Thursday, January 27, 2011

uhhh…

why has nobody told me before about the greatness that is TOMS shoes?!?!

i finally ordered a pair, and i adore them!

i’m so mad that i just now got them.. and i definitely want at least 2 more pair! haha

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i’m thinking these will be great pregnancy shoes :)

Sunday, January 23, 2011

a baby

 

“A baby will make love stronger,

days shorter, nights longer,

bankroll smaller, home happier,

clothes shabbier, the past forgotten,

and the future worth living for.”

-unknown

I still can’t really believe that I’m going to have a baby.  It seems so unreal.  Although I do NOT want to get sick or anything, I am sorta looking forward to having some sort of pregnancy symptom.  I want this to feel real.

Up until now my only “symptoms” would be some light cramping and being tired.  But I’ve been attributing the tiredness to a cold that I’ve had all week. 

I went to the Doctor on Friday and had the pregnancy confirmed.  I’m SO ready to go back and have an ultrasound!  I want to see the little blob and heartbeat on the screen so bad!!!  I’m also anxious to find out if there is one or two little miracles growing in there…

I don’t have a picture to go along with this, so I’m going to post a picture of the very first purchase I made for this baby.  I bought this pack of onesies wayyy back before Justin and I ever started officially “trying”.  My plan was to use the “handsome like daddy” one to announce the pregnancy to Justin when I found out.  That plan didn’t work since he was home with me when I got the positive test, but I still love having these to look at.

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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

our miracle

 

**written Jan. 17, 2010 8:50 pm**

Today would have been the beginning of cycle #6 for us. But looks like that cycle isn’t coming. 

Let me back up…  After several disappointing months, Justin and I decided to take the month of January “off”.  We just weren’t going to try hard to get pregnant.. no charting and counting days, no vitamins, etc.  I was nervous about skipping a month knowing that it could be the month, but we both really felt like it was the right thing to do.

Now fast forward to today.  I was at work and sent my friend Jenna a text saying that my cycle was expected this morning, but hadn’t shown up.  I told her if I didn’t see anything by Wednesday I would take a pregnancy test.  However, she kept talking to me and pretty quickly persuaded me to test today. 

When I got home from work I told Justin about everything and that I still had no signs or symptoms that my cycle was starting.  I went into the bathroom and took a test, left it on the counter, and went back into the kitchen to talk to Justin and have a snack.  After a few minutes I decided it was probably time to check the test.  In all honesty my hopes were pretty low, especially considering it was our “break month”.

But.  I saw 2 lines.  TWO.

I was in shock.  All I could say was “oh my gosh!, oh my gosh!”  Justin thought I was playing a joke on him, and I told him to come see for himself.  As he walked toward me in the bathroom I started laughing so hard.  That laugh quickly turned into tears.  I was bawling.  But they were finally tears of joy.  Justin just grabbed me and hugged me tight.  He was pretty much holding me up too.  I was crying and shaking so bad that I could barely stand.  I knew I was pregnant right away.  I had read several places that it’s not very often someone gets a false positive.  Justin, however, wasn’t so sure.  We decided I should test again with a digital test.  I drank an entire bottle of water plus some juice and waited and waited and waited.  Finally I felt up to testing again.  This time Justin saw the test first and said, “you’re pregnant!”  Seeing the word “pregnant” just made it seem more real. 

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We immediately grabbed our phones and started calling family and the close friends that have been praying for this baby with us.  (I have to add here that both of my grandmothers said immediately that they think we are having twins…. time will tell!)

After what seemed like a billion calls, texts, congrats, etc., we decided it was time to celebrate.  We stopped by Dustin and Jenna’s house and were greeted with pom poms and hugs and bunches of happy talk.  Then Justin’s dad bought our dinner at Salt Grass Steakhouse.  It was so yummy!

 

I can’t adequately put words to my feelings right now.  I am still a little in disbelief.  I doesn’t seem real.  It’s too good to be true.  I’m crazy happy.  I feel like I’m dreaming, but I guess it’s a dream come true :)  I have waited so long for this day.  I have prayed so hard, cried so many tears, and have had to learn what it means to really trust God.  It’s been hard, but today I can say that it’s been worth it.

We know that this baby is a gift from the Lord.  This baby is a miracle.  I feel so honored and blessed that I get the chance to be a mother.  Wow.  I guess calling myself “mother” is gonna take some getting used to!  Haha! 

According to my calculations I’m almost 4 weeks pregnant.  The due date is around the end of September.  Hopefully I’ll get an appointment with a doctor soon and get more details.  I seriously plan on treasuring each and every day of this journey.  I hope to blog about it a good bit too so that I can look back on it after it’s over.  I know that this next year is going to be one of the most special years of my life.  Today especially will be a day I never ever forget.

Monday, January 3, 2011

I’m a proud wife

It’s been an amazing experience to watch my husband walk through the last couple of years.  To think about him when we started dating and then to think about him now, there is such a huge difference.  He is still the same person I fell in love with, yet so different.  He has shown so much growth and maturity in many areas.  Ministry school along with many hours of prayer and reading the Word have shaped him and molded him into something new.  And I’m thrilled to know it’s a process that is going to continue as long as he lives.  He is determined to know who he is in Christ.  He’s determined to have a real relationship with God.  And he is determined to follow the Lord wherever He may lead. 

I seriously LOVE this about my man.  Even when I have no idea what the future holds, I can know that if I follow Justin, I will be following Jesus.  There is such a peace in knowing that.

The thing that really got me thinking on this tonight is this picture…

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Justin was leading a devotional time for the addiction recovery class that he used to attend.  He really is a living, breathing miracle.  God rescued him from a filthy life of drugs, alcohol, lying, stealing, etc and made him into a new creation.  Now Justin is able to use that testimony to help others.  He spoke this night on finding identity in Christ.  It was really good and touched the hearts of many in the class.

One would never imagine that only 2 years ago, Justin hated standing in front of people.  He did not like speaking in front of groups at all!  Now he does it like a pro!

I’m one proud wife.

3D

I have been wanting to see a 3D movie for a while now, but combine the fact that Justin usually isn’t into seeing movies with the fact we will only see G or PG movies, and that really limits my movie-going.

Christmas night Justin and I got together with Dustin and Jenna and watched “Gulliver’s Travels” in 3D at the theater in our hometown.  I have to say I wasn’t terribly impressed with the movie, but I really enjoyed the previews!  haha!

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I had such a good time being with some of my favorite people and laughing at how goofy we looked with our glasses on!

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I definitely want to start watching all animated movies in 3D if it’s available.  The effect didn’t seem as noticeable on the movie we saw.  Either way, I can’t wait to go back!!!  :) 

puppy love (+ a kitty)

I haven’t been able to get much practice in with my new camera because I don’t have any willing participants at my house!

Well, Bobo got a haircut right after Christmas, so I decided he needed to pose for a picture. 

Here is my shaggy boy before his appointment.  Justin had actually started calling him “big nasty”. 

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He looked so fresh and much younger when we got him back!

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And just because I can’t leave my kitty out…

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is it too late for Christmas?!

Yes, it’s now January.  A whole new year.  I’m just now blogging about Christmas.  This really doesn’t surprise me at the rate I’ve been going.  Seems like for some reason I find the motivation to blog at the beginning of the month, and then forget about it until a new month rolls around.

Anyway..

Christmas 2010:

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We traveled to West Monroe so that we could spend Christmas with family again.  We stayed (as usual) with Justin’s parents.  On Christmas Eve we met up with some of my daddy’s side of the family.  We ate gumbo (super yum!) and talked about old times and shared funny stories.  It was fun, but I wish the entire family could have been there.  After that, we went to Justin’s mom’s side of the family.  We actually showed up late, but just in time to play the Dirty Santa game.  Justin and I ended up “winning” gift cards to Copeland's!  Woohoo!  We ended the night opening gifts with Justin’s parents and sister.  We were more than blessed.  I was actually shocked at all the gifts!

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I gave Justin a wish list way back before Christmas, but really had no idea what he would get me.  I was very pleasantly surprised when I tore away wrapping paper and saw this…

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He knew how much I needed a camera bag and how much I loved the Kelly Moore Bags.  I was and still am thrilled with it!

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Just for memories sake, this is how I was carrying my camera around before in order to keep it protected:

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and after:

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muchhhhhhh better :)

I gave Justin several books that he asked for and an armband to hold his iphone while working out.  He was very happy with everything, even the stuff that I surprised him with!  And that’s saying something, because he is hard to buy for!!!

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Christmas morning we slept in a little and then headed over to Justin’s dad’s side.  We had tons of yummy food there and just enjoyed each other’s company.

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Next we headed to visit my mom and some other family on her side.  It was fun being there to watch two of my cousin’s girls open some presents.  Being around children during the holidays just makes it more fun to me!

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After 5 different houses, lots of good food, plenty of gifts, and tons of laughs, we finished with our Christmas celebrations. 

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With the busyness of the season, I have to remind myself that although I enjoy all of these things, I really need to put more focus on my Savior willingly coming to earth as a tiny baby so that he could live a sinless life and die a sinner’s death so that we can all have eternal life with Him.

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