Baby Breck!

It's been nearly 18 weeks since we read those magic, life-changing words on the Clear Blue Easy test. So far, things have been amazing!

I know I've taken quite the hiatus from the blogging world over the last few months, but now that winter is startling to settle in here (I know that it's only October, but apparently Mother Nature didn't get the message!)I should - in theory - have more time for blogging. Plus, I'd like to save some of these pregnancy memories!

Soooooooo, those of you who are still hanging around...check back for more baby-related posts as we get ready to welcome Baby Breck in March!

Nope

The title says it all. Obviously we're disappointed that this latest cycle didn't turn out to be a winner...but hope prevails. We're looking into some options and refuse to be discouraged. Thankfully we're able to lean on eachother.

Just when I think I can't love this hubby of my any more...he does something sweet and amazing that knocks me off my feet. Like this morning for instance....

I had an eye doctor appointment at 11 a.m. and Mark met some buddies at 12:30 p.m. to golf. Knowing he'd be home for almost an hour while I was out, I asked him to do a couple things around the house. I got home from my appointment and was furious annoyed to see that he hadn't done any of the things we discussed.

My plan was to quickly check my email then give him a call (yes, I knew he was on a golf course and probably wouldn't answer but I inteded to leave a message) to let him know that I was ticked.

I wiggled the computer mouse to get rid of the screen saver and plopped into the chair...then promptly started crying. I found three minimized web pages: Baby Center , Baby Hopes , and Ovulation.com.

I love this man. I love that we are on the same page with everything we're trying to do to create a family. I love that he is so supportive. I love that he seeks out information to help us. I love that he worries but tries to hide it so I won't see. I just...love him!!

P.S. I did leave a message on his phone. One that simply said, "I love you!"

The Wait

Arrrgh. This two week wait is torture. Everything I do, I can't help but wonder...

While the whole world (Ha! I should only be so important!) waits with me, I'll admit we have been busy with other things. Landscaping projects seem to take up most of our time these days, which is great. It's just what we wanted...a space of our own to make beautiful!

We're also getting ready for our first party at OUR HOUSE this weekend! Whoo hoo!

Speaking of the weekend...Sunday or Monday should tell the tale. I experienced a bit of cramping for three or four days after ovulation. What does that mean? You tell me!

Till next time....

"O" K

As some of you may know, Mark and I have been trying to conceive (ttc) for a looooooong time. The problem is, our "trying" was unconventional (to say the least) until recently.

You see, while Mark agreed he was ready to start a family he didn't really take an active interest in our attempts to conceive. Meaning...he didn't really care to hear about my cycle, or ovulation, or anything that had to do with the "planning" aspect of conception.

So I charted my cycle, used an online ferility predictor tool, kept a calendar...the whole ball of wax and was involved enough for the both of us. But, it didn't really feel right. I alternated between thinking we were on the same page with our plans to start a family to feeling like I was tricking him into getting pregnant. Blah. It was not good.

Then, about four months ago, it was like a light switch flipped in my dear hubby's head. Just like that he was logging on to fertility Web sites because he wanted to. He made an appointment with his doctor because he read somewhere that certain thyroid medications can complicate things when trying to conceive. He sought out advice from his brothers and believe it or not he was the one to suggest we start using Ovulation Predictor Kits (OPK).

Amazing! I am so blessed to have his love and support and I finally feel like we're working together on this dream!

Also amazing...I was stunned to learn - via the OPK - that my cycle is just as I thought it was! I was seriously scared that I might find out that I was either not ovulating, or ovulating in an unpredictable/weird way. BUT... (and sorry if this is too much info) I have a 25 day cycle and I ovulated on day 12...half way through the cycle! Whooo hooooo!

Have I mentioned how amazing it was to see TWO PINK LINES. Granted, they were only HcG Spike lines and not you-are-pregnant-go-celebrate lines, but still. I have NEVER seen two pink lines on a stick before. My heart seriously started racing.

God bless the inventor of the OPK. My mind has never been so at ease in all the months we've been ttc. Fingers crossed...

NoT mE!

It's time for another Not Me! Monday hosted by MckMama!

I did not cry twice during our priest's homily yesterday and I did not spend most of my prayer time in church asking God to bless us with a baby.

I did not tear up again when my sister-in-law hugged me and said "Happy Mother's Day," explaining that I should celebrate because there's a baby in my heart.

I certainly did not relish the fact that on Mother's Day I not only got to hug my own, wonderful Mama but also the very best mother-in-law a girl could ask for.

I did not spend hours with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law on Saturday playing card and dice games. It was not the most fun I've had in ages!

On Friday night I definitely did not take the opportunity to actually act my age by going out with friends for drinks and an amazing show at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. I certainly did not change my facebook status to reflect that fun.

Mark and I did not get into a *huge* argument Saturday night and did not go to bed angry. He did not totally make up for it the next day by giving me a huge hug and telling me "Don't worry, honey next Mother's Day will be sooooooo great cuz you'll have our baby in your arms!"

I am not so thankful for this day and every day that I get to spend with him....

Testing

Yesterday was Mark's 27th birthday. Man, I love that guy! Know what I wanted more than anything to give him for his special day? A positive pregnancy test. Wanna know what I got him instead? Season one on DVD of his favorite TV show, Chuck.

He was happy and I was happy that he was happy, but still...

So here's what we're up to right now -

My morning routine: I awake to a kiss from hubby, then stumble to the bathroom and find my favorite plastic cup. I quickly do my business, catching as much "liquid" as one can while trying not to think about/look at what they're doing. Then I rush to grab an ovulation test strip from the canister - being careful to expose the strips to less than .25 seconds of air from the outside world - and I dip the test strip and wait. For five minutes. I read the results, sigh a frustrated sigh when I see negative results and go about my "pre-trying-to-conceive-morning routine."

Hopefully some day soon those dumb test strips will tell me I'm ovulating...but I guess that's my biggest fear - that I'm not. In my mind there's got to be some reason why we haven't conceived in the last year...maybe it's me?

While I'm excited to take this next step toward conceiving, I'm also nervous and anxious that I'll find there's something wrong. I guess in the event that happens, then we'll know - sooner rather than later - that we need help.

Fingers crossed for ovulation/good timing/happy thoughts!!!

Fertility Blog

Two posts. One week. I know. You're shocked.

Well, get used to it. I've decided to turn over a new leaf. No wait. A new forest.

You see, I've had an epiphany of sorts and here it is:

Someday (hopefully soon) Mark and I will have the little family we dream of. I'm guessing during that exciting and magical time in our lives, our struggles to create that family will be far from our minds.

I firmly believe that each and every experience in my life have helped to shape the person I've become. All the hard times, the struggles...they're all a part of me.

So as difficult as it is to admit, our struggle with (in)fertility is a big part of who I am today and a HUGE part of who I'll be tomorrow.

Hopefully my blog posts - which will document our travel into the turbulent waters of infertility - will help me appreciate all the more, the miracle that we will create. Thus, my promise to myself to post regularly about our progress, or lack-thereof.

Alright, so I've laid the ground work for what this blog will become.

Sure, I'll still throw in amazingly funny anecdotes from my cutie nieces and nephews and I'll share some pictures of our home remodeling projects. I'll still probably complain about my husband and whine about my mundane life...but until I can write the "I'm-pregnant-and-I'm-so-excited-I'm-about-to-burst" post, this blog will serve as my way to document our journey.

Coming soon...I'll share what we're doing, right now to (hopefully) grow our family.

Every time...

Every time I pass the baby section at Wal Mart I gaze longingly at the tiny pink and blue onesies.

Every time I buy a box of Tampax I think, "I hope this is the last time I do this for a while..."

Every time I go into my basement, I wander over to the tupperware totes filled with hand-me-down baby clothes from my sisters-in-law and open the totes, breathing in the lingering scent of baby detergent.

Every time I see a pregnant woman I smile a sad smile and try not to let my face show how disappointed I am that I'm not in her shoes.

Every time I feel the tell-tale cramping and mood swings that signal PMS, I spend hours crying myself to sleep.

Every time my husband looks at me with hope in his eyes and I have to tell him, "No honey, not yet" a little piece of my heart breaks.

Every time I look at my beautiful new, very tidy home I wish, hope and pray that someday it will be filled with toys, giggles and tiny feet.

Every time I feel like this I wonder...Whose star am I wishing on? Why does someone else keep getting what I'm wishing for?

When will it be my time?

An unexplained absence.

Hello blogging buddies! Is anyone still checking this little space in the blog-o-sphere? If you're reading...thanks for sticking with me!

Obviously I've been absent from the blogging world for (gasp!) more than a month and I'm sure I "owe" someone, somewhere an explanation. But I have none.

Sure, I've been busy. Busy praying for this family and of course sweet baby Stellan. I've also been busy with work and family and landscaping and other projects at our house.

But still, there should have been time for blogging. And yet, I haven't found time. See? It's an unexplained absence.

Oh well, things can only get better from here right? Right?

Stay tuned...

MIA

Ahhh! I did it again, didn't I? I promised to be a better blogger and I've let ya'll down. I wish I had a good excuse...but really, I just didn't feel like blogging.

Truth is I've made a very conscious decision to put my marriage and my husband first over everything else. Including blogging.

So I make sure that when I get home from work the tv, radio and computer are not turned on till we've eaten supper together and had time to talk about our day. By the time we do that, we typically watch a half hour or so of tv together or play a game together or just hop in bed to cuddle and talk some more.

I can really tell how our marriage has been strengthened since we bought our house. I no longer have that strange restlessness inside me and I've learned to think about the more important things in life.

So, dear blogging buddies, that is why I've neglected this little space in the blog-o-sphere. Even though I haven't been writing, I've still found time - early in the morning, before work - to keep close tabs on the zillions of blogs I follow. I don't think I could ever give that up!

For those of you that are really interested, I'll give you a quick run-down of all that you've missed in that last two-ish weeks.

Sturgeon Spearing season came and went with no one in our group having even enough luck to see a fish, much less spear one. My aunt - who does not spear in our group - did harvest a nice sturgeon this year, though, so we were quite happy for her.

Mark invited 12 of his buddies from work to our house to play poker. Judging by the amount of alcohol, dip/chips, sausage/cheese/crackers that was consumed - a good time was had by all.

Last weekend we watched my godson Jade and had fun taking him to my parent's farm to see the cows, calves, and cats. My parents also have two sweet, gentle as can be puppies...but for some reason Jade was terrified of them and both dog's feelings were hurt.

I've been pretty worried about their dog Trigger, a purebreed red bone coonhound, who has a nasty infection in his front paw. Thankfully he's on antibiotics and seems to be doing better.

In other medically related news, my dear grandma had to have emergency gall bladder surgery this week. Thankfully everything went fine but it was a very scary situation as she had quite the infection and a lot of pain, further complicated by a spike in her blood sugar, probably due to the meds. She is still in the hospital recovering while the doctors work on controlling her diabetes.

We've had the opportunity to spend some extra fun time with friends and family lately as we've wrapped up some of our house projects. We went out last night with my brother and sister-in-law and had lots of fun!

Four of our nephews wrestled in a youth wrestling tournament today. We really enjoyed cheering them on, even though it was tough to keep track of who was wrestling where at what time. The boys did great!

Last week we recieved great news - we are eligible for the new first time homeowners $8,000 tax credit!! Whoo hoo! We're looking forward to a great tax return that will help replenish our savings account and hopefully allow us to cement our driveway.

Have I mentioned how awful it has been to shovel the snow out of our driveway? No? Well suffice it to say...it's been awful. I look forward to having a paved driveway that would accommodate a snowblower or at least allow us to shovel more easily.

Speaking of snow...where the heck is spring? I'm more than ready for it!!

I've got lots more to share, but I'm going to wrap up here and get on with my laundry and cleaning. Don't worry, I've started a list of all that I need to blog about, so hopefully I'll start finding more time to share. Until then...ciao!

Guess what I did today?

I shoveled the driveway, removing a good four inches of snow while more of the fluffy white stuff fell down around me.

I finally unpacked the boxes in our office.

I washed a sink full of dishes and did two loads of laundry.

I sewed the er..."private area" of my husbands work pants where a tiny hole appeared. I have no idea how or why he gets holes in this area...I don't ask questions.

I used the lint roller on hubby's work shirts...cuz I know how much he hates lint.

I organized all of my info for the upcoming Relay For Life event and emailed my fellow team mates with that info.

I uploaded a zillion pictures and sent them (via Wal-Mart.com) to be printed.

I put new pictures in my two photo collage frames. I made a grocery list.

I windexed (yes, that's a word) our coffee table and took out the recyclables.

While I did these things, I watched the episodes of Jon & Kate Plus Eight and Little People, Big World that I TiVo'd (gosh I have no idea how to spell that) Monday night and four episodes of Full House.

What have you done today?

Not Me!

I'm jumping back in - feet first- to the crazy fun of Not Me! Monday, hosted by the fabulous MckMama.

I did not recently cave and join the multidudes of facebookers in the "25 things about me" craze. I did not learn some new things about myself in writing my 25 things and I didn't share my list with my mom (via email) because I thought she'd like my answers.

I also did not go with my mom to see "He's Just Not That Into You" at the theatre on Saturday while hubby was Sturgeon Spearing. I did not point out (to my mom, whose husband - my dad - is also a scrooge about Valentine's Day) all the lovely couples in the theatre with us watching the movie. Together. With popcorn. Nope not me!

I didn't feel bad when, upon returning home from the movie I found the sweet Valentine's Day surprise hubby had left for me to find. I did not take back my mean thoughts about him and promptly call his cell phone to declare my love for that man.

Because I was so enamored with the gift I didn't find, I most certainly didn't grumble about having to trek into the cold, in my jammies to pick up my dear husband from the bar later that night.

I most definitely didn't cry when I realized that all those gosh-darn-curl-up-in-a-ball-because-they-hurt-so-bad cramps turned into my period; meaning I'm not pregnant even though we've been trying for eight months to conceive and that stupid pregnancy book I've been reading "told" me that all the signs were there this time and I would most certainly find out I was pregnant. (Whew! Gotta take a breather after typing that one.)

I have not been very emotional lately, and didn't cry when I thought my brother-in-law was laughing at me when he was really laughing about an un-related joke he'd just heard. I'm not that sensitive.

I did not create a "To Do" list for today and have not already accomplished nearly half of that list including #7 "Blog."

I am not, right now, paitently awaiting the Fireplace Fixer Guy who is schedule to inspect our fireplace today. I am not sooooo looking forward to curling up by it later this afternoon with a good book.

I am also not even the teensiest, weensiest bit worried about whether or not this Fireplace Fixer Guy - whose name is Edward, apparently - is a rapist/murderer/all around creep. I'm not that paranoid and don't mind one bit being all alone in our house with a guy I don't know.

I am not waaaaaaay excited for my friend Sarah and her cute lil family, who just bought a new house! I wasn't even a little bit jealous that their offer was ACCEPTED without much difficulty. Because I'm not bitter about our home-buying experience at all. (Smile)

I am not going to sign off right now to watch a Brady Bunch marathon on TV Land while I dust, do dishes and wait for the (maybe creepy) Fireplace Fixer Guy.

I did not cut my own hair this morning after setting up and cancelling several appointments at a local salon. It has not been 8 months since the last time I paid someone to cut my hair. I did not just cringe as I typed that.

That's all....

Have a great Not Me! Monday!

P.S. The fireplace guy just showed up...he's not creepy! Hooray!

The Joys of Owning a Home

Guess what I did last night? Go on, guess. Need a hint?



Still can't figure it out? Here's another.

See all those containers gathered around the sump pump in our basement? See the water dripping down the walls of our basement? Now, take a guess.

Yup, you got it! We had a sump pump disaster last night. Wanna hear about? No? Too bad...

It all started with the recent thaw, you know the one that melted the 12+ inches of snow that had accumulated all winter in one, warm and windy day? Yea, that one.

That thaw created an adorable little pond in the empty lot right next door (see first photo - that's not snow, that's water). That little pond immediately started dripping its way into our basement, prompting the sump pump to kick in every two-three minutes.

We weren't too concerned at first though we realized that because the house was a foreclosure and it sat empty for nearly a year, there could be some problems. That's why we checked on the pump and basement every hour or so.

Everything was fine until 8 p.m. last night when I checked on the basement and saw water, lots of water, seeping in through the walls! My shouting quickly sent hubby outside where he found the pipe thingy that was supposed to take the water from the sump pump to the sewer system had frozen and was instead spewing water right along side the house. When too much water accumulated in one place, the ground became saturated and the water started coming in through the basement walls. Ugh

Mark quickly set me up with a lemonade pitcher, all the garbage cans/coolers/large storage bins etc. we had in the house and instructed me to "scoop" the water out of the sump pump to keep it from running while he frantically called plumbers and both of our dads for advice.

The plumbers were not helpful, but thankfully our dads came to the rescue. My dad rushed over with a hack saw and some large black tube material, while Mark's dad gathered the tubing he uses to drain their sump pump water away from the house. And I kept scooping.

My dad and Mark sawed off the offending, frozen portion of the sump pump pipe and attached my dad's temporary tubing while I - finally taking a break from scooping - ran to my father in law's to get the "good" tube. (As seen in the second pic.)

Thankfully after some experimenting, Mark and my dad rigged up something they thought would work to get us through the night. By this time it was nearly 11 p.m. Guess what my sweet hubby had me do then? Get back on my very sore knees on the hard cement floor so I could strain my already very sore back to dump. the. water. back. into. the. sump. pump. hole.

By this time, I was treating that water like liquid gold! It took a lot of hard work to keep up with that scooping - as fast as I could remove the water, more was rushing in because of that gosh-darn-stupid-little-(gigantic!)-pond next door!

So I dumped the water back in and crawled into bed...only to be awoken two hours later when the alarm went off signaling me (or hubby) to check on the sump pump. And that's how the rest of the night/morning went - getting up every two hours to check.

Today (I'm off work) I am aiming to get everything up off the basement floor and onto the shelves Mark made, just in case there are more sump pump problems (there better not be!). I'd better get to it, that pond isn't getting any smaller....

Ahhhhh the joys of owning a home.

Our House...in the middle of our street...Our House...

Some house pics for your enjoyment!!!

We re-carpeted the entire house....
and re-painted the entire house!

Our cozy fire place!

All About Hubby

Husband Meme

1. Where did you meet? at the golf course where I bartended and he frequently golfed

2. How long did you date before you got married? we dated a year before getting engaged and then it was two more years till the wedding - I had to finish college!

3. How long have you been married? almost 16 months

4. What does he do that surprises you? Plans sweet date nights or brings me something he knows I like

5. What is your favorite feature of his? the way he walks, his hands, his smile...

6. What is your favorite quality of his? he's waaaaaaay funny

7. Does he have a nickname for you? honey

8. What is his favorite color? blue

9. What is his favorite food? anything with meat and veggies

10. What is his favorite sport? Football/Baseball - it's a tie

11. When and where was your first kiss? July 18, 2004 (our first date)by my parent's garage

12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? hang out together, watch movies

13. Do you have any children? nope, not yet

14. Does he have a hidden talent? He can actually sing quite well..when he tries

15. How old is he? 26

16. Who said I love you first? He did, while we were slow dancing to one of our favorite songs at a Tim McGraw concert he took me to.

17. What’s his favorite type of music? country

18. What do you admire most about him? He's a hard worker, he's financially smart and he checks into everything to make sure we're getting a good deal and it's "right" for us.

19. Do you think he will read this? Nope. I know he won't.


HUSBAND MEME

1. He’s sitting in front of the TV - What is on the screen? Football

2. You’re out to eat. What kind of dressing does he get on his salad? French

3. What is one food he won't eat? Shrimp - he's allergic.

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? Captain & Coke or Lime Green Tom Collins

5. Where did he go to high school? mmmm that might be too much info to put online

6. What size shoe does he wear? 13.5

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Green Bay Packer memorabilia

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? I was just informed that he LOVES eggsalad sandwiches...I have never seen him eat one, however.

9. What would the Husband eat every day if he could? Hu Hot

10. What is his favorite cereal? Cap'n Crunch

11. What would he never wear? Pink

12. What is his favorite sports team? The Packers and the Brewers (a tie)

13. Who is his best friend? me first then his brother Randy

14. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do? Get frustrated easily and "yell" at him

15. How many states has he lived in? just one

16. What is his heritage? german

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind is it? Chocolate/caramel from Manderfields Bakery...I don't bake cakes.

18. Did he play sports in high school? Football

19. What could he spend hours doing? playing Madden on his Wii

I'm baaaaaaaaaack.

Whoa! Can you believe my last post was January 17?! A lot has happened since then. I'll do my best to fill in the blanks.

When I last posted we were devastated to learn that the closing date for our house had been pushed back. Again. That's right - we were given four different closing dates and we watched each pass by with nothing being done.

It was down right upsetting. We had some complications because our house was a foreclosure, owned by the mega company Freddie Mac. So, of course a lot of the house sale/closing had to take place out of state in Virginia of all places.

Wait. Let me back up. I want to document all of our struggles with the purchase of this house so we can look back and laugh our heads off at everything that went "wrong."

Here's how it all went down:

Back in November I was sitting in my deer stand, having just taken a four-point buck. I was celebrating my victory and texting back and forth with my husband when he wrote "How do you feel about living in _______" (insert small town where he grew up).

I typed back "I don't care where we live as long as it's in a HOUSE."

He made it happen. Two days later we toured the house. Two days after that we wrote up the offer to purchase the house. Three days later we had an accepted offer. A week later we met with a local banker and signed zillions of papers to get the ball rolling on the loan.

See how smoothly things were going at the beginning? Then the shoe fell.

The day after we met with our local loan officer she called Mark to tell him that she couldn't do the loan because the laws regarding foreclosed, manufactured homes had recently changed. Our only hope, she said, was to get our loan directly through a mortgage broker.

Luckily our realtor knew a broker, who was part of her same real estate group. So, Mark set up a meeting with him. In the mean time we had to meat with our realtor two more times to sign additional paper work that the seller, Freddie Mac required.

The day of our meeting with the mortgage guy came and we went to his office only to be told that he wasn't in and his secretary didn't think he was expecting to meet with us since he was at a Christmas party with his girlfriend. Um, excuse me? We had that appointment set for weeks.

Hubby, who does not like to be pushed around, some how got the secretary to give us both his cell phone number and his girlfriend's number. We finally got a hold of him and he simply said "Oh, I must have forgotten."

Soooooooooo we left all the paper work there, with his assurance that he'd get things started and we'd set up another date to meet with him.

At the start of all this we were given a closing date of December 30, 2008. We soon learned that would not be happening and our closing date was pushed back to the first Friday in January.

We had to meet one more time with the realtor so sign more papers for the sale and then we simply had to wait to make sure the title cleared - something we understood our realtor was taking care of. The week we were supposed to close we learned that date was being pushed back to Tuesday of the next week because there were still some issues with the title.

We met with the mortgage guy and signed all the papers for our loan. And we waited. Through all this, Mark hounded these people - calling them 5 to 6 times a day wanting to know what they were doing to make this happen. I'm soooo proud of him for sticking up for us and staying on top of this. We definitley wouldn't have gotten this house if it weren't for him.

Finally, Mark was fed up with getting half answers and he tracked down the numbers for the actual people at Freddie Mac. And he started hounding them.

We learned that the title had been cleared for some time, but Freddie Mac was waiting for paperwork from our mortgage guy before they would finalize the sale! Here we had the mortgage guy telling us that he was waiting on Freddie Mac. Ridiculous.

So Mark yelled some more and we had another closing date set for January 19. In the mean time we had already purchase the new paint and carpeting for the house, had a date set for the carpet install, had a plumber and furnace guy set to come to the house and had movers all lined up for Saturday, January 24.

Then. We got the call. On January 19 we were informed we would not be closing. After Mark had already taken time off work, after I had already informed my new boss that I would need a few hours off to close. We. Were. Not. Closing. Again.

To say the least, I was crushed. It felt like this was never going to happen for us; like we were being punished for some reason.

Mark threatened these people. My husband, the man that has not a mean bone in his body, yelled/screamed/and threatened these people within an inch of their lives if they did not make this happen for us.

We closed on Friday, January 23 at 3:30 p.m. Mark had the keys to our house in hand that morning at 7:30 a.m. as per his agreement to spare the lives of our realtor and mortgage guy.

We closed without hassle and quickly high-tailed it to our new house to begin painting. We worked on the house till 1 a.m. and went back to our apartment to sleep for a few hours. We woke at 5:45 a.m. that Saturday to finish packing some things, then I met my sister-in-law (The Painting Queen) back at the house to work on painting. Our moving helper guys (aka my brother, a couple of Mark's brothers, my dad and my buddy Ryan) showed up at the apartment to load up and 2 trips later we were officially moved in!

It's been a whirl-wind of activity ever since. We painted every wall in the entire house, re-carpeted every room in the house, did some extreme cleaning, changed some light fixtures and all the locks/door knobs in the house, re-wired some stuff, unpacked a lot of stuff, organized still more stuff...and here we are - enjoying our new house.

I must admit at times I was ready to throw in the towel. I simply couldn't believe everything that was happening to us and felt like we had the worst luck ever. Now I see the reason for it all.

We are so happy and I have an even great appreciation for my husband and all that he does to insure my happiness. Amazing.

In the last week or so, I've been worried about financial things as I learned my hours were being cut at my new job. Today I realized (after looking back at all that happened with this house) that I need to let go and know that everything will work out.

Watch for some fun, new house pics in the very near future because I'm baaaaaaaack, blogging buddies!

Not Forgotten

Dont worry, I promise I haven't forgotten about this little space in the great blog-o-sphere. It's just that we've been going through a very trying time and I really haven't felt much like posting.

I promise some day (soon) to share the details of all we've been through in the last two weeks. I just can't bring myself to type it out quite yet.

In any event, I'm so amazed that through it all we've found the strength and faith to brush aside those "why me's?" and other thoughts of feeling sorry for ourselves and really appreciate that we have each other no matter what happens.

No more than ever, we recognize just how many families there are out there who are struggling and in need of prayer and kind thoughts.

Here's just a small list of those I've been thinking of/praying for this week: Amanda, Harper, Brayden, Eden's Family, Little Russ, and Ashley.

It's so important to remember that even in times when we're feeling all alone...scared...forgotten...there's always someone we can turn to.

Blessings to all of you!

More Papers?!

Since we started this adventure into first-time-home-ownership, we've signed more papers than I care to count. Just when I thought we were in the clear - at least for a little while - hubby brought home a stack of paperwork last night.

By my rough calculation, we've signed more than 200 sheets of paper in just these "initial stages" of the process. That's got to be at least a whole tree, right?

I sure hope these mortgage people, banks, and realtors are using recycled paper.

We're still shooting for a closing date of January 16, at which time I'm sure we'll sign another 127 papers before we can actually lay claim to the house.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining....I'm simply whining!

Have a great Wednesday!

Not Me!

It's time for Not Me! Monday again, so hop on over to MckMama's blog and check out the fun.

...I did not shop this weekend for the most deliciously pink long sleeve t-shirt I could find. I am not wearing said t-shirt underneath my snazzy black polo work shirt. I do not expect to receive numerous compliments on my amazingly pink attire.

I did not drink soda at a family gathering over the weekend and smile a little when family members wondered out loud if I was pregnant.

Saturday did not find us working feverishly to coax our sick car into working again. By "us" I certainly don't mean Mark worked while I relaxed in my parent's warm house with a cup of cappuccino. Nope, that is definitely not what I mean.

A crazy ice storm did not hit our area Saturday night, coating our little neck of the woods in slippy, sliddey dangerous stuff. I did not beg hubby to make an unnecessary trip to my parent's house to pick up a book my mom finished reading that I've been dying to start. Lovely hubby did not curse (under his breath) while navigating the trecherous roads.

I did not spend much of the day yesterday teaching myself a variety of crochet stitches. I did not break down in tears when I just couldn't figure one out...because that would mean I care about "little old lady things" like crocheting.

I certainly did not wake up this morning at 6:30 a.m., go to the bathroom and fumble with my alarm clock to re-set it for 7:15 a.m. I did not speedily shower, dress, dry my hair and put on make-up to make sure I'd have enough time to do a bit of blogging.

I am not super pumped to watch a new episode of Jon & Kate Plus Eight tonight and I'm not counting down to the season premiere of American Idol.

We do not have less than two weeks before we move into our house!

What have you not done this week? C'mon you know you wanna join the fun!
P.S. I actually posted this weekend...twice! If you missed those amazing posts, be sure to scroll down!

Leftover Names? Recycle them!

I had a thought yesterday that I can't seem to get out of my head. The thought fits the theme of pretty much all my thoughts lately...the world of motherhood and babies.

I think I've mentioned that Mark and I have both a boy's name and a girl's name picked out for our future first children. We love both names and can't imagine not having children to fit them. These names are perfect and we already use them when dreaming of the things we'll do with our family.

But...what if? What if we end up having all boys? Or all girls? Our names would go unused! I couldn't bear it.

Just when it seems all hope is lost...never fear, the Internet is here.

Check this out. Looks like just about anything can be recycled these days!

RiNgInG iN tHe NeW yEaR 'o9

Well, I'm finally recovered from New Year's Eve. Ha. Just kidding. I' ve just been pretty lazy on the blogging front.

We did have a fun New Year's Eve, though and we realized we're waaaaaaaay too old to be staying up so late!

I ended up only having to work until 3 p.m. on New Year's Eve so we met up with a few of my aunts/uncles at a local bar for some drinks and dice games. I had seriously like 4 drinks, then we went out to eat and then headed to Mark's brother's house.

I swear I only had four drinks and get this...I felt sick the next day. I had a headache and didn't feel right....after four drinks! See, I'm just getting waaaaaay too old! Ha ha.

New Year's Day we ended up doing a bit of shopping because Mark needed new work shoes, so we just had to hit up HuHot again. I think we're becoming addicted to that place! It's soooooooooo good.

It was a pretty relaxing day, which made it really hard for both of us to go to work yesterday. Ugh. Thankfully the day went by quickly. Last night I headed over to my parent's house to do laundry for one of the last times because...pretty soon we're moving to our own house with our own washer and dryer! Yay!

We (meaning me and my brother-from-another-mother Ryan) dyed my brother's hair black last night. I'm not sure how Ben got into this kick that he needed a "$6 makeover" but he did, and wanted his hair black for 2009. It ended up looking really nice, but then again he's one of those guys who looks good no matter what he does.

Our car had a little trouble last night...meaning it refused to start, so it stayed stranded at my parent's house last night. So we got up super early this morning to go over there and dump some Heet in the gas tank. Thankfully it started up after that.


We just made our weekend Wal-Mart run and now Mark is playing Madden Wii (for the 9,000th time since we got it last year) and I'm going to do some more packing. We have a birthday party later for my great-uncle, but other than that we're going to have a pretty relaxing weekend, thank goodness.

After a busy week, I really need a little time to breathe. And pack. And pick out paint colors for our new house. And sign more papers for the loan for our new house. And start cleaning the apartment for moving-out. And...well actually my weekend might not be so relaxing after all.

The good news? My little niece taught me how to crochet...so I'm starting an afghan! Believe it or not, I find knitting and crocheting soooooooooooo enjoyable and relaxing. So, I'm looking forward to my project...after all that other stuff is done.

I'll leave you with a few fun pictures to tide you over, you know, just in case I don't get around to blogging for the rest of the weekend....

My parent's dog, Otis, trying to get into the holiday spirit.

Jade, my adorable godson, at Christmas.

Ben's new hair.