come home by Thursday. I just like being home, what can I say? But we did have a really really good time in Arizona. We traveled to the Grand Canyon, that was absolutely beautiful. You can look at the pictures, but unless you have been there, you just can't imagine how beautiful it is. We saw some other misc. tourist attractions while we were out there also. The best thing I liked about this trip was that it gave Caleb and I some much needed time to talk and let our thoughts out to each other while we were alone. Now that Jeremy is living with us, we don't always have a lot of alone time, but last week was really good. :)

Let's see, I cleaned house today and worked on laundry and putting suitcases away after the trip. Now everything is back to normal and I am ready to move on to bigger and better things like working on the baby room! I am really starting to get excited. I feel him a little more every day...I love it!

Other than all that, not too much is going on. Caleb is off tomorrow, so I hope to spend some more quality time with him! Now I am off to find something for dinner! Have a great night everyone!

Good afternoon...

2009-02-12T12:10:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone. How are you all doing today? I am enjoying the sunshine while I get some things done around the house. Caleb and I are leaving on Sunday for Arizona, so I have been doing laundry and setting things aside to pack. We are having some people stay at our house so we don't have to put Bo at the boarding place, so I need to clean and go to the grocery store for them too! So much to do so little time.

So, that wind and rain sure was something yesterday wasn't it? Yeah, our creek was so full it totally flooded out our neighbors yard, but we are up on a little hill, so it didn't affect us too much. I went into the basement yesterday morning and it was a little wet, but it wasn't standing water, so that was nice. And then yesterday evening about 6:15 we had a tree fall down right beside our house. I was concerned that it was either going to fall on ours or our neighbors house, but it actually fell in just the right direction along our property line to the west. It was very convenient, but the tree will have to sit there until we get back from Arizona for Caleb to take it down.

In other news, we found out Monday that we are going to have a little boy this time. We are very excited. I am excited because it will give me some stuff to do. Like re-painting the room, packing away all the little girl things, and going to yard sales and other places to find little boy things! I am super excited. I have been looking at paint and I think I am going to try one of those special painting techniques they have out now. The one I like the most is called "combing". I plan on doing that to the bottom half of the room and the top half will just be a solid color. It will be a lot of fun because I am going to open the windows and do it myself and nobody is going to stop me!!!! Caleb didn't want me to be around the smell for the last baby, but I told him that I am doing it this time, I will wait until it is warmer and open the windows and he agreed, so I am excited.

Other than all that, laundry is calling my name, so I guess I better be on my way. Hope you all have a super weekend! It will probably be a week or so before I get back to you! Pray for a birdless flight for us!

Cereal

2009-02-07T13:46:00.002-05:00

As I sit here eating my bowl of Cap'n Crunch mixed with Fruit Loops, I got to thinking about Valentine's Day. And then that got me to thinking about love, which made me think of Caleb. That is where my thoughts have stuck. Bought not the drooling over Caleb and how much I love him thoughts (while it is very true, I love him very very much) but more of how do I show Caleb I love him. I want Caleb to know just exactly how much I love him. I want him to understand that he is everything to me and I wouldn't dream of my life being any different way than it is now. I want him to feel that kind of love radiating from me, but I don't think he does. Why? Because I don't show it. Lately, I have been taking advantage of him. I will ask him to do something without saying thank you or I will just naturally expect him to come home from work and immediately start helping me. That's not the way I should be. For Caleb, I know he likes to sit down for a few minutes after he gets home, and I know that he really likes it if I will stop what I am doing and just sit down with him and talk about his day, but lately, I have not been doing that. I need to start thinking about the real reason for love. I got to looking at 1 Corinthians 13 the other day, it really had me start thinking. Love is patient...how patient am I? If caleb doesn't do what I ask within 5 minutes do I jump his case? Love is kind? Am I kind to Caleb? I know that I love him, but am I kind to him? And the list goes on, this is just some things that I have been thinking about as Valentine's Day comes around again. If you think about it, pray for me as I try to deepen my love and relationship with Caleb!

On a side note, I took a walk with my dog this morning in just jeans and a sweatshirt!!! Hooray, maybe spring is coming! Even if there is more winter coming, I am very thankful for this brief period of warmer weather! (I think I am going to freeze everyone out of my house this afternoon, I have one window in every room open to air out the house!) AND an exciting thing is happening tonight! Caleb called me from work and told me not to make plans for tonight! We are having a date night! Hooray!!! I love those nights, they are so special! Well, I am off to switch laundry and work on my Bible study! Have a great weekend! Enjoy the weather!

My thoughts are a bit scattered...

2009-02-04T10:22:00.002-05:00

Well, my brain is all over the place this morning. Going from thinking about things I need to get done, like laundry, dishes and running the sweeper. All the way to the other extreme of I cannot wait for the doctor appointment next Monday because I am at that stage where I am not getting sick, but I haven't felt the baby move yet. I really thought that with this baby I wouldn't panic and everything would be fine, but let me tell you, right now I pray every day that I will feel something to let me know everything is alright. Just a few more days though. I also have to call some people today to make various appointments and arrangements. We are heading out to Arizona in two weeks which I am extremely excited for. Warm weather, family, vacation, yeah-I am pretty pumped up.

I have decided that it is extremely hard to get anything to stay clean for more than a day when two grown boys live at your house. Caleb does really well, don't get me wrong...actually they both do well, its just that my expectations for a clean house are greater than their expectations. But I mustn't complain because if it was clean all the time, I would have nothing to do besides laundry and that might get boring after a while.

As for now, I am off to eat another bowl of cereal...it is just calling my name, and then to finish dishes, start the laundry and run the sweeper. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Today...

2009-01-23T11:11:00.001-05:00

Today is a great day!!! Two of my favorite Aunts on Caleb's side are coming in from Illinois for the day and we are going to have lunch!!!! Not to mention it is absolutely beautiful outside! Today is just a super-great day! Have a great Friday everyone!!!

2009-01-21T13:54:00.002-05:00

So, I am very thankful that I have my energy back again. I can clean my house from top to bottom and not have to stop in the middle to rest. :) I actually just finished cleaning, so I thought I would update. This weekend was, well, lets say emotional. Lots of things happened, but nothing to serious. I think it was largely based on hormones and they just seemed overwhelmingly strong on Friday and Saturday. Now all that is over, and we are moving on.

I am going over to my mothers house tomorrow to learn how to make homemade noodles. I have decided that through the course of this winter, I am going to branch out and make more "dinners" instead of the convenience dinners that are so easy to make! I had a chili recipe that I always used, but I totally experimented the other day and made some GREAT chili. I was totally excited. And I made a pot roast the other day which was delicious too. Today is leftover day though, we have to work through what we have in the fridge before we move on to more stuff. But with Jeremy living with us now, it is a lot faster to go through leftovers than when it was just Caleb and I.

Lets see, not too much else is going on. I took Bo for a walk today because it looked beautiful out...we got to the corner of the road and I decided it was much too cold, so we came back. Oh well, he got a little walk! Jeremy is here today, and Caleb is working. I am in the process of doing laundry, but all the other housework is caught up with so I think I am going to work on my Bible study and maybe get a nap in before church. Sounds good to me!!! Have a great end of the week everyone!

What would I say?

2009-01-17T12:43:00.003-05:00

What would I say if I could? I would say this.

Yes, Caleb was upset last night after talking to you. Yes, this whole situation is bothering him, and me. Yes, things are going to be different now. Why do things have to be different you ask? Because Caleb is married. He has a family. He is making his own decisions now. Where does the problem come in? It comes in at the part where I said Caleb is making his own decisions now. Why is that the problem? Because you all still want to make his decisions for him. AND if he happens to make one that you all don't agree with you blow a fuse. Why is this the problem? Because even though you may not see it, you are crippling his and my relationship. Why? Because he loves his family but he loves his wife. He is torn and you guys are ripping his heart out and stomping it into the ground. Yes, its true. That is the blunt truth of what is going on. You may not want to accept that or say its true, but if there is one thing that I have from my father, that's the ability to read people like a book. I can read you and your family, you will not let him go. You want to hold on to him and make him be your little boy, when he is a grown man about to have ANOTHER child of his own. How do you not see that you are making his life hard to live right now? How do you not see that his and my relationship is struggling. I will tell you how you do not see it. Because all you are doing is thinking about yourself and saying "woe is me, things aren't like they used to be". Welcome to the world of change. Welcome to the world of growing up. Things are going to be different and if Caleb and my relationship is going to keep struggling, I am going to stand up to you all and tell you this to your face. If you don't like it, then fine, but don't say that I am not fighting for what I believe in. Don't even tell me that I am wrong because I am doing what I think is right. You have no bearing on that.

Why does everything need to be so drawn out and difficult???? That is the question

2009-01-15T20:33:00.002-05:00

I am sitting here watching the end of The Patriot with Jeremy and Nate and Andrew. They came over because the heater is broken in their house. Brrr, bad day for that to happen. Caleb should be on his way home and I am sure he will be hungry.

Today was productive. Since I am finally over the morning sickness, I can wake up earlier in the morning and work from the beginning instead of trying to keep my food down. So, I went to town, got the oil changed in the car, ran some errands, and came home. Then I cleaned the kitchen, did the laundry, picked up the bedroom and the living room. I then sat down and planned out meals for the next 4 days or so. I worked on my Bible study, took my nail polish off, helped Jeremy with some things since he is living with Caleb and I now, and watched the news. All of this before Nate and Andrew got here! Yay me!! I love being productive, but I sincerely can't wait until July. I know it is early to think that, but all things considering, I have been pregnant since November of 2007.

Tomorrow I am going to do some cooking, cleaning, and studying. I am making homemade bread and a pot roast for dinner tomorrow night, I am pretty excited about that. Other than that, I don't really have big plans for tomorrow. I like days like that! As for now, I am off to have a streusal cake and coffee. Have a great weekend everyone!

Accomplishment!

2009-01-08T19:36:00.001-05:00

This will be brief. I just wanted to let everyone know that I got my laundry done. I also ran the sweeper, dusted the furniture, cleaned the bathroom, paid bills, and actually put all of my laundry away! It is a pretty amazing feeling to finally get things done during the day instead of being exhausted. I am still a little slow getting going in the morning, but getting much better as the days go along! Tomorrow will be an easy day. Just picking things up and my mom wants to take me to lunch. Then tomorrow evening Caleb and I are going over to the Sils' house to hang out for a while. I am really looking forward to that! Well, I am off to do other things! Have a good night.

Procrastination

2009-01-08T13:03:00.002-05:00

I am sitting here and thinking about all I have to do today. I have a mountain of laundry to wash, clothes to fold, and a bathroom to clean. And I need to pledge my furniture. But still I continue to sit. Yesterday I was talking with Caleb about things that I would like to accomplish this year. A couple of things that I was dicussing with him is:
1. I would like to get my housework under control and keep it there. I don't like when I slack on the laundry and then end up with a small mountain of it, nor do I like when I get it all done, but it sits in laundry baskets waiting to be put away. I am doing well on keeping up with dishes and stuff like that, but it is the laundry that is really getting me.
2. I would like to grow deeper in my relationship with Christ. Caleb and I have recently became members at a new congregation and we love it there. The pastor and his family are so kind and willing to help us learn and their kids are getting to be good friends of ours. I would like to be much more diligent in my study of the Word and all that.
3. And this one is just a given. After this baby is born, Lord-willing, I will not be pregnant again until after the year 2010!!! I love kids, but I want some time to be married and not pregnant!!!

These are just some basic thoughts. I am thankful that Caleb and I have found a church that we both enjoy and are growing in. Ok, enough dilly-dallying, I am off to do my housework! Have a great day!

2009-01-02T21:41:00.002-05:00

So I am sitting here after 4 hours of playing Risk with Jeremy and Ryan. I am watching Caleb and Nate and Andrew play Wii. I love just watching people and listening to conversations. It is fun. Today was good, I slept a lot. I was still getting over the flu from yesterday, but it is much better now. I am still tired, but its ok. I think the flu takes a bigger toll on pregnant people, I was just wiped out yesterday!

I am officially taking down all Christmas decorations down tomorrow!!! I don't know which is worse...decorating or undecorating. I have been saying for a week that I am taking them down, but the time hasn't worked out yet. Other than that, I have a mountain of dishes from dinner tonight. The boys are good at making dinner, but horrible at cleaning it up, and I think they dirtied every pot and pan we have!!! (Ok, maybe not everyone, but it seems like it!)

But, I think I may be off to bed. I am super tired, man, Risk really can wear a person out! Have a super weekend everyone!

The Price is Right...

2008-12-30T11:32:00.002-05:00

Yes, I am sitting here watching the price is right thankful that I don't have any desire to go on that show! I am eating Chex Mix which is sad, because I went to the grocery store spent tons of money and just opened the fridge and couldn't find a thing to eat. I am so picky today.

I am thinking that this baby is a boy. This pregnancy just seems so different than Abby's. However, I do wish that it was July already and I was like a week away from delivering. I think that if I had the power, or if God allowed it to happen, I would choose to skip the first 5 months of the year and go right to June. Then I would have time to get things ready and finally would be within reach of having a baby. I can tell you all right now, I am not getting pregnant again for a long long time. I was thinking today, I was pregnant in the year 2007, 2008, and will be in 2009. That's too much for me!!!! I told Caleb I was excited for 2010 because for that whole year, Lord-Willing, I will not be pregnant!

We are house-sitting/dog-sitting at my parents house tonight while they are in TN seeing my sister and her fam. That should be fun. I think we are having some friends over and just going to hang out. I am excited! We are getting KFC too, that has sounded good to me since I saw a commercial for it like 2 weeks ago. AND...drumroll please....I think, I am almost done with morning sickness! I have woken up two mornings in a row not feeling a lick of nausea. Hooray! I still need lots of sleep at night to be worth anything the next day, but it's better than puking all the time!

Enough of all that, I am off to finish up a few things here at home before I go and get my mom's dog. Have a good week everyone!

Christmas was great...

2008-12-27T12:19:00.002-05:00

Well, Christmas was super! We went to Caleb's family and mine in the same day. That made for some stressful times, but overall, looking back at the day it was great.

Now I am sitting here with the computer wondering why I feel like...hmmm what's a good word to describe how I feel...crud. I am exhausted, stomach ache, I think I have a fever, and did I mention that I can barely keep my eyes open? Yeah, I think the after effects of two very busy days are catching up to me!

I will post again later, but my dog is whining and I just want to go back to sleep, so we will see what happens! Hope everyone else had a great Christmas....New Year's is coming soon!

This is not for the weak of stomach!

2008-12-19T13:39:00.003-05:00

So, by far the worst thing I ever have to do while I am pregnant is clean out the fridge. When smells make me want to throw up and the sight of nasty old food sends my gag reflex into high gear, it makes things kind of hard. Today, however, is the first time I have been able to clean out the fridge completely without throwing up! I mean I cleaned it out completely too, wiped off the shelves and everything! I believe from now on though, I am no longer saving leftover mashed potatoes. They never get made into potato cakes and that is the worst smelling thing when they are bad. :) Have I grossed anyone out yet? Anyway, I am not going to go into anymore detail or I am going to make myself sick!

I am just cleaning today. Doing the odd cleaning jobs that only get done every once in a while...like the fridge and sweeping the laundry room (which is actually the basement). I feel pretty good today. I should, I slept for like 10 hours. It is crazy, if I don't get all my sleep, I am just so sick in the morning, but if I sleep for 10 hours or so, I feel pretty good! Plus I think I am finally coming to the end of the morning sickness thing. Amen!!! This time was a worse go than with Abby, maybe that means we are having a boy! That would be so much fun!

Tomorrow I get to go to Michelle's for lunch, I am pretty excited about that. I am ready to get out again! That is a blessing. After 3 weeks of not wanting to leave my house, I finally want to go places...like to the grocery store for some much needed food! But, I am just taking it a little at a time. I don't want to get the cart before the horse!

I am off to do some other odd jobs! Have a great weekend!

I got to get busy...

2008-12-18T12:39:00.002-05:00

As I sit here watching the weather, I wonder what it's going to be like this evening. It seems like every time I watch it, it changes! Sometimes it is supposed to start at 3, sometimes at 8, I just don't know. But that is why I am thankful that I don't need to go anywhere today. In fact, for the past week, I haven't had the desire to go anywhere. I would like to just sit and relax, but that can't happen! I have a house to clean up, dinner to make, and laundry to do. Busy, busy, busy. I have determined that I am exhausted all the time though!

On the flip side, I baked a ham the other day, do you know how long you can eat off a ham? I made a casserole, froze the bone for ham and beans, and have had ham sandwhiches every day for lunch. It is pretty impressive how far you can stretch something like that!

Yeah, I know I am just babbling on about nothing, but I am stalling from doing my work. :) My dog is cuddled up right next to me and I am looking at the mess in the living room...yuck! But I guess I need to ease my procrastination efforts and get busy.

One more thing before I get going. Does anyone know how to take more pictures when you just can't remember too? In my case, I will take our camera to Thanksgiving or parties or something where I would like to take pictures, but it just sits in my purse. It seems I get so caught up in everything else that I forget to take pictures. Any cures for this?

This will be short...

2008-12-16T12:27:00.003-05:00

We had our first OB appointment for this baby yesterday. Things went well. I got to dicuss my fears/concerns and they told me what they would do to fix them. The thing I am most excited about is they said they would induce at 38 weeks as long as baby is healthy so that I don't have to worry about the same thing as last time happening again!!! I am very excited about that. They are also putting my due date somewhere in between the 12th of July and the 20th. So I am hoping early July we will have a baby!! We have an ultrasound today. Oh, the other exciting thing is that they said after 32 weeks they were going to do regular testing. You see, with the last baby they almost induced a week earlier, which obviously would have detoured all the hardships we had. I had very high blood pressure and they were concerned about preeclympsia, but they sent me home after it went down a bit. So, they are going to watch really closely. That calms me down quite a bit! I am excited now!!! Ok, I am off to get ready. Have a good week!

2008-12-10T12:01:00.003-05:00

I am sitting here today thinking of all I have to do and I about have the motivation to get up and do it. It really won't be too bad-my wonderful husband did the dishes for me yesterday so I just have a few to do today and some laundry, clean up the bedroom and that's about it.

I am so thankful for the sunshine today!!! I think that is one of the hardest things about winter for me is that the sun can be gone for days. But, it is out today so I have opened the curtains and am taking full advantage of it! I do hope it snows for Christmas though, it is always so nice to have a White Christmas.

I had the question asked to me of whether or not we will find out what gender our baby is...that got me thinking. I want to know, but it would be kind of fun not to know! Although, we probably will find out because absolutely everything we have right now is for a baby girl (except for the stroller/car seat..it can go either way) and I would like to at least have some boy things if its a boy. Caleb is actually firmly convinced it is a boy. Which I am excited for, I love little boys, they are so much fun!!! His name would be Donovan Cotham. I am not sure whether to spell it like that or Donavan, but that is nothing major. If its a girl though-that's another story-I only had one girl name I liked and we used it a few months ago! We are about 8 weeks along. Which I am not totally sure about-I should be 10 weeks, but they say its 8. I trust them, but how do you account for those 2 extra weeks?! Oh well! I am sure they will know more when this little baby gets a little bigger. We have such a great doctor and midwife combo. After what happened with Abby, they are totally watching me like a hawk. For example, Sunday our doctor called just to see if we were doing ok and if there is anything he can do. What kind of doctor calls on a Sunday?! So, we are thankful for that too. The funny thing is that when I told him that I have been sick a lot, he just started laughing and said he hoped that I was. I guess being sick is a good thing, he says that means that the baby is getting stronger and I have a less likely chance of miscarrying.

Well, I really had better go get busy, lots to do with little time. Caleb gets off in three hours and I need to make dinner before church tonight. Have a great rest of the week everyone!

I don't know what's new...

2008-12-09T21:51:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted in a while so I thought I would update briefly. Not much has been going on-my morning sickness is in full swing. I am sick not just in the morning but all day long and it is pretty frustrating sometimes. I am so tired it is not even funny.

To make a long story short-our last laptop died, so we got a new one and I love it!!! I feel all modern again! It is so exciting and now Caleb and I don't have to worry about what to get each other for Christmas! We each got half a computer.

Now I am sitting here watching re-runs of Without a Trace and waiting for Caleb to get home with my chocolate milkshake. I was going to go to town with them since quite a few of our friends were going, but I am exhausted and I thought it would be better if I stayed home and waited for Caleb to come home.

I will spend the next hour that I am awake thinking about anything that you all would want to know about. Let me know if you have any ideas of something you want me to talk about. :)

What is it about holidays?

2008-11-28T20:51:00.002-05:00

Always after a holiday I am exhausted. Maybe it's the actual wear of the holiday, but I think it's the "let-down" of the anticipation building up to the holiday! Thanksgiving was fun, we went to my mom and dad's house and ate. All of the Murdock side of the family came in and my sister and her family came up from Tennessee, so that was neat to see her. Then today, we relaxed this morning-none of that early shopping for me! And we went to my mom's again to visit. We took our Wii with us and the kids had a ball!

I am really beginning to wonder if I was this tired with my first baby. I am just exhausted all the time. And on top of that, I have no motivation to do anything. This is not a good thing! As I sit here writing this, I see things that need picked up, furniture that needs dusting and I know in the other rooms there is much more to be done...and yet, I continue to sit here! I guess I am just going to have to make a gigantic To-Do List and start crossing things off. Everyone knows that it feels so good to cross things off of a list!

Everything else is going ok. I am swiftly discovering that I do not like the new hormones that are coursing through my body. Sometimes I wonder if I am still the same me! Now I am headed to town, I have a lunch date with some friends and then I need to stop by the grocery store for a couple of things. I am hoping my husband will want to eat leftovers again today, because I don't have a thing planned for this evening!

Well, I need to go bring my dog in before he disturbs the whole neighborhood with his barking! Have a great week everyone!

Why? or maybe it's How?

2008-11-21T15:18:00.003-05:00

Why do some people always have a problem with someone else. Why do some people make it their goal to always be right AND let everyone know it? But the real problem is, how do you tell someone that they are prideful without ruining a relationship with them? Sure if the prideful person handled the situation Christlike it would work out because the person should see error and want to correct it to be more like Christ. However, what if you know the situation is not going to work out like that, what do you do then?

Isn't that situation true in so many situations? I mean if someone came to me and told me I was sinning, how would I handle it? I hope I would take what they say, evaluate it to see if it was true, and then if it was, I would change, but is that really what would happen? Regardless of how I would handle it, I hope people would talk to me if I was in sin.

There are so many areas right now with Caleb and I (not us individually, we don't have a problem, but the people we come in contact with) that we would like to just tell the person that they are sinning, but the people that need told, I know would not handle it well. Even the passive one involved is in sin. I just pray that God would open a door for me to be an example and be willing to forsake having a relationship to show her that her relationship with Christ is being threatened by sin. At times like this I have to stop and think and evaluate my own life so I am not the person who is seeing the speck in someone else's eye, when I have a log in my own.

On a different note, the Bible says that people who put a date on the end times are false prophets. For example, someone who says that due to all of these things that have happened, I believe the end is going to happen in this year or even between this year and this year. They are false prophets. What does the Bible say to do with false prophets? To flee them, to get away, to leave...if we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, then why is it that they are having such a big problem with it? Oh life is so confusing.

On the bright side, we go in for an ultrasound on Monday to make sure everything is going ok. I think the doc is really trying to make sure everything is super with this pregnancy. :) I get more excited the more I think about it! Caleb and I are going to Brownsburg tonight with the Sils' (the pastor at the church we have been going to since we left our old one) it should be really fun. There is an old evangelist who is coming through and stopping in Brownsburg tonight (actually he has been there for a few days) and we are going to hear and then going out to eat afterwards. Tomorrow, well I don't know what is going on, but I am sure something will be happening!

Hope everyone has a great weekend, if anyone has any advice on the things I talked about above, please, let me know!!!

The Dog that Bit Me...

2008-11-18T21:41:00.002-05:00

Sounds like a good story huh? Well, yesterday was a fairly dramatic day. My dog got loose and was over at the neighbors, I went over to get him and after a few minutes of chasing him all across the yard, I corner him and pick him up. As I am walking back to my house, their dog (who was on a rope) ran up and bit my thigh. Can we say I think I would rather give birth than get bit again. Wow, that was serious pain. He took a huge chunk out of my leg, gave me a very nasty bruise and the opportunity to sit in the ER for 3 hours. They don't care that I'm pregnant, bleeding to death from a dog that hasn't had a rabies shot, tired, cranky, and hungry...no, they say "please sit down and we will call you when we're ready". Yeah, great experience! Thankfully I have a wonderful OB/GYN doctor who does all he can to make this pregnancy work out. He is amazing! So, I am doing well today, I walk with a serious limp and my leg is extremely sore and I am supposed to watch for infections, but other than that...life is grand!

Caleb is gone tonight, he went to Brownsburg with some of his "man buddies" for a man night...I said adios and I sat down with a good book and my computer! Now I wish he would come home though, I am ready to have someone to talk to other than my dog! (the conversation is slightly one-sided!) Tomorrow I am going over to my mom's to help make some Christmas presents, which should be fun. I am hoping all goes well.

Caleb and I are especially praying for JD Taylor at this time-praying for God's will to be done. And additionally for peace and comfort for his family.

Our trip to TN

2008-11-12T12:35:00.003-05:00

I have a few minutes now, so I thought I might update on our trip to Tennessee. We had a blast. It rained 7 out of the 8 hours it took to drive down there though. And lucky me was the one who get stuck with the driving while Caleb and Jeremy slept! Oh well, it was pretty! We only saw one accident on the way down there and we were close enough to the front that it didn't take very long to get through the traffic. A car had tried to turn into a semi...pretty ugly, but I think everyone was ok. We had a ton of fun with the boys...they have twin 5 year olds a 4 year old and a 6 month old. They are so cool! We did a little sightseeing, but it was so cold we didn't want to be outside to long, so we did some shopping and things like that! We went to church on Sunday and then came home Monday. Overall, it was a really fun trip!

Monday was also the day that we officially found out that we were pregnant. I had known for a while, but I hadn't tested. Caleb and I are super excited, and our family is too. I am praying so much for this little baby growing inside of me! Mainly that this baby won't be super active and get all tangled up in the cord, but active enough for me to not be concerned all the time! And just that the baby will be healthy.

As Thanksgiving gets closer I start to think of all that I am thankful for and hopefully every time I update I will let you know of something that I am thankful for. Today I am extremely thankful for the God we serve. He has absolutely everything in control and I can take all my worries and concerns and fears straight to Him. He is the author of Peace and His Word is the peace that I need. But God also convicts. Lately I have been convicted of many things and I am striving daily to be like His Son, but I fall short. I am thankful that my God forgives all the time. I am also thankful that my God is the God of salvation!

Exciting news...

2008-11-11T20:44:00.002-05:00

Well, it is official...Caleb and I are going to have another baby. God has brought us a long way in 3 1/2 months. We are praying that God will give us a beautiful healthy baby, and to be honest, we would very much appreciate it if you all would pray too.

I am a little nervous going into this pregnancy, but I think it will get more the closer I get to giving birth. Seeing as we were in contractions and all when Abby died, so I am going to be very aware of this baby's movements! Which is not a bad thing, I can tell you, if I would have know that I wouldn't get to spend time with Abby when she was born, I would have took notice of her every move, and I would have read to her more. This is going to be an exciting 9 months!

I need to go make Caleb dinner before he gets off, but I will hit some highlights of our trip tomorrow!

Gone for the weekend

2008-11-05T16:45:00.002-05:00

I am excited. Caleb and I are leaving for the weekend. I cannot wait! Tomorrow is going to be a busy day of packing and cleaning the house. I have to clean before I leave because I hate coming home to a dirty house. :)

Today has been good. I have just been absolutely exhausted the past week or so, but I did the dishes and helped my mom do a few things. We went to Wal-mart and I got Bo some dog food. We are going to board him while we are gone this time. I am actually nervous about leaving him. Usually Caleb's mom will take care of him, but since we will be gone for four days it is just easier for everyone if we board him. Poor guy. He is not used to the place where he will be staying-hopefully they take good care of him.

In other news, I am praying for the Taylor family and Kristen but especially JD, he had surgery today to remove a tumor from his brain. I am also praying for Sarah Norman as she is approximately 3 days away from being married!!! Congrats to her, hopefully her day will be perfect, I am sad that I don't get to be there for it.

Quite the weekend...

2008-11-03T09:46:00.003-05:00

It was quite the weekend recently. Saturday I spent the day with my mom and sister-in-law Dayonna at the craft bazaar in Crawfordsville. That was fun, really put me in the mood for Christmas! Then I came home and did some work outside, picking up sticks, raking leaves, basically all the not-so-fun things. Sunday was Caleb and I's one year anniversary. We went to church in the morning, then he had to go to work right after. That didn't bother me because he is taking 4 days off at the end of this week and we are going down to TN for a while. That will be a ton of fun! Caleb has some family down there that we are going to see, and my sister also lives in TN and I hope to get to see her too! Anyway, last night we went to dinner with Caleb's brother Nathan and his wife. That was fun too, it was good to talk about some things going on with the family.

You know, family is such a difficult thing. I am so thankful that my parents were understanding when I told them that Caleb and I would not be going to their church when we got married. Caleb's parents, on the flipside, are not so understanding. We don't want to hurt them, but they don't understand that it is more important to Caleb and I to grow spiritually than to sit in the family church and not grow. We are put on this earth to glorify God, family is nice to have, but if they are prohibiting us from doing what God wants us to do, we are going to make the decision to follow God. I just wish that things would work out differently. I know it hurts Caleb a lot and I know that it is not pleasant for his parents. They just need to understand that the reason we are leaving is to glorify God.

Well, now that I got all that out, I feel much better! I am going to go work on some dishes and then take a walk to the good ol' Waynetown grocery store for a can of corn. :)

Some more ramblings...

2008-10-31T14:12:00.002-04:00

It's finally Friday!!! This week has been absolutely CRAZY, but it has been a good week too. It seems like something has gone on every night this week, except for tonight, which I have reserved for Caleb and I time to sit and watch TV. We like to watch Ghost Whisperer, except I think it is going to be a bit more creepy than usual since it is halloween night tonight. While you won't find me verbally supporting halloween, I do think it is really cute to see the kids in their costumes. I doubt we will get any trick or treaters tonight because our porch light is broken, but I have candy just in case. I think my neices and nephew might come and I also think Caleb's neices might stop by.

Today I absolutely had to clean the house...it was a mess after being gone most of the week. You know a clean house makes me very thankful for my mom. She always keeps her house spotless and I try to do the same, it just makes me so much more relaxed knowing that my house is clean and picked up in. I also just made a meatloaf. This is only my third time making meatloaf, and somewhere along the way I had lost my recipe for it, so I pretty much did it from memory today. Hopefully it will taste good!

At Bible study last night, we continued our study of Hebrews. That book is quite interesting if you learn some of the back traditions of like the old covenant and stuff. It is just so incredible to think that Christ Himself was the perfect, ,ultimate sacrifice for our sins and that we can go directly to Him in prayer and not have to make sacrifices to a priest or anything like that. Anyway, we were on chapter 7 and 8 of Hebrews and one of the main things I got out of it is that prayer is so important. But we are not to take prayer lightly. Sure we can go to God boldly, but we also need to have a sincere reverance. I mean we are talking to the God of the Universe. Wow. It is just a thought about how important, but also how powerful prayer is.

This weekend will be busy so hopefully I will get back to you early next week!

Another day, another time...

2008-10-28T15:40:00.002-04:00

I have had a wonderful day so far today! I got to spend the morning/early afternoon shopping with my mom for my birthday. I think that is the funnest present to get, where we both go shopping together and I get to pick a couple things that I need/want. Then we have a good lunch together and enjoyed a wonderful Starbucks beverage!

So far I have had a wonderful week. The weather is very fall-like and I love it! Caleb had yesterday off, so we spent part of the day at his Grandparents' house in Rockville and the evening at home playing Dutch Blitz by the fireplace. That is my idea of a great evening! I tell you what, I am just so thankful to have such a wonderful husband. We have been through a lot in the past year, but through it all, we have only grown closer together! God is good.

Another day...

2008-10-22T11:02:00.002-04:00

It's another day....another beautiful fall day anyway! The week has been good so far. It is hard to believe that Caleb and I have been married for almost a year! I am going to go back and hit the highlights of the year for you:
Nov. 2 2007-Our Wedding!
Nov. 3-8 2007-Honeymoon in Tennessee
Dec. 6 2007-We find out we are pregnant!!!!
Jan. 10 2008-First OB Doctor Appt.
Feb. 2-Our best friends' wedding-Michelle Manago and Kyle Raley
April 9-We are having a girl!!!
July 26-Caleb's birthday
Aug. 4-Abigail Renee Lynd is born-12:31 pm, 6lbs 7 oz. 20 in long.
Aug. 4-Abigail Renee Lynd goes home to be with our Savior-Praise God for the time we had with her.
Aug. 7-Abigail's Ceremony at Oak Hill Cemetary North
Sept. 19-20-I road trip with Michelle to Iowa to see Courtney and old friends
Oct. 1-3-My first bow hunting trip with Caleb!
Oct. 19- We attend a new church!!!
Oct. 29-My birthday!
Nov. 2- Our one year anniversary!

As I look back at all that has happened this year, it doesn't really seem like a lot, but it has been. Abigail was a big part of our lives and when she didn't make it, that really hurt us. We were so looking forward to having her be a part of our lives. But God is good and Lord-willing we will have a whole household of children someday!!! I hope you all had a super year too-I have certainly enjoyed following along with some people of facebook or their blogs!