Saturday, August 28, 2010

BOXES, BOXES, AND MORE BOXES!

Our shipment from China arrived earlier this week. 19 boxes. What a pain in the butt! I don't think I'll ever get everything unpacked and put away. I have about 8 suitcases that I need to unpack, but I'm not even going to mess with them right now. All in all I've emptied about 6-7 boxes. That's not too bad I guess, except that means I still have 12 more to go. YUCK!!!

I'm still having a hard time getting motivated, although I did get a lot done in the last 2 days, so maybe that motivation is finally starting to kick in. I sure hope so! Goodness knows I need it.

Not much else going on right now. The boys have started school and they seem to be doing pretty well. I still can't believe that Jason's in middle school. How did that happen? He's growing up so fast. Of course, now that he's in middle school, he thinks he's a big shot!

I guess that's it for now.


Friday, August 20, 2010

BUTTERFLIES . . .

I have seen SO many butterflies in the last 2 weeks. I'm not sure where they're all coming from, but I love seeing them. Every time I see one, it reminds me of my Grandma. She loved butterflies. I remember the priest talking about it at her funeral. Ever since she's been gone, I've "collected" butterfly things. It makes me feel closer to her.

I can't believe it's been almost 12 years since she's been gone. I've been thinking a lot about her lately, I guess because of all the butterflies I've been seeing. I always feel like it's her way of telling me that she's still looking out for me, even though she's not "here". I guess that sounds silly, but it makes me feel better, so it works for me.


Monday, August 16, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH BETH . . .

So today is my baby girl's 3rd birthday. I can't believe she's 3 already. HECK, I can't even believe she's HERE! She was SO not planned!

I still remember when we found out I was pregnant with her. The night we found out we were driving down the road talking about all the things we didn't have . . . stroller, carseat, baby bed, bottles, bibs, NOTHING! I was SO scared and so overwhelmed. Andrew was going to be starting Kindergarten in the Fall and Jason was going to be in 3rd grade. How could we add a brand new baby? Was that fair to the boys? How would they react? Would they feel like we were taking something from them?

Ryan told the kids as soon as we found out. He also told his Dad. They were all THRILLED! After we left there, we went to my parents to tell them. Mom was home, but Dad was at O'Connell's watching the UK game. Mom was thrilled, of course. She told me to call Dad at O'Connell's. So I called him and said, "guess what we're having in a few months?" That's all I said. To which he replied, "We're getting our girl!" Where'd that come from?! He called me back about 5 minutes later and told me he got more high fives than he does when UK wins. For those of you that don't my dad, that's a HUGE deal. I called Laura the next day and she was so excited she screamed and wound up with a bloody nose. She said, "It's a girl!" Everyone kept telling me that it was a girl, but I kept telling them that we don't make girls.

I was almost 8 weeks pregnant with her before I even knew that I was pregnant. When I went to the doctor my numbers were low, so they were afraid it was an ectopic pregnancy and they sent me for an ultrasound to make sure that it wasn't. I was TERRIFIED!!! I remember talking to Laura on the way there and she said to me, "Everything is going to be fine. This is God's way of telling you, 'you're not sure how you feel about this baby? I'll show you.' You're going to get there and everything is going to be fine, and you're going to be thrilled." So I went for the ultrasound and everything was fine. I was SO excited when I walked out of there. I tried calling Laura back to tell her that everything was okay, and I was crying so hard that I couldn't even talk to her. I was SSSSOOOO glad that everything was okay.

The whole time I was pregnant I kept saying, "God's plan's different than mine! God's plan's different than mine!" Luckily, He's A LOT smarter than I am!

Later on in the pregnancy my test results showed that she might have other medical issues. So we had ANOTHER emergency ultrasound. At this ultrasound we found out that she was a SHE. The nurse said, "I wouldn't paint the room yet." To which Ryan replied, "Oh don't worry, she'll have me paint it!" Needless to say it was a very eventful pregnancy. As soon as she was born, Ryan said, "She's healthy!" and I just couldn't stop crying. Not only was she healthy, but she was BEAUTIFUL!!!

The boys were SO excited. They stayed at my parents the night she was born. As soon as they woke up my dad told them that if they hurried and got ready then they could come to the hospital before school and see her. He said he's never seen them move so fast! I had bought them shirts for when she was born. Jason's said "I'm The Biggest Brother" and Andrew's said "I'm The Bigger Brother". When they came to the hospital that morning I gave them their shirts and they wore them to school with pride. They couldn't wait to come back after school and see and hold her.

She has been an AMAZING blessing to our family. I can't even imagine what our lives would be like without her. I always tell people that we were happy and content before she was born, but now we are COMPLETE. She is definitely a gift from God, and I'm so glad he knows more than I do!

I love you Sarah!

Friday, August 13, 2010

WE'RE BBAAAAAAACCKK . . .

Okay, so I haven't posted in a REALLY long time! But let me just start by saying, IT'S GREAT TO BE HOME!!!!!

We're still trying to get settled in and get our life back to "normal;" whatever the heck that is! We've been home for 2 weeks now and I still feel a little bit out of place. I mean, it's great to be back in our own home with our friends around and our family so close by, but I'm also feeling a little bit out of sorts. I don't feel like doing anything around the house . . . of course that could be the fact that I had an Ayi for a year that did it all for me! ;-)

I know once school starts and we start back to our routines, things will just fall into place; it's starting to get a little more "normal" with everyday.

Did I mention IT'S GREAT TO BE BACK!!!!!!