Right Now with the Rocks

Three months, huh?

2009-09-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

It has been over three months since the last time I updated my blog. I have accepted the fact that I will never do this regularly. But one of the thing that hold me back is pictures. I always feel like I should have pictures to include, but I don't like the hassle of adding pictures! Plus, we haven't taken any this month, so there all "old" from the summer. I guess I can come up with all kinds of excuses.

So, our big news is that we're expecting Baby Rock #2! Finding out I'm pregnant was such an amazing blessing! For those of you who may not have been following us at the time, we went through a long two and a half year process to have Andrew and ended up having IUI, which worked the first time and produced Andrew! We had talked about doing that again around the time that Andrew turned one, but when the time came, we realized that, though we were ready to be pregnant again, it just wasn't a wise time financially to spend that kind of money! The cool thing was that both of us were at peace about that. In the mean time, we just prayed that things just might happen naturally, and sure enough, they did! When I took a pregnancy test in the end of June, part of me was shocked and part of me already felt like I knew! We ended up having a couple of nervous weeks because, at our first ultrasound, there was no heartbeat! It turned out we were just a little off in our timing, so when we went back, there it was! I'm now almost 18 weeks, and it's going so fast! I've felt pretty well overall. We are very suspicious that we're having a boy after an ultrasound at 15 weeks, but we'll have that confirmed in a couple of weeks.

Being pregnant while handling a toddler is certainly a different ball game. It's better now, but I was so tired during that first trimester, which was also the time when I was trying to figure out Andrew's nap schedule since two were not working for him any more! The other problem is colds! I was incredibly lucky and didn't have a single cold when I was pregnant with Andrew! I've now already had at least two with this baby, and the latest has been a doozie! Andrew just picks up so much, and I can't fight it off when he gets something. I'm sure this one won't be the last! I just hope there is no flu in my future!

Andrew is growing so much! I can't believe he's 18 months old. He's tall - like a head taller than most of the kids his age. He's also really mechanical. He wants to take everything apart and try to put it back together. He's not as verbal as some of our friends, but I'm sure that will come. He can say a lot of words, but right now he just chooses not to much of the time. But he really likes music and he loves to sing! He is a sweet boy and very good in some ways, but he's also very stubborn, throws big tantrums, and has recently started hitting me when he gets frustrated. We're using all the wisdom we can find to nip that stuff in the bud. We always appreciate advice from others who have been there! I sure do love him! We have a lot of fun and do everything we can to stay busy! Andrew loves his Fridays with his Gigi (Dan's mom) when I work. And he was so excited this month to have separate visits from Dub and Mimi!

Well, that's enough for now, I suppose. We have certainly had a great summer, and I'm so glad now that it's fall. I just wish it felt like fall down here! Andrew and I survived a trip on our own to SC and enjoyed visiting Ross, Heather, and Zach and my friend Melanie and her family! We also got a visit ourselves from Ross's family, and had a fun time with Dan's family at the beach. I'll include a few pictures from those events since those are the last pictures I've taken!

Not Much of a Blogger!

2009-06-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

I guess I'll just never be much of a blogger! It's really not that I don't have time. I waste plenty of time each day just wasting time online, but I think it's that sometimes I don't have the mental energy to blog. I also think that I overwhelm myself since I tend to be long winded about everything!

We're doing very well! Andrew is so big! He's walking and sort of running everywhere! He's saying lots of words. One phrase he loves right now is, "All gone!" He says this immediately after he throws whatever he's holding onto the ground. He's been getting so many teeth lately. I've lost count, but it's definitely challenging for him to have that many teeth, particularly four molars, coming in at the same time! Overall, I think he handles it well, but I do sometimes call him "Molar Andrew" when he's quite a grumpus!

On the mommy front, I've been quite blessed to develop a little "mommy's club." I mean, I didn't start it, but I'm happy to be a part of it. My friends Jancey and Leesa both have babies Andrew's age - Jackson and Sydney. They are now the three musketeers! We get together and play at Jancey's pool or at the local Splash Park, and it's fun for them and for us. Now, Andrew, always a daredevil and handful, has no fear, even at the pool. I have to be very careful with him because he just wants to keep getting out, running to the other end, and get back in, whether or not I'm there. I definitely need to sign him up for some kind of swim class! He definitely loves to be outside, and they only way to do that this time of year is to be near some water! I'm so blessed to have friends to play with (for both of us!)!

We had a great trip to Calgary last month! I, of course, meant to post on here all about that, but never did, so I wont' go into detail. I will include some pictures from that time. It was great to see the beautiful city surrounded by the Rockies. And we went for a day to Banff and Lake Louise, which were, by far, some of the most beautiful places I've every seen! It was a blessing to go to my parents' church and meet some of the sweet people there. There is no question that they are right where God wants them to be. While I miss them very much, I'm so thankful that they are following him!

Hmmm...what else? Well, next month, Dan and I are officially getting on the Dave Ramsey train! We have both read Total Money Makeover, and we're ready to "live like no one else so that later we can live like no one else!" We're both ready for the journey to being debt free and hopeful for the positive message that will send to our children as they grow up. We know it won't be easy to be on a tight budget for a while, but we're excited for the adventure it will be! Have any of you done the Dave Ramsey thing? I'd love to hear about it if you have!

Well, I guess that's it for now. I mentioned earlier this year that my word for the year has been contentment. God is teaching me a lot about this word this year, and I love what I'm learning. I see the positive effects in many areas of my life! It makes me think, though: I can't believe this year is almost half way over!

MY BABY IS ONE YEAR OLD!!!!

2009-04-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

In honor of Andrew's birthday, I seem to have waited an entire year to update this blog! Maybe not quite, but so much for that New Year's resolution! Oh well, there are just more important things to me than blogging, I suppose, although I love reading others' blogs! I decided to put some early pictures of Andrew so we could remember what he was like a year ago! He has changed so much! He's such a delight and a joy. Dan and I talk all the time about how much more we love him every day!

This is a picture I took recently when I went in to wake Andrew up from his nap. I often have to wake him on Wednesdays so I can go to work. Dan meets us at my office and takes him home for the evening. He had been sleeping on his tummy with his legs tucked up under him for so long, and I was surprised to see him stretched out on his back like this! He always has one of his "babies" close by while he sleeps!

These pictures are after his first hair cut a couple of weeks ago. We took him to the Magic Kingdom for his first hair cut, which I had been anticipating since I found out about it a few months after he was born. I was so excited to see his mullet come in because I knew the hair cut was coming, and I was more excited to see the mullet go! He did great with his hair cut! By the way, that ten dollar balloon in the family picture is still floating!! I never would have guessed we would get our money out of that one, but apparently we have!

And here are some pictures from Andrew's first birthday party! It was so much fun, and it went perfectly! I really couldn't believe it. I was prepared for meltdowns or whatever may come. We ended up having a pretty big crowd, so I wasn't sure that would go over well with Andrew. But he took his two naps that day, so he was well rested, and he LOVED it! It was an Elmo party, and we had lots of fun decorations. I made his cupcake cake, and he at just about all of his cupcake! He was definitely on a sugar high for a while after that. It was such a special day, and I couldn't have done it without all the help from family and friends. We were sad that most of my family, especially Dub, couldn't be there. But Mimi represented them, and Andrew loved having her here!

We're doing well overall! We're staying very busy, and it makes me overwhelmed to think of all the things that I could update on here! Dan and I are leading a couples Bible study for our Life Group, which I'm putting together. It's a lot of work, but it has been going really well so far! I'm learning a lot in the process. Andrew is not walking yet, but he has taken a lot of steps. He can do it, but he just chooses to crawl most of the time because it's faster. I'm sure he'll walk when he's ready! He babbles a lot and says a few actual words. His main word is "hot." He says "hot" whenever he wants something. We weren't sure why for a while, but we recently realized that he learned it from Gigi, Dan's mom. She stays with him on Fridays when I work, and she often has coffee. He always wants to taste it, and she has, of course, told him that it is hot! I guess he associated those two things, so everything he wants is "hot." It's very cute and a little uncomfortably reminiscent of Paris Hilton!!

Well, I guess that's all I have time for right now. This is a very stream of consciousness update, but at least it gives you a little picture of our life right now! It's been a GREAT year! We are inexpressibly blessed to have Andrew Christoph in our lives!

10 Months and Counting!

2009-02-03T12:21:00.000-08:00

Hi there!!! I thought this was a fun picture for greeting my readers! This is Andrew a couple of weekends ago when we ate in Germany at Epcot with our friends, John and Sarah. The band was performing, and we were seated close to the front. Every time people clapped for the band, Andrew thought they were clapping for him. He was delighted!

We're doing very well! Actually, Andrew and I are getting over colds, but we both seem to be on the tail end of them. I'm in the stage where I feel better but I can't stop coughing, which is annoying, but much better than feeling lousy! Andrew turned 10 months old last week! The sad thing is, I felt so bad that day, I didn't even think about the fact that it was his 10 month day. Oh well, I guess that's going to happen sometimes. He's still just growing and changing so much. I took him to the doctor yesterday to make sure there was no ear infection, and he weighs 21 pounds. He's such a big boy! Every time I tell people how old he is when they ask, they are surprised because he's so big. He's also more and more vocal. His latest "word" is kitty. My parents had two cats before their move, and he loves them. He started saying "ki, ki" at Christmas, and he was saying it more during our brief visit up there before they moved. Now, when I asked him where the kitty is, he finds a picture of a cat on one of his toys and says "ki ki". It's really cute and definitely melts my heart. He's not walking yet, but he's so mobile. He can walk behind his push toy anywhere he wants to go, and he crawls so fast. We have to stay on our toes. I can't imagine having a larger house!

We're staying busy. We had a nice visit with Mimi and Dub, and it was not as sad for me as I thought it would be. It was good closure for me to see the house empty and be there as they were wrapping things up. I know it made it real, but every time I would start to be overwhelmed with sadness, I would feel excited for them about all that they had ahead and their faithfulness to God's call. We gave them a book with pictures of their house and our family time together (my first on the Mac). It's called, The House that Dub Built, and they loved it. My dad couldn't even look at it at first because he was so overwhelmed. That was cool. I did have a breakdown the night they actually left. I cried some good tears about not having a "home" in SC, and it was good to get some of that out.

We had a great visit with our friends, John and Sarah. They came in from Houston and stayed for a few days. I miss them a lot and so wish they still lived close to us. But it was great to spend some good time with them.

Well, I've included some random pictures from the past month or so. One is actually from Christmas, when I had the rare pleasure of visiting with my two closest friends, Melanie and Julie and Julie's family, at the same time! It was brief but precious to me. I miss them tons! One is the night of the big Gator victory, Dan's birthday present! There are some cute ones of Andrew, bundled up for a cold jog and one of him trying to escape out of the doggie door. And, of course, some from Disney!

Just a little Update

2009-01-19T06:51:00.000-08:00

One of the thing that keeps me from blogging regularly is that I feel like I need to have pictures to post every time. With my old computer, that was a problem because it really couldn't deal with holding pictures any more! Now, in the past few weeks, we've taken a bit of a picture hiatus. Andrew is just as cute as ever, and he's doing some fun things, but we have not been on top of capturing his cuteness on film.

So, here's an update with no pictures. And now that I'm writing, I'm thinking, what do I really have to say? Andrew had his second night away from home last night. He stayed with Gigi and Papa (Dan's parents), so that I could work today since I'm going out of town later this week. I was a little more nervous this time than last time because he's so much more aware now. He's starting to show some little signs of separation anxiety. But at the same time, I want him to be used to being over there and staying with them sometimes so that he will look forward to it. Anyway, he did great last night - no problem at all! He's such a big boy!

Speaking of grandparents, my parents are making their big move next week. I can't remember if I mentioned this last post, but they are moving to Calgary in Canada, and my dad will be the pastor of a church. We're very excited for them and what God will do, but the reality has definitely been sinking in for me over the past couple of weeks. I'm sad that they will be so far away. My mom will come visit pretty often, but my dad won't have as much freedom. And they were hoping to be able to keep their house in NC (or we were hoping), but they decided it would be best to sell it. I'm definitely grieving the loss of a a place to call "home" in SC/NC. We're looking forward to our visits up there, but there is no doubt that it's a bittersweet situation. Andrew and I will be headed up to NC Wednesday through Friday to see them one last time before they leave. I'm sure that will be emotional for me!

Andrew is crawling all over the place, and "walking" as long as he's holding on to something. He can walk behind a push toy or walk down the couch while he's holding on. I spend most of the day following him around the house! He makes me laugh so much. It's fun to see his personality coming out. He's funny and serious, a lot like both Dan and me really! It's fun to experience how my love for him (and Dan too) grows and grows and grows with each passing day! It's also amazing to see what God teaches me through motherhood!

Dan celebrated his 32nd birthday last weekend!!! I always like when he catches up with me! He got his favorite gift when the Gators won the national championship! But we also spent his actual birthday at Disney! They are doing this promotion this year where you get free admittance on your birthday, but if you are a passholder, you have a couple of options. The one that we chose is a free birthday funcard. It's a $75 gift card that you can spend in most of the stores on property!!! Free money!!!!! We had fun shopping for Disney stuff that we normally would not buy. It was a great birthday celebration!

Our pastor challenged us for the second year to seek the Lord for a word for the year. Mine this year is contentment. I find myself consumed so often with things that I want. Sometimes it's stuff. Sometimes it's relational or emotional. I know I have a lot to learn about contentment, and what a good lesson to learn! I have so much to be thankful for and so much richness to draw from in my daily walk with Jesus! But I miss those things so often when I stay consumed with things that I WANT or that I'm waiting for. Hopefully, I'll remember to post on here the things that God is teaching me through my word of the year!

Well, that's about it for now. I mean, I'm sure there's other stuff, but that's all I feel like writing!

New Year, New Bedtime, New Computer, New Resolution?

2009-01-04T16:41:00.000-08:00

I'm not really one for New Year's Resolutions. Never have been. Dan is! He make his new goals every year, and I think that's great, but he just hasn't won me over yet! This year may be a bit different, however! For one thing, Andrew has a new bedtime! We had been putting him to bed at around 8, but he had to fight to stay awake. I was afraid to put him down earlier because he's such an early bird that I thought he would end up getting up at 5 or 5:30 every morning! But one of our friends suggested that we just try it (offering a book called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child), so we did. It has gone so well! He now goes to bed at 7ish, and I feel like I have an evening again!

In addition to this, I got a big surprise for Christmas! My computer has been pretty much dead for quite some time. That's one of the reasons I haven't been a very good blogger. But Dan surprised me with a MacBook for Christmas! It was the biggest Christmas surprise I've ever gotten! I love it, although I'm sure I'll be figuring it out for quite some time. So, having said all that, I may actually resolve to blog more often. I've really made that goal more than once, so we'll see.

We had a wonderful Christmas! We spent a couple of days with Dan's family in Leesburg, and then we spent a week with my family in NC! We made sure to spend some good time up there because my parents are moving to Calgary, Alberta, Canada at the end of this month! I still can't believe it! My dad will be the pastor of a church up there for at least three years. It looks like they will have to sell their house, so we're bummed about that, but we're excited for this adventure that God is taking them on at this point in their lives!

Andrew enjoyed Christmas, although it wore him out! He's changing so much. He got his top front teeth for Christmas! He also got some really fun gifts! He's crawling and pulling up all the time. We really don't think it will be long until he's walking. Although we have to watch him a lot more, he's so much fun to play with! He's also very talkative - lots of babbling! We surely do love him more and more every day. He's a really sweet, good natured boy even though he also has his demanding and stubborn side!!

Well, that's it for now. I'll add some pictures so you can see my sweet little boy!

What a Month!

2008-10-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

October has been a full and wonderful month! We visited some great friends, celebrated our fourth anniversary, dedicated Andrew at church, and celebrated my 32nd birthday! It has been full and lots of fun. All the while, Andrew continues to grow and change, which is amazing!

We spent time in Wellington, FL with our friends, Vaughn, Jaime, and Kate Stoll. Dan went to UF with them, and we both love spending time with them! Their daughter, Kate is almost exactly a year older than Andrew, and she is quite a beauty! Andrew had a great time playing with her, and he must have learned a thing or two because, by the end of the weekend, he was babbling up a storm and saying "da da."

I know it's not very original for us, but I LOVE spending time at Disney World for special events! So, for our forth anniversary, we spent the weekend there! Our first night was without Andrew, which actually went quite well! Andrew had a great time with his Grandparents, and we had a great time dining at the California Grill! It overlooks the Magic Kingdom, and we had a really nice window seat! Andrew joined us on Saturday, and then we had some fun family time.

The following weekend was the Parent/Child Dedication at our church. That is where we commit to raise Andrew in a Christ-centered home with the hope that he will also grow to love Jesus and follow Him throughout his life. My parents and Dan's parents came, and we all enjoyed our time together. My parents were here for a whopping 36 hours -way too short! But it was great to see them!

This is Andrew's Halloween costume. Obviously, it's not Halloween yet, but this is when he was trying it on. His costume is really cute, but I think it's going to be a little short. That kid is long!

God gave me a special birthday blessing with some cool weather this week! Oh, how I have loved the crisp, cool air, and Andrew seems to have liked it too! This morning, I felt like I needed to cover his ears when we went out for a walk because he has had a cold. Dan's Grandma Rock made him this hat before he was born, so we tried it on this morning. It was super cute and it's almost too small now. Unfortunately, it was actually pretty warm by the time we got outside, so I had to take it off. Hopefully, he'll have another chance to wear it!

Well, that's about it for now! Enjoy the pictures of my little man!

My Baby is 6 months old!!!!

2008-09-30T11:19:00.001-07:00

Well, today at 11:59 pm, Andrew will officially be six months old! I really can't believe it! The time has flown by, and I can safely say that the last six months are basically a blur! But a wonderful blur!

Andrew has done a lot in the past couple of months. He has two bottom teeth, and he handled them coming in very well. He got a cold, and I think that may have been why, but after we got a humidifier, that didn't seem to be much of a problem. He's trying so hard to crawl, and he can definitely get around (sometimes by rolling), but he just can't get it all to work at the same time yet (arms and legs). That's just fine with me! He's making lots of noises, and this may be crazy, but I'm wondering if he tries to say Alli. He's so fascinated and humored by her, and lots of times when she comes around, he makes a noise that sounds like "Aya." Well, I'm not writing it in his book yet, but I just keep listening. It does make sense since we yell her name all the time!! Today, he started sitting up! He's been getting stronger, but we haven't been able to sit unassisted...until today! I still have to watch him, but he can sit there for a few minutes, until he decides to go after something. We got him a walker, and he loves to scoot around the kitchen. And he has had his two first little tumbles. Fortunately, neither phased him! Dan and I are even - one on his watch and one on mine! We are definitely in the process of baby proofing!!

Dan and I are doing well! We've gotten into a pretty good routine in terms of our jobs and family time. We both get tired, and we try not to take that out on each other!! I'd say we do pretty well - he's better than me! We even went on a date without Andrew recently, which was fun! Next week is our fourth anniversary, so we're spending the weekend at Disney. Andrew will stay at least one night with Gigi and Papa (Dan's parents). My mom is a little bit sad about that! We're excited about getting away!

Well, that's my quick update for now! I've been blessed that Andrew has been happily entertaining himself for a few minutes! I better not push it!

We're still here!

2008-08-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

First time at the Beach!

I have very good reasons for taking so long to update this blog: 1. I have a baby. 2. I have been studying for my state licensure exam (which I passed two weeks ago today). 3. We have had visitors, travel, etc taking up a lot of our time. 4. I have a baby!

Anyway, now that surely there is no one who checks this, I'm finally taking a minute to catch up a little bit. I'm up at my parents' house right now. Andrew and I flew up last Friday, and our travel adventure actually went very well. I must say, I felt quite accomplished after surviving a flight alone with my four and a half month old! Of course, it is only a little over an hour. We were supposed to be flying home right now, but our flight was cancelled because of the Tropical Storm. That was a good call, I think, since Dan said that it's just starting to get nasty in Orlando. We're scheduled for the same flight tomorrow, but I'm bracing myself for things being pretty messed up since so many flights were cancelled today. I guess we'll see how this flight goes to see what a supermommy I really am!

Andrew changes so much week by week! He is SO much fun, and it's exciting to see him learn and grow and change. And he's taking growing very seriously. At his four month appointment, he was 15 1/2 lbs and 26 1/2 inches (98th percentile for length!). He's rolling over and even scooting around some. He wants to be mobile very badly. The carseat, which was once such a blessing for getting Andrew to relax and stop crying, has now become the enemy! He started eating cereal a couple of weeks ago, and he loves it! I have learned not to try to skip that step on a busy day because he WILL know, and I WILL pay!!! He's sleeping great - I have actually gotten nine hours of sleep on a couple of occasions! And he's definitely starting to teeth. I think I have located where his first tooth will come in, but I'll keep you posted on that one!

The other big news has definitely been taking and passing my state licensure exam for counseling. After three years of being an intern, I'm only some paperwork away from being a Licensed Mental Health Counselor! It's such a relief to be there!

As I'm writing, I realized that I have gone back to work since the last time I updated this blog! That's going well too. I only work on Wednesday evenings and all day on Friday. On Wednesdays, Andrew is with Dan, and Fridays Dan's mom comes to keep him. He doesn't miss a beat when I go to work. I think he likes to be around other people, although I'm clearly his favorite!!! :-) I'm glad to have such a flexible work schedule.

Andrew and I have had a great time with my parents! It has been a pretty relaxing time up here on the mountain. Dan's sister, Megan, is back up here at school, so we've gotten to spend some time with her too. She was busy working this summer, so we didn't get to see a whole lot of her when she was home. It's fun that we can see her no matter where we are!

Well, I guess that's it for now. Of course, I need to leave time to add in the all important pictures of my cutie pie!

At the beach during Melanie's visit!

First time at Disney World on Mimi's birthday!

Pictures!!

2008-06-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

These pictures are courtesy of our friend, Andres!

Shhhh...Andrew is Sleeping!

2008-06-12T09:41:00.001-07:00

It' so hard for me to believe that Andrew is almost 11 weeks old! Wow! Time definitely flies more and more with every new event!

We're doing great! One of the reasons (aside from finding time) that I don't blog very often is because I want to put pictures up. I mean, that's the most fun part of blogs in my opinion. But the pictures are always on Dan's computer, which is often at work when I have a chance to blog. That's why I'm writing here, but there are no pictures. I'm hoping to put some up later today. Andrew is so cute, so I really want you to see him! I know he's cuter every day!

My maternity leave is almost over, and I can't believe it! We have kept so busy that it has flown by. The week before last we spent the week at my parents' house in NC, and that was great. It was much different than usual because it was not very restful. Life is just not so restful any more. But it was still so nice to be up in the mountains with family. I guess it was restful but just not in the sleep way. Next week, I'm returning to work at the Counseling Center at FBCO, but only for a day and a half a week. I'm not too worried about this step since it's so limited. I love counseling, so I think I will enjoy the "break" and spending time with my clients. Andrew will be with Dan on Wednesday nights, which I think will be great for the two of them. And on Fridays, my sweet mother-in-law is coming to stay with him! I think that will be special too. My mom is very sad that she can't have a piece of that action, but Allegiant flights aren't that cheap!!

So what is Andrew up to? Well, he's smiling and "talking" all the time, which is a great delight! He's also quite the bobble head! The more control he has over his head, the more he insists on holding it up as much as possible. He's not sleeping through the night every night, but we have had a few, and we're headed in a good direction. My biggest challenge now is getting him to nap in his crib during the day. He does NOT like that most of the time. But he did take a two hour nap there yesterday, which was great. Evenings are always the hardest time for us, but the other night he sat happily in his bouncy seat, playing or sleeping, for a lot of the evening. I truly did not know what to do with myself!

Well, time's almost up. He's got to eat soon. But I will try to put pictures on soon!

I don't even have time to check my email, and you're expecting me to update my blog???

2008-05-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

I don't know who I'm talking to here, but that's just the thought that came to mind when I was thinking of apologizing for taking so long to update on here and post new pictures! I think that motherhood hits everyone differently. I mean, I guess that's common sense, and of course every baby is different, but I see some women who become mothers and essentially seem to not skip a beat. And then there is me. Now, I LOVE being a mommy, and Andrew, although he certainly has a lot of fussy times, is a very good baby. But I seem to only have time to take care of him! I enjoy it (most of the time), and there's nothing I would rather do (most of the time), but it does amaze me that there is no time for anything else. I think what makes getting stuff done most difficult is that he basically only sleeps during the day if we are out, so that means that if I want him to sleep, I won't be getting stuff done around the house. Oh well, we have fun going out, and the house will always be here! Plus, so far he's doing great at night, so that's really great!

Bath Time!

Things really are going well. I amazed how much Andrew has changed. The last time I weighed him, he was 10 lbs 11 oz, and at his doctor's appt. last week, he was 22 and 1/2 inches! He's a big boy. Thanks for the prayers about my nursing issues. Things are on track now, and we're not having to supplement at all now! I did just have to go on an antibiotic for mastitis, but the good news about that is that I think we caught it before it got too bad. I'm just so thankful that nursing is going so much better. We (Andrew and I) have been going to a support luncheon every week, and that helps very much. I can weigh him, feed him, and weigh him again to see how much he's getting. Plus, it's just so nice to be around other nursing mothers to troubleshoot issues together and get encouragement.

First Visit at Dad's Office

Andrew has really started smiling a lot and "talking" a lot this week. THAT is so much fun! He has the most precious little face. When I get a good picture of that smile, I'll put it on here (though it may take a few weeks)! I can't believe he will be six weeks old tomorrow. He's so aware and wide eyed! He loves to look around and see everything. He's very social!

Oh, we did have our first night out last Saturday! We went to see Wicked, which was wonderful. Dan's mom and sister went with us, so Dan's dad and grandma watched Andrew! They all did great, and I was very relieved.

One Month Old!!!

OK, I need to wrap this up for now. I'm excited about my first Mother's Day! Last year on this day, we had people at church lay hands on us and pray that God would bless us with a child! Praise Him for all that He has done! What a year this has been! Happy Mother's Day to all of you mommies out there!

Two weeks later...

2008-04-13T18:18:00.001-07:00

Well, we're all still alive! Actually, all things considered, I think things have gone very smoothly so far. I can't tell you how much it has helped to have my mom here. She has been such a blessing to Dan, Andrew, and me, and I'm not so sure we would have made it without her!

Andrew is a wonderful blessing! He is so cute and sweet, and I just can't get enough of him. I just hold him and give him kisses, and it's just so unbelievable to me that I'm holding our very own baby. I've been thinking a lot about the longing and the waiting, and what a tremendous joy it is to see how God answered the prayers of so many with this little life!

The hardest part so far has been breastfeeding. After a week, Andrew had lost a little too much weight and clearly was not getting full. After meeting with a lactation consultant, we decided we needed to supplement with formula, and I also started taking some herbs that will hopefully help me. It's quite a routine that we're going through right now to hopefully be able to keep breastfeeding or even get back to doing that exclusively. Right now we're just taking it one day at a time. We'd love your prayers for our wisdom in that area.

This week, Dan goes back to work. He worked last week, but he was able to do it from home. I will miss having him here so much. And this is my last week with my mom here! I will be bawling my eyes out when she has to go home! But I am staring to get the hang of things more and more, so hopefully it won't take long for Andrew and me to settle into a routine of our own.

We know how many people have rejoiced with us in this wonderful event, and we are so thankful to all of you. Thank you for your prayers and love. We love you!

He's Here!!!!!

2008-04-02T14:42:00.001-07:00

We are SO happy to welcome Andrew Christoph Rockefeller to our family!!!! He is such a blessing already, even without much sleep! He arrived on March 30, 2008 at 11:59 am! He weighed 8 lbs, 8 oz and was 20 inches long. I had a great delivery. Truly, it was an awesome day in which God met me in some wonderful and amazing ways! I'll try to write more about that down the road.

We left the hospital yesterday, and it's great to be home. My mom is staying with us for a few weeks, praise the Lord!!! I can't imagine it without her help. But all things considered, I think things are going very well!

I'm sure there will be more pictures to come! Thank you for all your prayers!

Ready, Willing, and Waiting...

2008-03-29T13:33:00.001-07:00

Just some pictures to give you an idea of how huge I am! This was actually several weeks ago on our babymoon at Disney World!

This picture is last Saturday at my precious friend, Sarah's, baby shower. She is 25 weeks pregnant (in this picture) with Triplets!!! I would have guess I'm the one with triplets! Doesn't she look amazing?!

OK! I have been very nervous and hesitant about actually having this baby, but all that has gone out the window. Well, that's an exaggeration. I'm still nervous, but I'm very ready! I think part of that is helped by the fact that my mom got here Wednesday night. We've had a nice couple of days together, and it has been fun to watch her work furiously to get my very cluttered house in order!! It's just nice to have her here, and she's staying for a while to help us out! (Thanks, Daddy!).

I've made some progress, which is good. I won't go into all the details about that, but at my last appointment on Thursday I was 3 cm dilated! I'm almost all the way effaced already. And I imagine I'm dilated more now because I have contractions the past two nights. We really thought last night was the night, but then they just kind of fizzled out all of a sudden! On the bright side, after staying up for a while waiting to see what they would do, I had the best night's sleep I've had in months! That was great!

My doctor said that, if I'm having some contractions, I can come in tomorrow morning, and she won't send me home. So if nothing happens before then, it looks like we'll go in tomorrow. I guess if absolutely nothing is still happening, we may have to wait until Monday night, but we'll see!

We are so excited to meet our little baby boy! I can't believe he's almost here!!!!

Sorry no pictures, but here's an update...

2008-03-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

Hi, Everyone! Once again, time has gotten away from me and I haven't updated in a while. Things are so busy right now! I'm still working, dragging myself in day by day, and that takes up most of my energy! And then we're trying to manage the chaos in our house as we get ready for this new arrival! Anyway, we're having fun and excited, but it's quite busy!

So I'm doing well, and so is little Baby Rock! Did I say little? Well, that's not quite true. Last week, at 36 weeks, I had an ultrasound, and he measured at 7 lbs 1oz already! Yikes! I know that isn't always completely accurate, but it's still a little scary! So, with our doctors counsel, we decided to schedule an induction for one week early, on April 1! Yes, two weeks from today. That was actually the latest date she offered, but we decided to give him a little more time to come on his on. I'll be honest, though: I'm having second thoughts about that! I'm so swollen and uncomfortable that I don't know if I can make it! I know I will, though!

I'm feeling lots of different emotions! I'm excited, but SO nervous! I knew my anxiety would increase at this point, and it most certainly has. Thankfully, I've had a lot of good encouragement from friends and family! I'm glad that this is my last week at work. Between dragging myself around, feeling tired, and not having anything that fits, work is quite an ordeal!

Well, just wanted to keep any readers updated on how things are going! I can't believe that I have two weeks or less! Wow! I'm so thankful for a good pregnancy, even if it is hard now!

Finally, some pictures!

2008-02-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

Baby Shower!!!!

The Rockefeller Women!

Two Mommies To Be!

My friend, Anne Poss!

My mom!!!!

My "sister", Melanie!

Here's my latest monthly, it seems, post! I realized last night, thanks to Dan, that I don't actually need software to be able to download pictures to my computer. I just need the cord. So now I can share some pictures from last weekend when I had a baby shower up at my parents' house in NC.

But let me back up. Things are going well here! I'm slowing down rapidly, much more than I wish I was! I know Alli is very frustrated by our walks/waddles these days! I'm 32 and a half weeks, and I'm quite big, I think! Some people talk about how big I am, and others talk about how cute I look, and maybe it's both, but I'm certainly big! I'm still doing well overall, but just dealing with some swelling, restless legs, moodiness, and stuff like that! I'm still working, and I hope to until the last minute, but I'm starting to realize that I may need some days off here and there. This week, I only saw 13 clients, and I felt like I saw 40!

So last weekend, Dan's mom, our sister-in-law, Amanda, and I flew up to SC/NC for a baby shower that my sisters-in-law gave for me! It was so much fun, and I had a wonderful group of friends there! The weather was pefect! It made me want him here now so that I could start using all of the fun stuff!

Today, I had another shower thrown by girls from my Life Group. It was also a lot of fun, and, again, I was overwhelmed by the turnout and the wonderful gifts. Dan and I are so blessed to have some great friends in our lives.

I go back to the doctor this week, and I'm hoping they will start keeping track of how big he is! It seems like he's a big one, so I'm curious to find out! I wouldn't mind being a little early, but I know that's unlikely with the fist, so I'm not getting my hopes up. Besides, I feel like I can really use all the time I can get!

OK, OK...

2008-01-14T19:18:00.000-08:00

Well, I officially am one of the worst bloggers ever! Maybe once this little boy arrives, I'll get better since I'll want to brag on him all the time! It looks like his pictures are my main motivation lately anyway! I did want to post some Christmas pictures, but they are all on Dan's computer, and I haven't had a chance to blog from his. Anyway, I'm sleepy and waiting to pick Dan up from the airport, so there's no time like the present!

Dan has been on his "pre-daddy" trip to Breckenridge to go snowboarding! He loves snowboarding, but he hasn't been able to go since we got married. He had a great time, and his brother, David, and two of his cousins were also able to go! He's been gone since last Wednesday, so I'll be very happy for him to get home.

While he was gone, my mom came down, and we worked on the nursery! It was lots of work, but so much fun and well worth it! It's incomplete, but it looks so cute already. I'll post pictures (hopefully) when we get it all finished! On Friday, Dan's mom came over too to help us. We really did have a nice time, and it was so nice to have my mom here while Dan was gone!

As far as baby goes, he's doing well! I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday, and since my mom was there, she did a short ultrasound for us. It wasn't the clearest thing, but we got some good shots of his little nose and lips. If I had to guess, I'd say he has Dan's nose and my lips, but we'll see! My belly is getting very big! I think I'll end up gaining a little more weight than I had hoped, but I guess I deserve it. I have been faithful to walk very regularly, but I've also eaten quite a bit too! I'm now 28 weeks pregnant, and I really can't believe it. It's all going by so fast, and I know that April will be here before we know it!

The new year has certainly been full of baby stuff! Dan and I have been going through things and rearranging to make room to fit this little guy. Then, of course, my mom came and we worked. And next will be the showers, which is definitely exciting!

Well, I guess that's enough for now! I want to post about Christmas and put some pictures up, so hopefully I will do that before Easter! All in all, we're doing well and feeling very blessed these days (unless we're talking about budget)! I hope you are too!

Our Baby Boy!

2007-11-18T13:27:00.000-08:00

Well, here he is!!! At least, here he is at this point in the process! We had our 19 week ultrasound last Wednesday, and it far exceeded our expectations. We had no idea how long it would be or that it would be 4D. And we certainly didn't know if he would cooperate. Notice how freely I'm writing he? We have absolute, 3D confirmation that he is a boy, but we chose not to add that picture on here! But it was so wonderful. We saw all his toes and all his fingers, and he moved all around and showed off for us! It makes it feel even more real. And on top of that, Dan was able to feel him kick last night! It was just one little thump, but that was neat for both of us!

*****

We haven't heard any news back from the ultrasound, so we are assuming that everything looked normal. But one interesting thing is that he was measuring about a week ahead of where he should be with my due date. It would be odd if he's farther along since we know exactly when our procedure happened, so maybe he's just a big boy! Both Dan and I were pretty big babies! We'll see. So I guess I'll just refer to my due date now as the beginning of April!

*****

We continue to do well! Last weekend was really special because Dan was ordained as a Deacon at our church (First Baptist of Orlando). Dan's parents came and my mom flew down at the last minute (for 24 hours) to come to his ordination. It was such a special time, and we're both excited for him to serve in that way!

*****

And we're both looking forward to Thanksgiving! We'll be in Leesburg this year, so there will be more food than we can imagine! And on Friday, Dan has promised to go shopping with me for a little while! I never go when we're down here because I don't have my mom to go with me. So this year will be a first for us down here!

We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for, and we hope that you do too!

Fun in SC! (And NC and GA!!!)

2007-11-02T13:23:00.001-07:00

On Fridays, I work half a day at the counseling center and half a day at Dan's office. Today I finished my work here early, so I'm doing a little blogging! Things continue to go well here. We don't have any baby pictures to share this time, but we do have pictures from our recent travels. Early in October, we took a little trip to Savannah, so I'm including a couple of pictures from that trip. And last weekend, we went up to visit my family in SC/NC. My parents now live in Tryon, NC, but we spend a lot of our time still in SC! We have had a fun month of travel!

Here are some pictures from Savannah. We didn't take many.

Our first night at dinner!

The historic Savannah Trolley tour! (By the way, I like Savannah, but it has nothing on Charleston!)

The view from our hotel room!

Now here are our pictures from last weekend. Oh yeah, I also started feeling the baby move last weekend! I love those little flutters!

The view from my parents' deck!

Family picture (minus Chris, who was working)!

Dan and I with Megan, Dan's sister!

The kids with Happy and Snappy (aka Elvis and Jerry Lee), my parents' newest additions!

Ross, Zach, Heather, Me, Dan, and Megan at the North Greenville football game!

Sweet little Happy and Snappy!

It was a great weekend, and a great way to ring in turning 31, which I did on Monday!

Sorry for the delay...

2007-10-21T17:18:00.000-07:00

Here are our latest baby pictures! These are from last Monday, the 15th, right before 15 weeks pregnant! And guess what? Our doctor says she's 90% sure that we're having a boy! We're so excited that Baby Rock cooperated and let us get a good shot! I didn't include those pictures! He was shy at first - all balled up as you can see in the picture above. But we took a break and Dan gave him a little pep talk, and he moved for us! The second picture is his little foot! Dan likes that one because he's already hoping he will be a great soccer player!

I've been feeling great! My first trimester was not bad at all, and now most of the little things I experienced are gone. I still get tired more quickly and go to bed around nine, but I feel really well overall. I'm showing just a little bit. I've already made the transition to maternity clothes. It may have been a little sooner than I needed to, but let's face it, I knew that would happen!

We've been doing well. Work has been busy for both of us. I have been facing a lot of challenges with hurting clients at work, and that has been quite draining for me. I would appreciate your prayers for wisdom and strength during this demanding time. One thing I pray is that my stress level won't get too high because I want to keep this baby boy safe and healthy!

We celebrated our third anniversary on October 9th! It's been a great and really fast 3 years! We were able to go to Savannah to celebrate. We stayed downtown in the historic district, and after a very rainy day and a half, we had really nice weather on the last day! After that, we went to visit with my brother, Ross, and his family and also went to see my grandparents! It was a very nice long weekend!

On Thursday, we're headed up to the mountain! Hooray!!!! We're going to visit with my parents and also with Dan's sister, Megan. She's a student at North Greenville, and it's their homecoming this weekend. We're really looking forward to it!

OK! That's all for now! So sorry that I'm not a frequent blogger!!!!

Latest Pictures!

2007-09-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

Well, you guys may not be quite as enthralled with seeing lots of pictures of our baby as we are, but we're going to share anyway! I had my first real doctor's appointment yesterday, and not only did I get to have an unexpected ultrasound, but I also got to see one in 4D! It was so cool. The baby was moving around, and it was so much fun to see! One thing we're not quite sure of, though: why is our baby resting in a great big ear in the top picture???!!! It really looks that way, doesn't it?

Things are going well here. I'm feeling a little better but I'm still very tired. I'm hoping that subsides in the next couple of weeks, as I hear things are usually a little better in the second trimester. We can't wait to find out the sex of the baby. If we're lucky, we'll find out at our next appointment in 4 weeks. That will be a little early, but it's possible!

We are trying to prepare Alli, our furbaby, for the new arrival. We have talked to her a lot about baby Rock, but she doesn't seem interested right now. She will be confused when I have a great big belly and she can't cuddle up to me in the same way! I know, I know, we're a little bit crazy. I know things will change with her in big ways when the baby comes!

Well, I don't really know what else to post right now. Nothing too exciting is going on in our every day lives! Enjoy the pictures!

Baby Pictures!

2007-09-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

We got to have another ultrasound today! We feel really blessed that, at nine weeks, we've already gotten to see the baby twice! We hope that trend continues! Last time, the baby just looked like a blob, but today "he" looked like a gummy bear! The heartbeat is strong, and it's so good to hear that little sound! Today we officially graduated from the Center for Reproductive Medicine, and I see my OBGYN for the first time in two weeks! They gave me this great tote bag full of cool stuff, including a teddy bear! I joked that I guess you get stuff like that when you pay so much for your baby! Actually, we were blessed and could have had to pay a lot more!

I'm doing well overall. I've definitely had some times when I felt yucky, but I know it could be worse. I'm definitely tired all the time! Dan asks sometimes how I know I'm tired from pregnancy because it's normal for me to be tired! But believe me, I know! We're just so excited to be having a baby! It gets a little more real every day!

That's the big stuff in our lives. We had a fun time with Dan's family celebrating his sister, Megan's birthday on Sunday. She's getting to bond a lot with my parents now that she's attending NGU! She gets homesick for down here, and when she's at my parent's house, I get homesick for there! But I'm so glad she has a home away from home!

Well, that's about it for now!

Great Update!

2007-08-20T17:32:00.001-07:00

We saw our baby today! It was so wonderful! It has taken the reality of being pregnant to a whole new level! To be honest, at first, when the doctor said he saw the heartbeat, I thought I did too, but I wasn't even actually looking at the baby. Our sweet baby looked more like a blob, but then again, he is only 8 mm long! But we got to hear the heartbeat, and it was beautiful and strong! Hooray! For the record, I am six weeks, five days today, and my due date is April 10!

On a different note, we had a really fun, albeit busy and tiring, weekend! We went to Birmingham to our friend Chad's wedding. Dan was in the wedding, so he was busy, but I was also able to keep busy visiting with friends! We stayed with our friends, Anne and George Lawton. It was so great to catch up with them! And I also got to visit with my friend Deanna and her husband, Adam, and their baby, Reese! It was so refreshing to be with all of these friends!

Dan's sister headed off to college today! She's going to North Greenville University, where my dad works. I think she's both nervous and excited! But I think she will love it up there! We are definitely praying for her!

If we get a scanned copy of our baby picture that will look good on here, we'll post that soon! Thanks for your prayers, everyone!

GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-08-03T16:10:00.000-07:00

Well, you know that 0%/100% thing I wrote about in the last post - about whether our IUI would work? Well, looks like God gave us the 100%! We found out Monday that I'm pregnant!!!! We're so excited! I had a blood test on Monday and again on Wednesday, and everything looks good! It's very early, of course. We just had the procedure a little over two weeks ago, but we're staying positive. And we're way too excited to keep it a secret (besides, how could we when almost everyone knew about the IUI?). So we're letting people know so that they can praise God with us and pray for a healthy and successful pregnancy.

I don't have an official due date yet, but it should be some time in the beginning of April. I have an ultrasound scheduled for August 20th, so we should know more at that time. I can't wait to see that little heartbeat! After over two years of waiting, it's sooo exciting!

Well, we do thank you for your prayers. We know that they made all the difference. We rejoice and praise God for his goodness to us. It's really very overwhelming! We'll keep you posted.

PS: We had a great trip to see my parents last week. It is so beautiful up there, and it was very relaxing. We'll post some pictures soon!

Prayer Request

2007-07-17T16:19:00.001-07:00

Well, today was a big day! I had my first IUI (Intrauterine Insemination). It has been quite a weekend. Friday, I went in to the doctor's office to have my follicles checked. There were only two, and they weren't all that big. Then, I was supposed to get a call or a message that afternoon. Then, I didn't hear anything. Then, I had a meltdown! To make a long story short, I found out from the nurse on call on Sunday that they were having me come in on Monday for another scan. The scan on Monday showed two big follicles that seemed ready to release their eggs. Last night I had to give myself a shot to induce ovulation...in my stomach! Yikes. But I survived! And today was the procedure.

Everything seemed to go well. It was not anywhere close to the most pleasant experience I've ever had. It was quite uncomfortable. But the mission was accomplished! Now I have the two week wait to see if it worked. Oh, how we hope it worked! Technically, we have a 20% chance of success. But we figured that, if it's God's will, we have a 100% chance. And if it's not: 0%! We'd love your prayers during this time. Pray that God will prepare our hearts for whatever the outcome is.

This is good timing, though, because we leave for vacation this Friday. That means we'll just be able to rest and see what happens!

Well, I just wanted to update you on our big day. All this stuff is a big step for us, but we can see a lot of ways that God is working!

Well, I'll just go ahead and update this even though I'm sure no one checks it any more...

2007-07-12T17:16:00.000-07:00

To all four of my faithful blog readers, sorry once again for the long time between posts! It's not really surprising to me that I don't do this faithfully! It fits right in to all of the things in my life that I have initially been very excited about that rather quickly just fizzled out!!! Good thing thing marriage isn't a hobby!

We've been doing well! As usual, we've had a lot going on. If it wasn't so blasted hot, I don't think I'd realize it's summer! You certainly can't tell by looking at me since I haven't really been in the sun at all! Our biggest event is that I started seeing a reproductive endocrinologist a few weeks ago. This was a really big step for us both emotionally and financially, but we felt like it was the right time. And God has definitely given us some confirmations throughout the process. One big one is that the doctor that I'm seeing, who is relatively new to the practice, is a strong Christian and goes to our church! I had no idea until I went for my consultation! The doctor was able to tell me pretty quickly what at least one of my problems is, although there may be more tests down the road. But if all goes well tomorrow when I go in for a check up tomorrow, I'll will actually have my first procedure, IUI, this weekend. I won't go into detail about what that is, but we really hope it works!!! Please pray for us in this process.

On a lighter note, we are looking forward to having vacation in about a week. We will be headed up to South Carolina...oh actually North Carolina - to stay in my parents' new house! I'm very excited about that, and so is Alli, who loves it up there! I'm also excited to be off for a whole week because I really need a break!

I'm including some pictures just for the fun of it. These are from last Saturday. Dan and Alli went trail riding in the morning, and Dan and I went to Epcot that night. We ate at a wonderful place in Canada called Le Cellier, and I highly recommend it!!!! Oh, we also got our house painted recently, so as soon as I take a picture, I'll put that on here too!

Sorry for the Lapse!

2007-06-10T15:36:00.000-07:00

Man, a month goes by really fast! Every week I think, "I need to update our blog," and obviously I haven't gotten around to it.

Things have been mostly business as usual for us lately. Weeks just seem to fly by, which is nice since I much prefer the weekend! On Sundays, I usually get a little blue that the week is about to start again. I need to get to a place where I appreciate each day a little more, even Monday thru Friday!

Things have been busy for me at work. We just moved into a temporary office space so that construction can begin on our new counseling center. It's not ideal - for example, it's not on our church campus - but it will do for the next 9 months to a year!

At home, we've had some changes too! Our TV died a couple of weeks ago, so we spent about a week researching our next TV purchase. Finally, we ended up picking one, but we ordered it from Amazon, so it will take a little while to arrive! Also, we had a really nice, new king size mattress given to us a couple of weeks ago (long story), and we love it, so we ended up getting a new bed last week! It's great to have a king size bed, and I'm so happy not to sleep on the soft mattress that Dan had before we got married!

I can't believe it's summer. I mean, I can believe it when I walk outside, but it's just hard to believe that school is out and it's almost the middle of June! I always miss being in school this time of year because of summer vacation. Every year I wonder if I'm really meant to be a teacher!

Well, I guess that's it for now. No one will probably read this because you've probably given up on a new post! I promise to do better next time!

Mother's Day!

2007-05-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

First of all, happy Mother's Day to our Moms and all of you mom's out there. We've had a good day even though it wasn't as we had planned. Dan's mom wanted to go to the beach for the day, so we met her and Dan's brother and sister (Megan and Dustin) in Ormond Beach. Unfortunately, it was really overcast, so we just decided to eat lunch and walk around for a little while. It was still fun to hang out with them!

We did have a very special experience this morning, though. Our church has a tradition of praying on Mother's Day for couples who have not been able to conceive. We stood for prayer today and had a lot of people praying for us, which was so neat. It was also overwhelming! I shed a lot of tears. But we are really hoping that God will answer this prayer. We know He will at some point in some way! It's been a long wait, but we keep trusting His wisdom! The pastor asked couples to stand who have had this prayer answered in the past, and it was exciting to see how many stood.

Well, this is a short post, but other than work, that's about all that's been going on!

Day at Animal Kingdom

2007-04-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

We haven't had too much excitement to report lately. I told my friend, Melanie, on the phone yesterday that I prefer to post when I have pictures because it's more fun, but of course, we don't take pictures every day!

Anyway, things are just business as usual around here. Things have slowed down a little bit at work for me, which is good because it's giving me a chance to catch up.

Congratulations to my parents, who are in the process of moving in to their new house! I can't wait to see it, but unfortunately that probably won't be until July. Mom, remember to send me pictures!!! Then I can put them on here. I know it's so beautiful, and it will be a great place to get away (as if going to Mom and Dad's wasn't already)!

So, to the weekend. We have annual passes to Disney World! I know, I know, you're jealous. OK, maybe some of you are. Anyway, that is one of my consolations for living far far away in steamy Orlando. I love Disney, so we find a way to fork over the money for passes every year to keep me happy! Actually, it's a good thing for us to have because we have people coming into town to go to Disney pretty often. With our passes, it's easy to go out and see them, spend time with them, and play tour guide a little bit.

So on Saturday, we spent the afternoon at Animal Kingdom!

This is a picture of us in front of Expedition Everest, which is a pretty fun roller coaster that goes backwards! We got to ride a few rides, including the Safari, which I love every single time. You ride around in a big "Jeep" and see all kinds of animals. Here's some kind of bull type animal that was very close to us.

After our fun day, we went to Boma restaurant at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's an African Buffet, and the food is so good. Plus, the hotel is amazing. It has its own savannah where all kinds of animals roam. We had to wait an hour and a half because we didn't have reservations, but it was worth the wait!

Well, I guess that's it for now!

Weekend Getaway!

2007-04-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

Well, even though it was a tough week, it came at the perfect time! Last weekend (actually on Thursday), I flew up to Greer (God bless Allegiant Air that allowed me to fly for $120.00!) to go to a Beth Moore Conference with my mom and sister-in-law, Heather! It was a wonderful weekend.

Actually, the conference was just on Friday night and Saturday morning. So Thursday I got to spend some time with my parents at North Greenville (where my dad works) and, of course, at their mountain house. It's almost done, and I regret that I don't have any pictures. It's so beautiful!

The conference was on persevering through trial and it was based on James 1. I've actually never done a Beth Moore Bible Study, so I was overwhelmed by what an amazing teacher she is. The topic was perfect for me. There are lots of blessings in my life, but there are some pretty big trials too (see last posting), so it was a wonderful reminder for me that God is doing great things! It was also so fun to be with my mom and Heather! The picture below is of us at the conference (with the 17,0o0 other women - lots of control issues in one place)

After the conference, I got to go by Newberry to see my best friend, Melanie and her daughters. She was at her parents house for the weekend because she ran a race that morning. I haven't seen her since last May, so it was wonderful to stop by even though it was a very quick visit. Anna was feeling a little tired, so she was not eager to be in the picture!

After that, we headed to Greenville to meet Chris's family for dinner. We ate at Trio, which is so good. I don't think I've eaten there since before I moved down here. Below are pictures of us at dinner. Haegen Lee and Jake are so cute!

What a beautiful niece I have! After all that, I was very ready to get back home to see Dan, who stayed here for the weekend. He and his brother, Dustin, worked hard doing stuff around the house, which made the weekend doubly good! It was amazing to see all the people I got to see this weekend! I sure do miss SC! There's something so special about it!

Very Sad News...

2007-04-09T13:42:00.000-07:00

Well, today was a big day because Alli had a vet appointment to get a check-up and also an x-ray to find out how many puppies she's having. The vet did her x-ray and came back in to inform me that she's not pregnant! He said she definitely has some external signs, which of course we have been noticing, but she has something called a false pregnancy. I can't really explain it all here, but the bottom line is, no puppies for now.

That news would be very disappointing in and of itself since it's something we have invested a lot in and have really been looking forward to, but it's even harder on top of our own struggles to have a baby. We've been trying now for about two years. It was a good thing that I had the day off today, because I've definitely been doing a lot of grieving.

I know in the bottom of my heart that God is good and faithful, and he's in control of all this stuff. But it's hard to face this kind of disappointment over and over again. Anyway, I'm sure we'll give it another try with Alli when her next heat comes (in five months). I guess we won't have to do all that work with puppies over the next couple of months, which is one bright side!

So just keeping those of you who read this posted!

It's been a while!

2007-04-06T12:44:00.000-07:00

OK, so it's not as easy to keep writing on this blog as I thought it would be! Plus, we've both been so busy lately that I don't even have the energy! This week, I had the most sessions I've ever had: 23 - and that was after two cancellations! Needless to say, I'm very happy to be home, and I'm glad it's the weekend!

Two weekends ago, we got Alli's whelping box built! That was a fun project for us because we've never built anything together before. I would put a picture of it on here, but I'm too tired to get up and do that right now! I'm sure you'll see it when the puppies come! Monday, Alli goes to the vet to get a check up and an x-ray to see how many puppies she having! Hopefully, she will cooperate!

Last Sunday, I made my first big Florida mistake. I've lived here for five years, and I've been really good about using sunscreen! I haven't gotten burned the whole time I've lived here. But Sunday afternoon, I went to Dan's soccer game, and I forgot the sunscreen. My legs got so burned that I really could have stayed home from work the next day! But I didn't! I certainly learned my lesson! Now I'm in the wonderful stage of starting to itch before I peel. I have learned that we need to keep sunscreen in our cars!

This weekend, we'll spend Easter with Dan's family. Our church does a Saturday night service, so we have started going to that, and then we are able to go to his parents' church on Sunday. We're looking forward to a great weekend!

This week...

2007-03-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I was meaning to post earlier, but I went to get some pictures off the camera, and Dan had already downloaded them to his computer. So I had to wait until today to get my hands on it. Dan took his sister, Megan, up to visit UF today.

We had a great weekend with Chris and Sarah last weekend! It was cold, so we didn't get to spend much time on the beach, but it was still fun to be with our friends and very relaxing! They have these automatic storm shutters on the condo, so we could put them down at night and it was sooo dark! Dan was excited because he and Chris got to play golf. I was happy that he was finally using the new driver I got him for Christmas! And we got to eat seafood! Oh, one other thing: we learned that soy burger crumble is actually good!

Alli and Riley had a fun time together. Riley definitely won the energy battle. Alli keeps slowing down a little more each week! But they still played and ran and swam and had lots of fun. You can see from the pictures below. There is also one where she's showing you how she's our 75 pound lap dog! My lap is her favorite place to be!

We've had a good week and I'm glad it's almost the weekend again! Wednesday night I had book club. We read a great book this time called Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris. She's the author who wrote Chocolat. I recommend it to those of you out there who like to read!

We've been leading this bible study called The Truth Project for the past couple of months, and it's really good. Dan could explain it better than I can, but the premise is about whether we really believe what we say we believe and why. It has kind of an apologetic feel, but it examines things like science, the family, the state, etc, how God intended these things to be, and what our world has done with them. It's a lot of information! The only problem is that it's at our house, and it's long, so I'm looking forward to the end to get a little break. I like having people over, but it's a lot when we're both working so much!

This weekend our big project is building a whelping box for our little mama to be! We have to get it ready early so that she will get used to it and hopefully not decide to have her puppies on our bed. By the way, for those of you who wonder about our (or my) obsession with our dog, she's just our surrogate child as we wait (and wait) for God's timing for our children! She's a real blessing in the midst of this time, but we do have perspective! We know she's just a dog!

And Tomorrow...The Weekend!

2007-03-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

(This picture doesn't have anything to do with the posting. I just like it. It's from our trip to Europe last September. This is in Berlin!)

I usually feel happy on Thursday nights because the next day starts the weekend (and The Office comes on)! Today has been pretty good anyway, though, because I only worked for about five hours today! I had a very long day at work yesterday, so that was the reward! And our big reward this weekend is spending it at the beach with Chris and Sarah! Sarah was in my counseling class at RTS, and we got really close during the last semester. It's so nice because she and I have a lot in common and Chris and Dan have a lot in common. We never run out of thing to talk about. And they have a golden retriever, Riley, who is Alli's best friend. Riley stayed with us for two weeks back in the fall, and it was very sad for Alli when she had to go home!

One of the quirks about me is that when I find something that I like (food, activities, people, etc), I get kind of obsessed with them. (Maybe I should see someone about that!) Anyway, my new obsession is reading blogs. Every time I find out that someone I know has a blog, I put it into my favorites and check it at least once a day! I think that for me, it's a way to stay connected to close friends who, for the most part, live far away. I'm thankful for them!

Well, that's it for now. Dan's out having dinner with some guys, so I had time write about nothing in particular!

No News is Good News!

2007-03-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

I guess what I mean by that title is that there is no news in our lives particularly worthy of a blog posting, but the thing about blogs is that it doesn't really matter. I can write whenever I get that whim!

This week was full even though it was a little shorter since we didn't work on Monday. I work at the Counseling Center at our church, and my client load has grown to the point that I'm going to have to start setting some good boundaries. This is a funny thing because for a long time my big prayer request was that I would get more clients! Anyway, I've started to discover that the more clients I see during the week, the more emotionally raw I am dealing with life in general. For someone who already struggles with anxiety, this can be hard on Dan as well as me! So now we are in the process of praying about what I need to cut back on in my schedule. We do keep it rather full!

Alli is doing well. We don't know yet if she is pregnant, but we don't have any reason to think that she isn't. It's been two weeks now since she bred, so it will still be a few weeks until she starts looking pregnant! It's exciting!

I love the weekend, and it's always kind of sad when another week has to start! But weekends come fast, and we're really excited about next weekend because we're spending it at Amelia Island with our good friends, Chris and Sarah! Yay!

2007-03-06T14:52:00.000-08:00

Well, we’ve had a fun and busy weekend! After a week of feeling like there was something big missing in our house, we drove up to Georgia to pick up Alli from her rendezvous with Peyton! It’s an understatement to say that she was excited to see us! We’re hoping that everything went well and that she will be having puppies in late April!

After we picked her up, we drove to Greer, SC to spend the weekend with my parents. It’s always so nice for me to get to spend some time at home, and Dan enjoys it too. On Saturday morning, my Dad, Dan, and I ran the Reedy River 5K in Greenville. There were tons of people there, but it was a lot of fun. Right as it started, my dad said, “If we get separated, jus t meet at the finish line,” and then he left us in the dust! This is a picture of us back at home after the race.

Saturday afternoon, we headed up to my parents’ mountain house, which is only about six weeks away from being completed. Chris, Hae Kyong, and the kids met us up there, and we had a feast of Buck’s Pizza and salad. Then we hung out and played outside. Alli would really like to move up there. It was chilly, but we had a lot of fun. It’s amazing to think that the house should be done the next time I’m up there, and it won’t be long until that will be their home! Dan and I are excited for them!

Now we’re back at home. It was a fun weekend, but it's always good to get home too!

Alli

2007-02-28T17:36:00.000-08:00

This is our baby, Alli! She has been a huge blessing, especially to me, as we have been waiting and waiting to start our family! Alli is a weimaraner who has endless energy and endless love! She loves to run and swim and fetch and cuddle up with us.

Right now, Alli is up in Georgia with her boyfriend Peyton! She didn't know Peyton until last Friday, but now they know each other well. Should everything work out according to plan, she should be having puppies toward the end of April! We're going to get some new life in this house one way or another! We have really missed her this week, and we can't wait to go get her on Friday.

Here I go...

2007-02-25T17:32:00.000-08:00

I have a few friends who have blogs, and I've gotten really into checking them - usually several times a day! I'm not great at keeping in touch with people. After meeting with clients all day, it's hard to pick up the phone and call. So here's my newest effort at keeping in touch, or at least keeping people up to date with my life! We'll see if it catches on...