Where has the summer gone??

Hello Everyone! I'm so sorry, once again, that I've not posted in a while. We've had a lot of changes in our household the past few months and I guess we're all just getting adjusted and before you know it, time slips away. I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying their summer! I know Liam sure has! School starts back Aug 26th and he's going into the 2nd grade! WHAT?!?! He's excited, but not ready for summer to be over yet.

Me...well, I'm starting a new job!!! After 4 years of being a SAHM, I'm returning to the work force. They call this position "part time", but it's the closest thing to full time you can get without the official title! lol I'll be working at our local hospital as an H.R. Asst. I've got the BEST hours...M-F 9:30-4:30! Yea, I know...bankers hours...BETTER! :) So it's 35 hrs a week, but even though they consider it p/t, I'm still going to be elegible for benefits, insurance (which I've not had for 4 years) and vacation time!! Woohoo!! Plus the hours really work out great for Liam's schedule. I can take him to school at 9:00 and then my mom will pick him up everyday at 3:45, and then I'll get off 45 minutes later. :) I really am excited. Nervous too, but excited! I start on the 18th, which is actually a week before school starts, so I'm arranging to send him to a sitter that week. It's someone he's never been to before, but one of his friends goes there, so hopefully it won't be traumatic on him!! He doesn't do change very well.

Speaking of jobs, I think I mentioned before that Jay started her new job in May. Well, the job itself is going GREAT. She loves this field (computer forensics/security) and it's so nice to finally have her come home in a great mood! :) The drive, however, is getting old....really old! She leaves the house by 6:45 am and it's usally after 7pm before she gets home. That part we both hate. It seems we have so little time together anymore. So we just try to make the best of what we do get, but it's been a BIG adjustment. Especially for Liam.

On the health front, I've been having some major issues for a few months now. After several blood tests, xrays, 2 specialists and more tests...they confirmed a few months ago that I'm in the very early stages of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Just what you want to hear at 37! So for now I'm on medication, which after 4 weeks seems to be helping. Most of my pain is in my hands and fingers. And usually it's just first thing in the morning and late at night. And then as if that wasn't bad enough to deal with...I ended up in the ER last Thursday afternoon for about 4 hours! Out of nowhere I started having extreme pain in my left side and lower back. To the point that I couldn't talk and it felt as if the breath was being knocked out of me. To my surprise, I have not JUST a kidney stone, but they also discovered a large cyst on my left ovary! In fact, that's the side that was giving me so much pain...not the side with the stone! So I follow up tomorrow with my family physician, but I'm really trying to hold off doing anything until October, after my insurance goes into effect. Of coarse, the very first thought that came to mind is wondering if that's why I haven't gotten pregnant!!! Part of me hopes and prays it is, and that it's fixable so we can start trying again by the end of the year. I can't believe it will be a year in October since we did our last cycle. It's sure been a rough year. At least emotionally, for both of us. I've seen so many of my family members get pregnant and have their babies or are soon due and here I am....still waiting. I just had a good friend tell me today that she's pregnant. She's been a single mom for 12 years and now she's venturing down that road again. Turns out the father was history 2 months ago. She's not even sure she wants to tell him. I know she always wanted another child, so I am happy for her because she's actually over the moon about it, but am I jealous too?? Sure. I envy her. She got knocked up and didn't even have to try. And what has it cost her? Nothing. To only be so lucky. I know alot of you out there would agree. Money is the root of all evil. And that's proven true with us trying to conceive. That's literally the ONLY reason we're not pregnant yet. Money. Lack of, I should say. But I'm putting all my faith in God and I know this job is a blessing from Him, which I think is going to lead to more blessings in our lives. :)

On that note, my Sweetie just called and is on her way home, so that gives me just over an hour to figure out what's for dinner and get it ready! I wish everyone well...I'm so happy for Michelle & Nick...over the MOON for them actually and now I'm anxiously awaiting Little Peanut's arrival (Meg and Kris)! Two totally deserving families!!!! God is great!!!! :)

Check out my Slide Show!

Where 'O Where Have I Been??

I'm not sure! I'm still trying to find out myself. I have been planning on sitting down for WEEKS and posting on here, but I never seem to have anything to write about. My life is pretty hum-drum lately. It's late, we just got home from the whole graduation thing. Some relatives graduated today, so it's been a busy one. I think I'll write tomorrow and put in a new slide show. I hope everyone out in blog land is doing great.

Our new puppy ~ Aspen

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

We survived the blizzard of '08!!!

Just thought I'd share a few pics from the blizzard of '08 we just survived this past weekend! Actually, it was fun being snowed in and spending some quality time together! We were a little stir crazy by Sunday afternoon (after the dig-out), but all in all, it was exciting...not to mention BEAUTIFUL!! You can take the girl outta the north, but you can't take the north outta the girl! :)

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

123 Book Tagging

Ok,so I've been tagged by Shari a.k.a. Rainbow Momma, so here goes!!



Rules:



1. Grab the nearest book of 123 pages or more.



2. Open it to page 123.



3. Find the first 5 sentences and write them down.



4. Then invite 5 friends to do the same.

Ok, well the nearest book on our coffee table is The Quest Study Bible. So here's what I found:

Exodus 29:29 Aaron's sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them. 30 The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days. 31 Take the ram for the ordination and cook the meat in a sacred place. 32 At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the bakset. 33 They are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for thier ordination and consecration.


There! :) So now who am I gonna tag...how about Tammy @ Tammy's Journey, Michelle @ Michelle's Path (our little Guamite now!), Meg @ Journey to a Baby Franklin, Michell @ I Want To Be A Mommy and Tracey @ Baby Steps. Thanks Girls!!! :) Have fun!

Btw, nothing new to report on the TTC front, but on a bright note, we ARE getting a puppy! :) I'm soooo excited...so are Liam & Jay. After much research, we have decided on a little Maltese. I found a local breeder and she has one female left ready for purchase in about 2-3 weeks, so I hope this is the one!!! We hope to go see her this weekend. We already have a name picked out, but I'll wait til we get her before I announce it. :) Hopefully the kitties will adapt well and not freak out too bad. They'll get over it. :) Hope everyone is well. Will update on the puppy soon.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Lovin' the snow!!!!

Well, since Liam has had 3 days off this week for snow days, we decided to venture out yesterday and take some pics and play in the snow!!! Oh, the first two are just our lazy cats...

Friday, February 15, 2008

Pictures from Liam's Birthday/Valentines Day

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Valentines Day, Baby Boy!!!

My baby is 7 years old today!! Part of me is filled with such joy to see him growing into a handsome, young man...but the other part of me is sad...sad to see my "baby" growing up way too fast. I can't believe 7 years ago today, at 1:55 a.m. my life changed completely. Life as I knew it was nothing compared to what my life would be like after this beautiful baby boy came along. :) We tried for so long have him. The heartache, the disappointment, the ups and downs...but the minute I held him in my arms, it was ALL worth it. Every struggle, every tear. He was finally here. :) Now here we are, 7 quick years later. Where has the time gone??

Sorry, guess I felt the need to reminisce. I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentines Day. Love is in the air!! As for my love...her & I will be celebrating with our son...but who could ask for more? :)

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Life moves forward

I'm really sorry I haven't been blogging much. I say that everytime, and I'm trying (really I am!) to get better. See...only been a week or so since my last post! ;) Anyway, it's been an up and down week and there's been a lot going on. First, we have a new addition to our family (see pic below), but at the same time, tragedy has struck a close friend and that's been hard too. It's so weird how life and death just go hand in hand. The whole circle of life thing. Even having the faith I do, on a human level, it's still hard not to question the why or how this all works. An old friend of mine from grade school has lost her oldest son (18) this week in a very bad car accident. I havne't seen or talked to her in a couple of years, but nonetheless, I feel it's important to pay my respects at calling hours tonight. I've thought about her constantly these past few days, trying to comprehend what she must be going through. I can't. Even having experienced the loss of my husband and step-father 3 years ago, I still can't even begin to understand her pain of losing her son. What do I say? How do I express my sympathy? "Hi. Wow, sorry we haven't seen each other in so long, but here we are back in touch because of this tragedy." ?? I'm just asking those of you reading this to please keep my friend Johna and her family in your prayers at this time. They are sure going to need it.

On a lighter note, yes, I did say we have a new addition. My cousin Alex (who has always been more like a brother to me) and his wife welcomed their 6th child, a baby boy named Nolan William almost 2 weeks ago. We went to see him last Saturday and I have to say he is BEAUTIFUL! For weighing 10 lbs at birth, I expected to see this little sumo wrestler, but he actually had lost 2 lbs and so he was much smaller in person!! I could have fit the little booger right in my purse and snuck him home!! They treated him for jaundice before they released him from the hospital, but he's still very yellow, so he's been going back and forth for blood work every 2 days. His billiruben still isn't good, so now they're worried he might have some sort of blood disease. He seemed so perfect when I held him Saturday...it's so scary to think something may be wrong with him. So if you would, please keep little Nolan in your prayers as well. I'll post an update as I know...

Speaking of little guys, mine is doing GREAT! He just got his grade card last Friday and he made honor roll. :) He could have the last semester, but he had a C in Handwriting (of all things!) Plus he got a certificate for having all green behavior (which is good) the entire semester. He's actually gotten that every quarter since he started school last year! :) That's our boy!! Next week is a very special day in our household...not unlike a lot of households who observe Valentines Day...but it's also my baby's 7th birthday!!! :) It's so funny because when he was about 3 til he was about 5, about a month before V-day, we'd see all the stuff in the stores and he thought all that stuff was JUST for his birthday!!!! :) I didn't burst his little bubble til he was about 5 or so. lol He still thinks it's pretty cool. He said as long as I don't ever make him have a "heart" birthday, then he's good with it. :) I hardly think camophlauge and bugs are anything near hearts!!!!!

On another good note, I have some very exciting news to share about Jay's job situation. Hopefully no one from her work reads this... lol... Well about 3 weeks ago, she interviewed with a company about an hour away that she had sent her resume to. They said they didn't actually have an opening, but was so impressed with her resume, they wanted to talk to her. So that went well, and they left it at saying they would maybe consider creating a position for her. Ok, so the wait begins... But then last week she gets a call from the State BCI for a position she applied for waaaaay back in October!! Out of so many resumes they received from all over the country, they chose to only interview 3 people...Jay being one of them!!!! So that was this past Monday! The drive is a little further, about an hour and 10-20 min from here, but ideally it's her DREAM job and exactly what she got her Masters for! Not to mention the pay & benefits are better than this other place, although their pay is still a lot better than what she's making NOW! So now she's all psyched for the state job...but in the meantime, she gets a call from the first company saying their finally ready to talk to her about a position and want to set up a second interview. :) So she's waiting for them to call and arrange it, which hopefully won't be til the end of next week, because she's hoping to hear from the state by then. They said they hope to make a decision within 2 weeks. So now she's so torn on what to do...my advice is go talk to company A and see what they have to offer, put them off as long as you can til you hear from the state to see if you get offered that. ?? So keep your fingers crossed that ONE of these 2 great opportunities work out. She's waited sooooo long for this!! It's been almost a year since she started looking, and 9 months since she got her degree. :) I'll keep you posted on that as well....

On that note, my fingers are now numb from typing so I'm heading out for today... I hope all of you are doing well, healing, staying healthy and happy, and life is treating you fair.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Brrrrr

I just wanted to pop on and share a few pictures I took here in Ohio last Friday. The temp was 2*, the sun was shining, and despite the cold, it was such a beautiful day, so I ran home and grabbed the camera! These were taken at a local lake and it was so neat because everything was so still...so frozen...so untouched. :)

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Very sad...

I just wanted to send my heartfelt sympathy out to Tracy (Baby Steps) today. I just read her sister Debbie's post from yesterday and I'm in total shock and dismay. Tracy, if you read this, I'm so very very sorry for your loss. Just try to heal and know that your little LoveBug is in Heaven, safe and sound, and will forever be your guardian angel. I know that doesn't help, but you already know you have soooo many friends and family that are pulling for you and loved this baby already! Hang in there. Big hugs.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Yea, I'm still here!!!

Hello, hello, hello Everyone!! First of all, thank you all so very much for the sweet words, comments, concerns and so forth from all my friends. I'm really sorry I haven't been on here posting much these past few months. It's just still very raw and very hard to face my emotions. And again, this was supposed to be a blog to record my journey to motherhood (again), but seeing as how that road has come to an end, I feel as if I have nothing to write about. Anyway, I'm sorry, and I'm back. I'm going to try really hard to start posting more. I want you all to know I still get on almost daily and read your blogs. I enjoy it so much. I'm so excited for so many of you right now...Rachel & Jen, time is ticking so quickly til the arrival of your precious twins...Marcy & Kris, your little miracle is on his/her way now and I know you're just getting so excited....Tracy, I think it's still all settling in for you, Sweetie, but I hope you know I have prayed for you so long now...and Michell, who's doing her IVF RIGHT NOW, I am so excited for you!!!! I know there are so many more, and I'm sorry if I forgot to mention you, but I try to post little notes on your blogs so you know I'm thinking about you and haven't dropped off the face of the earth!!

As for life in my 'lil town...same ole, same ole!! Liam is doing wonderful in school...he's getting straight A's with one B in Handwriting! :) He gets recognition every single grading period for staying on excellent behavior (they call it "green"). He's just changing so much...growing up waaaay too fast. My "baby" will soon be 7 on Valentines Day! I can't even begin to know where the past 7 years have gone!!! For those of you expecting and who just had their first baby...please cherish every second, and don't be afraid of taking TOO many pics because one day you'll look back and be so thankful you have those 2000 photos from their first year!!! lol I know I am! :)

As for TTC, well, we're still on a break. Jay is still looking for another (better) job in her field now that she has her Masters. It's been 8 months now, and although she's been on a few good interviews, nothing has panned out for her yet. So please keep her in your prayers. A new job and better income would be the answer to all our prayers right now, especially on the TTC front. :) I've been trying to find the "ideal" part time job, but in the area where we live, they're hard to come by. I'm going crazy sitting home while Liam is at school. But I keep looking. And as I mentioned in my last post (I think), I started going to counseling...to help deal with this TTC depression, plus move forward in some other areas of my life. It's going pretty well, and I'm really hopeful that it will continue to be a source of healing for me. There are 3 babies just in my family that are due in the next month, not to mention 3 friends that are due within the next month or so. It's hard. I know I have Liam, and I thank God for him everyday. He is a true blessing. And he is the apple of my eye!

Jay...she's the love of my life. I fall more and more in love with her everyday. She truly is amazing and a gift from God, as well. How did I get so lucky? :) I think so often in our rush rush daily lives, we lose sight of what we already have and what it once meant to us, as it's so easy to take things, and people, for granted. Well lately I've been trying really hard to take a step back and remember what brought Jay & I together in the first place. It wasn't our desire to have a child together, it was this deep down longing for eternal love...finding our soul mate...and lately I look at her in the way I did when we first got together...and let me tell you...it's AMAZING! :) Gives me that butterfly effect all the way down to my toes!!! :) And then I watch her and Liam play or read together, and I get that feeling again. They have such a great relationship. I know Liam's dad is smiling down on me for finding someone that truly accepted Liam as their own and loves him as if he were. :)

That's about all the new news I have to share for tonight. Oh, someone annonymous wanted to know what area we're in...I don't like to indulge my location really, so if you want to make yourself known, I can tell ya more about where we are. :) Sorry! I wish all of you joy & happiness this week and for those of you in the North...stay warm!!! :)