Reflection on 2012

Wow, what a crazy year...there were lots of planned adventures as well as unplanned, some things I would love to make traditions, while others I want to leave in 2012, there were lots of ups and some downs, but overall there isn't much I'd change about this past year...it was amazing!

Klay and I got to cruise together for the first time and enjoy a relaxing trip with no plans...completely different from what we usually do.

We got to explore Europe with my parents, probably one of the best experiences yet! Loved doing this with them so much, there is nothing to describe how amazing that trip was!

We also bought a car and thankfully were able to pay cash for it! We got all the ceilings scraped in our house as well as all the walls, trim and windows painted...this has made our house look and smell like new!

Klay and I went on two trips to Florida, one to visit my Grandmother for her 80th Birthday and one to Seagrove Beach to hangout for the last time with just the two of us.

We found out this summer we are expecting our first child!!! So excited about that! Probably the best thing ever! I got to skip morning sickness and had a great start to my pregnancy...however now that I am near the end of my pregnancy I have been on bed rest and when it's all said and done probably will have spent at least 12wks on bed rest. With that however God has taught me how much I have to rely on Him. He also has taught me how much is out of my control and that I need to learn to patient and to let things go. I also have felt an amazing peace I have never felt as well as contentment with where I am. He has shown me how much He and others love me and how amazing the people he has put in my life are...it has been very humbling. I had really wanted to experience God in a big way this year, and I truly have through all of this.

I know there is so much more that happened this year, but for now that's what has really stuck out. I can't even begin to say how excited I am about next year because Klay and I will officially be parents! We are beyond excited to experience this new adventure together!

Up date

I am now 28wks! So exciting! Of course hoping to make it to at least 30-32wks, but we'll see. I got retested today for my glucose sugar test, and it was high, so I have gestational diabetes:/ not at all happy about this. I realize there is there nothing that I could have done about it, but I hate it none the less. I am on a special diet now that is low in carbs and sugars. I also have to test my blood sugar 4 times a day...anyways I'm doing the best I possibly can and glad that it can be managed through diet. I also got a cervix check today, it was a 1.2 last week and was a 1.3 today, so not a huge improvement, but at least stable which is good. I also got an ffn (fetal fibronectin) test today...it can show whether or not you might go into labor in the next two weeks. Mine came back positive so I will not get to go home. However this does not mean I will go into labor in the next two weeks, it's just another complication on top of the ones I already have. I will be in the hospital for at least the next two weeks. So, not the best news today, but I am trying to make the most of it. I would have loved to go home today, and had the ffn test been negative, they would have let me, but I prayed so much about it and got my answer. I do want to be where God wants me, and right now that is in the hospital. So please keep the prayers coming, I feel beyond blessed to have so many people love me and praying for Klay, I and Karter!


Here are some pictures of how homey/Christmasy my room is...it's not so bad ;)

The hospital...my new home

November 23, black Friday I woke up because I sneezed really hard and thought I must have peed my panties a little. Well when I got up to change I realized it was blood, and when i peed there was blood. I called my doctors emergency line and then called Klay while I waited for the doctor to call me back and tell me what to do. I have to say I remained pretty calm, and tried to get Klay to stay calm, but he ended up running code home from work if that says anything about how he was feeling. When he got home he didn't even change and we took the patrol car to the hospital...believe me I tried protesting, but Klay would have none of it. When we got to the hospital we met with my doctor and she thought I was dilating, and at first my contractions weren't showing up on the monitor, but once in my room and on a monitor they were showing up a lot and they were pretty hard. An ultra sound showed I was dilating, but thankfully baby looked good. They then hooked me up to Magnesium to help stop the contractions, and I got a steroid shot to help speed up baby boys development if he decided he was coming. I also got a catheter put in because I would be on the mag for 24 hours. The first 30min dose is the worst, thankfully I responded very well and the worst side effect was the extreme heat/flush you get...and it is extreme, like your face feels like it will explode, you're so hot! However we had one of my favorite doctors on call and one the best nurses. So I was greatly taken care of. Klay never left my side and has been such a great caregiver...love him so much! My mom stayed close by in the waiting room and was here if we needed anything. It's Sunday and praise the Lord my contractions have stopped and I'm hoping that I get a good report and will be able to go home in the next few days...but I guess we'll see.

Well it is Tuesday and after a cervix exam I am officially staying in the hospital on strict bed rest. This is not what I wanted per say, but of curse I want what is best for Karter. I would love to be home right now, actually I would love it a lot, but after a lot of prayer and my exam, I am at peace, at the moment, about staying here. It was scary Friday to go through everything I did and I do not want to be at home and something happen that would be harmful to Karter or me. I know this is not going to be the easiest for me, but I do know I have a lot to be thankful for. I am in the hospital because God has blessed me with a precious baby boy and I realize there are lots of other people laying in hospital beds for a lot worse reasons. So even though I would love to lay here and feel sorry for myself because my pregnancy isn't normal, and worry about everything that could happen, I'm deciding to be thankful for where God has me and trust in His plan for mine and Karter's life.

A whole lot of thanks!

Today I am feeling good, and it has been over two weeks since I have been on bed rest. Everyone has been amazing and I am realizing how grateful I am for my Klay-doh, family and friends! So as I have been reading on Facebook all the 30 days of thanks I just had to say a little bit of thanks I'm feeling right now.

I first have to talk about my Klay-doh...he is my best friend and the person I love doing my life with and this time in my life is no exception. I am so thankful that unlike me he actually doesn't mind being at home, so when he is off he isn't stir crazy and doesn't mind hanging out with me. He has also been amazing when it comes to keeping my house clean and getting my house back into order after our renovations. And I have to add he does it all without complaint! Not only does he come home, take care of me, and our home, but he also works 12hr shifts and then runs his own business. He spends time listing on eBay/online, answering emails and shipping. He seriously is my super hero and although I'm not sure how he does all of it, I am beyond grateful that God blessed me more than I deserve with him!

My family...I'm not going going to lie, I've always known how blessed I am with them and can never remember a time in my life where they haven't been here for me. They are the first to show up unexpected and do whatever needs to be done without being asked. Of course my family wouldn't be what it is without my parents! I love them so much! I cannot even begin to show my gratefulness to them from what they have done in my life and it seems they keep adding to my debt. In the two weeks they have spent whole days here helping clean my entire house, cooking dinners, running errands, redecorating the house, and so much more. They were here the this week, and my dad spent his entire day off putting up shelves for me that he built, and changing out all my light switches and outlets. He does this without complaint and without even being asked. My mom, well what can I say
about her...she is busy, always doing something, she has done our laundry, cleaned the house, cooked a ton of meals, grocery shopped and so much more. She calls me every day and wants to do something to make this time for me as easy as possible. I just can't say enough about my parents! I am also equally blessed with my siblings, I have three brothers and a sister, all who are married so that's a lot of people who help! And I'm thankful that I honestly love all of them so very much and again already they have brought me gifts, made meals, gone shopping for me and just have come over and kept me company. It also is convenient that they all live within 15min of us. The Lord has definitely blessed me with all of them. I also must say I have an amazing in law family...they might not all be the closest, but the call and thoughtful texts to check up on me definitely have a way of making you feel loved!

And now i have to say I am thankful for friends....friends that feel like family. God has truly blessed Klay and I with some amazing friends to do life with and they have definitely been here for us during this time. They have also ran errands, made dinners, rearranged meeting places, brought lunches and have just come to hang out. Not to mention emails, texts and phone calls to check in. Life without them would not be the same!

I can't say enough about how grateful I feel. I just had to write a little note before I busted with thankfulness for everything that has been done. I still am not a fan of this whole bed rest thing, but I am trying my hardest to be still and take care of our baby boy. I can see how God has
used this time to show me how much I am loved!

Pictures below are some of love I've gotten!

Pregnancy update

I am officially 22wks today! So exciting! However I did go to the doctor, my cervix is opening, so they put me on medicine and told me not to do anything but hangout until Tuesday. Not really the news you want to hear, but I am so thankful that everything with baby boy looked good and that I'm still feeling really well. I'm just praying that everything will look well on Tuesday.

I did post some pics of our sweet little guy :)

#17!!!!!!!!

Well i know I haven't scratched anything off this list in a while, but seriously this is a big one! I am pregnant!!!! We are so excited about becoming parents..I know there were a few who doubted we would ever take the plunge ;) but here we are! Honestly, we waited for a while because there was so much we wanted to do and we wanted to be in a more stable time in our lives. Well with a lot of prayer and talking we decided it was time to start trying...I also need to add that last year we found out I have a rare condition called Uterus didelphys...never heard of it? Yeah neither had I! Well come to find out I have two separate uteri and two separate cervixes...I know weird! Well my doctor informed me that this would increase my chances for miscarriage and would make me a high risk pregnancy...everything a girl about to try wants to hear...not! However I serve a big God, and Klay and I started to pray that next year about getting pregnant. We were ecstatic when we found out, but also cautious knowing there could be complications in the pregnancy. I am now through my first trimester and I am feeling great! I have complete faith in the Lord and pray this baby arrives safe and healthy...I also know that God is in total control and I surrender this baby to Him. So I would ask if you would join me in praying for the health and safety of my precious baby...I am already seeing a specialist and will continue to see him throughout my pregnancy every week...unless of course everything looks so good that he decides every other week is sufficient ;) he informed me of some things i already knew...i would deliver via c-section, that we need to keep an eye on my cervix, as well as make sure the baby's growth is progressing normally...none the less I will continue to praise God for this blessing in our life!

#10!!!!

Well we did it! We bought a new car...well it's not a brand new car, but after a lot of prayer and researching we decided it would be better for us to stay within our budget and to buy a good used car...so what kind you ask? We got a 2009 Honda Accord. It is perfect! It also only has 16k miles, and therefore feels like a new car...it also saved us $$$$.

This whole car thing was a huge deal to us, I was in an accident a month and a half ago and my car got totaled, we knew then we would have to buy a new car. Klay and I have never had a nice car, mostly because we have always paid cash, so we knew we had to save, and had been saving for a new car, even before the accident...anyways we spent that month and a half doing so much research and being extremely indecisive about which car we wanted, we went from a brand new Kia optima to a used four runner, to a new Tacoma, to finally deciding on the Honda. This is not typical of us at all! But I know we made the right choice, we had written out what we wanted In a car...leather, sunroof, good gas mileage, low miles, roomy back seat and trunk and a few others...and prayed God would show us the right car...of course we strayed a few times from our list and looked at other cars, and God continued to take care of us and close doors. Last night we drive out to Curry Honda to look at an Accord, we knew right off this was the car. We took it for a test drive, asked questions, etc and when he asked if this is what we wanted, we both answered with confidence and peace yes! So we handed him the cash and drove our beauty home! I feel so blessed to have this car and am so gracious God allowed us to get it!

Garage sale finds!

Well I love garage sales...seriously! I find some great stuff, plus I love turning something cheap and ugly into something wonderful! I've only been to a few garage sales this year and have been really happy with what I have gotten, here are some of my treasures....
A patio set for $25
Baskets for $2 each
Mirror turned chalkboard for $5

Europe cont...

Day 2: day trip to Windsor, Bath and Stonehenge

We got coffee at a local star bucks, where i apparently am Ritchel, and took the tube to where we were to meet our tour bus...thankfully we left a little early bc it took us a minute to find the coach center.

Then we off to see the queen at Windsor...mom Loved it! We got to tour the doll house, which included electricity and plumbing and of course a set of crown jewels..the whole house was made of real items, just in miniature. We also got to see the state apartments, where most of the entertaining goes on at the castle.

After Windsor we were off to see Bath... We were pleasantly surprised t see how beautiful it was. It reminded me so much of Florence with its Italian inspired architect. We went to the baths first, I was very excited to tour the bath, because we didn't see any while in Italy. The baths are heated from a natural hot spring, you could see the steam coming off the water. At the end of the tour you could drink some of the bath water which supposedly will keep you looking young and healthy...after some debating we decided the water was not for us;)

Stonehenge was our last stop...and I have to say I didn't expect much, the two other times we have been to London we have never been. People have told us its really not worth it. Well it exceeded my expectations, which were low. I actually really enjoyed seeing the stones and am glad I can officially mark it off my list!

Europe Trip!

Well we have been back for almost two weeks now, so I think its time to sit down and record the trip...if you know us than you know we LOVE traveling, seriously! Klay plans out the trip, from start to finish, and researches everything we should do and see, as well as reads up on the history so he knows exactly what we are looking at! I love this about him...usually makes for a better trip!

 We got to the airport around 7:30 and our plane departed at 9:30...we always take a red eye so we can "sleep" on the plane before we get there...somehow I always  forget how much I hate being on the plane for this long, not because I'm afraid, but because I don't do well sitting still for that long...I get stir crazy! I always make it though...a small price to pay for the adventure that awaits you! The flight went well this trip and we surprisingly did catch a few hours of sleep. We flew into Heathrow the next morning...a little jet lagged. we got through customs and headed to the tube to drop off our bags at the hotel...did I mention my parents came? No! Well my parents came! Which was awesome! They have never been over seas before...well my dad had, but only through the Navy...so they were with us, and we had four people plus baggage to keep up with. That said I will get on with my story...so we are super excited, mostly because my mom is about to get her first glimpse of the city...we mapped out where to get off, which train to use, etc...well here we are about to change trains on the tube and the tube is super crowded, and we have been pushed to the back...we get to our stop and are trying to get off when there is some difficulty with my moms luggage, Klay being the sweet son-in-law he is reaches down to help...we are now off the train and the doors are closing when Klay realizes he left his backpack, as he turns the doors are shut! Not only a back pack, but the one with our passports, ipad, camera, hotel info, planes tickets, train tickets...pretty much anything that was important!!! UGH! SO we made our way to the help desk, which turned out to be extremely helpful...they had the train checked at every stop, well 30 stops later we get the good news that his backpack was found...praise the Lord! We get on the train and 30 minutes later we get the bag...so this little adventure cut our first day a little short :/ we did get to walk around that evening though and see some good sites.

Park in front of Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace