Thankful

Today - I am thankful. For blessings and trials both.


I am thankful for - our parents. Both sets of our parents have been nothing but supportive to Keith and I. They have shared in our joy, prayed for us through my/our "health issues," and are a constant in our lives. I am thankful for their different views on situations, for their advise and respect of our decisions. God has truly blessed me with wonderful parents, and an amazing set of in-laws.

Mom and Me

I am thankful for - grandparents. My Grandma is the most unselfish person I know, and she deals with a lot every day; yet, twice a week she takes time to listen to my woes and offer advice. An amazing woman, and I am so proud to call her my Grandma. Thanks Grandma for the advice, for the hugs, and for your prayers. You are very special to me. My Pawpaw, always puts a smile on my face. Though he may not remember everything like he use to, and little things frustrate him - he is very much a blessing to me and an encouragement as well. Grandpa Herb, I loved listening to Keith call to tell you our news. Your reaction was just, well, happy. You were truly happy for us. I am anxious to get to know you better and know you will be a valuable part of this little baby's life.


I am thankful for - family. We have lots of family, whether you are blood relation or not, you know who you are. Thanks for the cards, the emails and the calls. Thanks especially to my brothers and sister-in-law who have made a tremendous effort to check in every week (although Andy tends to want to talk about golf, he still calls!). Thanks to my brother in law who is purchasing in a house with a pool, just especially for his new neice/nephew (right Kevin?). Yes, God has given us a large family and we are thankful for their presence in our lives.


I am thankful for - puppy dogs! Yes, I do love my puppy dogs. They make me smile everyday. They are my companions throughout the day, are so excited to see me even when I'm having a bad day. They forget my flaws and love me even if I'm having an "ugly" day. My dogs are priceless.

Here are the dogs, really excited about the Easter gift Tessie sent them!

I am thankful for - friends! Both old friends and new. Thanks to all my far away friends who have sent me emails and called. Thanks for understanding why I simply didn't call every one of you to tell you our news. Thanks for being so excited for us, and for your prayers and support. To all our friends here in Tyler, thanks for just being there for us. God truly has blessed us by putting you in our lives, and we are thankful for you.



I am thankful for - anti-nausa pills. This are the best invention EVER! And guess what, I haven't had to take one for three days! Woohoo! Maybe that doctor does know what he is talking about and I will start feeling like myself again...at least until I can't see my toes b/c my belly sticks out too far. But surely that's better than feeling like I'm going to be sick every day!



I am thankful for - Keith. Poor Keith. Girls, if you think you are the only one who experiences the "joys" of pregnancy, let me tell you it's not true. Your husband will be absolutely beside himself b/c he can't fix what is wrong and it really doesn't help his feelings when you blame it all on him either. He takes on a new role of not only having the job of hearing a daily report of the changes you are experiencing with your body, but he also probably will end up doing a lot of the household chores. Keith has gotten very good at going to the grocery store. He is very patient, has yet to get upset with me for my frequently changing meal choices and has made more trips to CVS right before the store closes than I count on my fingers. He hasn't missed a doctor's appt., he tells me I look good (even when I know I don't), he gives me a hug everyday, has yet to get mad at me when I lose my phone (again) and agreeably drives all over Tyler just to look at this or that. Keith's patience actually use to drive me insane. Isn't funny how God does that to you? Yes, God really did give me someone I didn't deserve.

I love you Keith!

Sitting in the Airport

Sorry for the delay in posting lately - lots has gone on and not much time to report about it.

Keith is feeling better. He actually found a really good chiropractor who also does acupunture - interesting, but it works! I actually am going to try this out tomorrow. We'll see if he can help with my aches and pains of this changing body.

This weekend we went to Tucson for a meeting with our EM America Resellers. The actual meeting went well. Getting to Tucson was not so much fun! We were suppose to leave out Tyler on Wednesday night. None of us like flying on those little jumper flights, but it sure is convenient. We didn't have such a positive experience with American last time, so this time we were suppose to take Continental. We got to the airport with time to spare on Wednesday only to be told that our flight was delayed and b/c of this delay we would now miss our connecting flight in Houston. Okay - no big deal right? We'll just be put on the next flight out. Not so easy - b/c even though it is Contenental's fault that we would not make this connecting flight - they could not get us to Tucson before 5 or 10 pm the following day. Not a lot a good news for us - since we had meetings starting at 9 am the next day!

To say the least it was a bit frustrating! Contenental would not even book us on another airline - nothing. Finally, the lady gave us a number to call - we got our money back. But still we had no way of getting to Tucson! I called Southwest. We love Southwest. The ppl were very helpful - they helped to find us a flight and even though Tucson was all booked up, they got us to Phoenix. It even cost the same as the flight we had just cancelled. The bad news was that we had to drive to Houston and leave at 6 am on Thursday morning. So that's what we did...drove to Houston, got a hotel at 2:45 am - slept for 2 hrs and left for the airport. Got to Phoenix, rented a car and drove for 2 hrs and managed to get to our meeting only 30 minutes late. Shew.

It was a long weekend and now we are heading home. We should get to Houston at 6 pm tonite, and then have 3 hrs to drive home. At least the flight isn't stressful as there are no connections. How's that for finding a positive in a hectic, tiring situation! :)

All in all the wkd wasn't too bad and we had good meetings and a good turn out. Plus - the baby got to go to its first baseball game and the Rangers won!

Our flight is boarding! More about our weekend later.

To the Doctor Do We Go!

We just spent the last two days at the doctor - and it wasn't for me! I'm not sure whether to be happy about that or not. Keith has had a horrible headached since Sunday night. First we blamed it on the huge knot on the back of his neck and when it woke him up on Monday night and he couldn't sleep - he finally decided he would go to the doctor. So yesterday he went to the chiropractor. His neck was so tight, the chiropractor couldn't really do much for him, but gave him some pointers and sent him home. After that morning appointment, I left him at home with the puppy dogs to care for him and instructions to drink lots and lots of water and I headed out to Alto to work. He felt fine last night.

But then, last night at about 2 am he woke up again with a headache and difficulty breathing. I don't think he went back to sleep. At 7 he woke me up and had decided he wanted to go to the clinic - so that's what we did. Turns out the poor guy has a "wanna-be" flu virus. Which isn't as bad as the real flu virus b/c it doesn't last near as long but just as miserable to deal with. He doesn't have all the head congestion - yet; and, he may not. But his difficulty in breathing is from the virus infecting his respiratory system.

With my chief grocery shopper sick (I've only been to the store once since I found out I was pregnant), and no apple juice in the house - we both agreed we would suck it up on the way home and stop and get some of the essentials. So with me holding my breath as we passed the fresh seafood section and other really weird smells and Keith barely walking behind the cart - we found the all important apple juice, grabbed some fruit and veggies and some chicken noodle soup. Once home, I drugged him with some Tylonel PM (so he would sleep) and miraculously heated up the soup without any adverse reactions. He ate his soup and is sound asleep in the guest room, his choice, not mine.

So, when you have a chance, send up a quick prayer for Keith. I think this is the first time he has been really sick since I've known him! I, on the other hand, am learning to breathe through my mouth and do things like cleaning the kitchen - Keith had been doing this for me, but hasn't since Monday for obvious reasons. I can't put it off any longer!


On a brighter note, we did buy Shea a new hacky sack. For those who don't know, Shea is our little momma-to-be dog, yes Keith has two pregnant women in his house. And in her last pregnancy she faithfully carried around a suede hacky sack, gave it baths and loved the stuffing out of it - literally. After she had her puppies, she lost all interest in her replacement hacky and we lost track of it. Since we are pretty sure she is pregnant again, we decided to get her another hacky - two in fact, a blue and pink one (Keith is calling them Chunky - after her boy puppy Chunky Butt - and Juicy - see picture).

Shea with her beloved "Juicy"

Thanks to everyone who has voted and left comments! It's good to know who has been checking in on us! Hope everyone is staying healthy and enjoying this beautiful weather!

Notes from the Other Half

Over a year ago, I started one of these blogs thinking that I might actually keep up with it and be a "blogger". Clearly, blogging is not my strength, as I made it approximately 4 days. But, the mother-to-be insists that I post, so here I sit. As most of you know, sharing my thoughts with others is not really my strong point, so when she suggested that I post about how I feel about our situation, I offered up "I'm excited" as my post...which is definitely not good enough (I'm learning to "read" her "looks").



A lot of people have asked me what I want, a boy or a girl? Most are very surprised when I say that I'd like a girl. Now obviously, I don't really care, but there is something inside me that hopes it's a girl. A big reason, is because I want to see both of our dads completely melt at anything she says or does. I think they would do close to the same with a boy, but they both have big soft spots for little girls, and I think it would be a joy to see. Either way, it's going to be a blast and something I really look forward to.



So there is a whole paragraph of substance, I think I'll call this first posting a success! Any questions/ideas for posting would be much appreciated...I'm being told this will be a regular occurrence.



KH

Surprise!!

Surprise, we're pregnant!!

Our parents are giddy, excited and smiling non stop. And on Monday morning we mailed out about 100 of our "Baby Announcement" cards. We sent them mostly to family and close friends - if you didn't get one - we're sorry. We ordered first then had to whittle our list down quite a bit. If you did get one, please do share with whom ever you wish. Keith and I neither one are good at calling people and we felt this was a good way to let everyone know of our exciting news.

We really wish we could tell everyone in person - the reactions we have gotten from people at work and our friends in town have been priceless. Please share in our joy and feel free to comment on our blog. We want to use this blog in order to stay in contact with all our friends and family who live so far away from us. Please check back often and comment! We would love to hear from you!

We Did It!

The night was a success! Even without a reservation at Olive Garden, we only had to wait 10 minutes. Dinner was great - our parents were a bit surprised when Keith took the check and paid for everyone. But it worked well into our plan, b/c when we gave them their cards they just assumed that dinner was a part of the Thank You from us to them.

Terry & Tessie Reading Their Card

Dwayne and Cassie Reading Their Card

Then, we gave our Mom's their gifts. I'm not sure what they were expecting but the look on Terry's face is priceless! With my Mom and Dad, it was like everything made sense now! ha! I'd been looking a little pale apparently! Watch the video - it is pretty funny.

All in all, the night was a success. By now, all of Amarillo knows our news! It was a fun night. Today we are off to Canton, but our first stop is Cracker Barrel!

Giving to Our Parents

Well, tonite is the big night that we tell our parents the news. Here is the plan. Terry and Tessie are on the road driving here as I type. When they get here, we are going to meet my parents at the Olive Garden for dinner. Probably after we eat, we are going to give them this spill about how much we appreciate all they have done to help us in the last couple of years. That we would not be where we are if it hadn't been for them and we wanted to use this dinner as an opportunity to thank them for that. **This of coarse is all true, it just really isn't the real reason for us getting them together.**


Then we are going to give each set of parents these cards that we made them:


Terry & Tessie's Card:




















Dwayne & Cassie's Card:

















Then we are going to give our Mom's a gift wrapped box from James Avery. This is what is in it. Do you think they will get it?




We gave them a chain also - that way they can wear it around their neck and people can ask them what it means...then they can tell them - they are having a Grandbaby!!


Woohoo!!! Wish us luck!

Baby Announcement

It is Wednesday - the time is getting closer! My cousin, Dionna, was here last night. It was so hard to play dumb and act like I wasn't pregnant. We talked about projects, friend's babies and life in general and yet, I did good and I didn't spill the beans. Our Mom's and Dad's will know first. Everyone else, we are going to send the following card:

Think they will get it? I think it will be cool just to send it and not say anything to anyone. But after we tell our parents, who knows we maybe on the phone all night like the night we got engaged. It will be a fun weekend.

Now, all we have to do is finish the project for telling our parents. We went to James Avery on Monday and got our Mom's a necklace and we are going to make them a card. Hopefully I can finish that today or tomorrow and post a picture of them on here. I think it will be really cool.

One day closer....

It's Official

We are having a baby! Yep, it's official. We went to the doctor - they did a sonogram and there is a baby in there. Apparently a very active little baby. According to the doctor, last week I was really only 9 weeks along - so technically I am at 10 weeks today. I was disappointed b/c I was hoping to get past that 12 week mark so the morning sickness would go away - but alas I will have at least 2 more weeks.

Here are the first pictures of our baby:

Our doctor appointment was last Tuesday, but it took me this long to post b/c I have been sick. Seems I picked up some kind of strain of the flu virus when I went to the ER the week before. Maybe I will squeeze in all the sickness into the first trimester and the rest will go by with a lot less havoc! I've successfully lost 10 lbs since finding out I was pregnant. Strange since I feel like I am eating all the time, but I can't eat a lot b/c it makes me sick and I can't not eat it b/c that makes me sick. Shew. It's a no win situation.

Keith and I went to Tucson this weekend with my parents for our annual board meeting with EM America. Talk about a challenge to not let on that I felt like I was ready to throw up at any minute! It was a bit tough, since meetings tend to revolve around food. I think I did okay. It will be a relief to tell our parent this wkd. I really don't think my Mom will be surprised, but we are thinking that Tessie will cry. I wish we had a video camara!

So, now we are trying to come up with the best way to tell both sets of parents at once...too bad this blog isn't public yet so we could get some ideas from our friends! I am going to make little "pregnancy announcements" with the sonogram pictures to send to our extended family and close friends. I think that that will be kind of cool - hope people don't think it is too impersonal.

Only four more days til we tell!!

Not So Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, Valentine's day should be full of flowers, chocolate and romance - but even before making his/her appearance in the this world, our precious little baby successfully made our Valentine's Day the worst experience of my life.

Not to get into horrific details, but being pregnant does cause morning sickness and a little less known, constipation. So I was aware, that not having gone "potty" in a week was a bit unusual but I felt fine and chalked it up to the pregnancy. So at 3 pm yesterday when I felt the urge to go, I was excited! I was excited for the cramps to go away and to finally go to the bathroom - as excited as you can get on such an occasion. Unfortunately, my body had other plans. Poor Keith came home at 5 to find me nearly in tears in the bathroom. He is such a good husband. He called and talked to the nurse. He went to CVS and got a horrible thing called a suppository. And when that didn't work around 9, he went back and got something else in a big bottle - enema? **Have no worries boys, he bought the stuff, but I didn't make him help me use them.** When that failed to work it's magic, he called a nurse again - convinced me I had to go the the ER, embarrassed or not and loaded me up.

Let's just say, that the ER was the most uncomfortable, horrible experience I have ever gone through. Ever heard of compaction? Yes, well that is what I had and it was awful. I survived and felt much better after, granted a little sore. But I wouldn't wish such a fate on my worst enemy. They gave me "poop juice" to drink when I got home to help clear out the rest of my system.

So what could have caused such a horrible thing to have occured??? I have been taking my prenatal vitamins, as well as taking some liquid minerals since January. Apparently both contain iron and if you have too much iron - well, the result is my experience in the ER.

So Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope yours had all the romance and flowers it deserved. I for one was glad to have survived! Thanks little baby - you are already making a mark in your momma's life! :)

Changing Times

Almost 10 weeks into this pregnancy and it is getting more and more difficult not to tell anyone. We have good reason for keeping quiet for so long. First and foremost, we have already miscarried early in a pregnancy and really didn't want to have to tell everyone that we miscarried on this one if that had happened. But as the weeks pass, we are more and more confident that we are not going to lose this baby. So, now we are keeping our secret a bit longer, b/c we want to tell our parents, both sets of our parents, at the same time.

We have successfully convinced Terry and Tessie to fly down at the end of Feb and have asked my parents to join us all for dinner that Friday night. We haven't exactly figured out how to tell them once we get them all together, but we have some neat ideas floating around.

Our house has been in a constant state of change since we purchased it over a year ago. We have pretty much painted and changed every room. With the baby on the way, we are preparing to change rooms that have already been changed! We would like to get wood floors for sure. Keith is also going to make our utility room into my office and turn the old office into the guest room and the old guest room into the baby's room. Yep, lots of work to do, but we are looking forward to it.

Can't wait to see how our parents react to our news. Only two more weeks to go!