J~A~C

Houston. . .I think. . .I liked you!

2011-03-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

Lots and lots of updating. Here is the first one.

For Presidents Day Weekend (yes the four day from last month!) Carl and I flew to Houston. This was Carl's first flight! He did amazing. And since momma is such a cheapo it took a really long time to get there. Had a few stops on the way there. But he did great. He slept a little bit of the way and then played the rest. Best compliment ever that was not directed at us; (couple getting off of plane) "Wow, I didn't even know a baby was on the plane!"

When we landed at Hobby we made our way over to get our rental car (an hour later) we loaded up in this!

Never again will I rent from Advantage (paid way more than I was supposed to and didn't even get the car I reserved) at Advantage they pride in taking advantage of their customers.

Anywho, Houston was amazing. In the seventies and some humidity! I went running a couple of days and I found it rather enjoyable, more so than Portland!

Loved seeing my brother and stepmomma and Carl loved all the attention from Grandma and Uncle D.

We enjoyed watching my brother inhale a fried twinkie (yuck!)

We enjoyed some funnel cake for ourselves. Yes Carl had some funnel cake and I do believe he was in heaven!!!

Carl enjoyed some bathtimes with Grandma! Momma did some shopping at Old Town Spring, Galveston,and the Galleria. Oh how I love shopping!

I would like to interject right here and say that the whole time we were there Carl and I practically lived in shirts and shorts. It was weird seeing people from there wearing jeans and jackets. Especially at the beach.

Galveston was awesome. Went to the Strand and did some shopping there. I bought myself the best bottled water, in a glass bottle from Norway!! YUM!!! It tasted soooooooo pure!

Carl got a free toy because he was just so darn cute!

After some time at the Strand and filling up with some yummy food at the Spot, we made our way down to the beach. And Carl was just so cute. Enjoy the following pics taken all at the beach!

From there we headed over to Kemah!!!! The little brother and I went on the roller coaster while Carl hung out with Grandma and Juan.

This picture here gives the best representation of Carl's time in Houston. Hanging out with Grandma and getting all the food he could possibly want!!! :)

Houston was amazing. Great food and great people. Traffic was crazy and reckless but I can't wait to go back again. Not because of the funnel cakes, shopping, or the Gulf. Because of them!! I love and miss them already and can't wait to see them again and hopefully next time my little seester can be there too!!

Percentile down!!!

2011-03-04T19:51:00.000-08:00

So last month, about four weeks ago (I have been terrible at updating), Carl had a check up with Jeni (Dr. Wheby's amazing assistant, love her, love them both).

When we walked into the office the ladies were so shocked to see him so big! And of course Carl was all smiles and flirtatious.

Dr. Wheby was able to see him for a second and she commented that she could tell he was looking really good. I am telling you, Dr. Wheby is like the Yoda of neurosurgery! Anyways Jeni came in and checked him out. She conducted milestone checks, reflexes, etc. Then came the head measurement; *drumroll please*

87%

This means that his body is essentially growing into his head. Before the hydrocephalus his body was pretty proportioned, 10% across the board. After the diagnosis it was at 95% but the shunt placement wouldn't shrink his head back down. We pretty much had to wait for this moment. Jeni let us know that we will most likely see this trend for the next year while he is growing.

We are so blessed for this victory! With a hydrocephalus diagnosis we take it day by day, but for now we are resting in the blessing of perfect health!!

1, 2, 3, 4 , 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. . .10!!! TEN!!!

2011-01-31T14:11:00.000-08:00

Carl is ten months old!! (back on the 26th) It is difficult to wrap my head around the idea that in two months my little boy will be turning ONE!!

So what has Carl been up to the last month? MOVING!! He has long mastered rolling and crawling so he moves extremely fast and there is no sense in corralling him since he just moves what is in his way! The days of being able to clean and accomplish a lot are long gone. But I pray soon we will transition into "help mommy" stage. I am also learning there is no such thing as baby proofing! We did some basics; electrical plugs, and moving heavy stuff on the lower book shelves to different areas, and making sure there is nothing that can hurt him seriously is within his reach. But that is about all that we can do. We have dogs and I have resolved myself into knowing and accepting that Carl will get hairy, no matter how much I vacuum. As he is growing I am trying to let go of little things. It's is HARD!!!

The past month or should say the last few days Carl is learning how to take steps. When holding him up he now takes steps and he has learned that if the ground is smooth he can just scoot his feet out and slide! He loves it!

Carl is pretty much eating whatever (no not steak). He has those two little teeths and his gums I am sure are made of steel so he is good at chewing and eating. He is really good at EATING! He loves to eat all the time. So I am quite surprised that he is the 10th percentile in weight! In addition to eating food he is still nursing! So talk about quite the food intake!

This past month Carl had his first fall, and of course it happened with me and it about gave me a heart attack. My son while in my watch with me right next to him fell off the changing table! He cried for a few seconds but was fine and long recovered before my heartbeat stabilized! It made me realize that everything in a child's life happens in a SPLIT second! And I am preparing myself for the next 18 years of bumps, bruises, and scrapes. And if you know who is father is; there will be lots of those!

I think the scale is lying!

2011-01-16T21:04:00.000-08:00

A little over a week ago Mr. Carl had his nine month old well baby appointment. The most exciting part of the appointments is to get the measurements. I was rather shocked to see the scale saying Carl only weighs 18.2 lbs. He seems so much heavier! The appointment was supposed to be low key. Just a check up and no shots. That is what I told Carl. But since we are flying to Houston next month to see Grandma and Uncle D, I went ahead with the flu shot. So now I am the mom that lied to her child. But Carl didn't seemed phase. It was only the one little poke and there were no tears!! He let out a little bit of a whine but then went back to his giggly smiling self!

So as far as the weight goes he dropped a bit on the scale. From 25th to 10th percentile. But there are no concerns because Carl loves to eat and he eats all the time. Along with eating he is a mover. He keeps mama moving! And he keeps us laughing!

Christmas Weekend

2010-12-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

I just want to say this Christmas by far was the best Christmas ever!!! (except for the Christmas that Jesus was born, of course!)

What made it awesome was not the gifts or food. What made it awesome was the feeling inside my heart, and family.

I am so thankful for my husband, and son. When I was opening presents Christmas morning with John and Carl I was filled with joy, peace, and happiness. All the little and big blessings we received this past year was brought into remembrance. I wouldn't want to re-do this past year, but God was faithful and brought us through many trials. That morning we opened presents and laughed and it was an amazing to feeling watch our son sit there with innocence in his eyes as he was presented with gifts and the best gift of all was his health. Last year we were scared and nervous not knowing if our precious boy would be okay. But God walked us through it all. That was the best gift of all.

After opening Christmas presents that morning we went to the Claxtons (John's sister) for some yummy Christmas dinner. And I got to hang out with some of the funniest kids ever. I got to teach Alex the politically correct word for individuals without homes is homeless not "hobos". And I taught Lucy a new kind of praise, "Hallelujah" and "Preach it Pastor". She was super cute!

Christmas continued on Sunday. We got to celebrate with some of John's cousins and aunts at the Vander Schaaf's. Gotta here the best stories (thank you Karla), and enjoyed some amazing food (the trifle was amazing (good job Reed and Bridget).

And then I got to wrap up the weekend celebrating Kabbiba's 30th birthday bash!!!

I have the best family and amazing friends. And being able to celebrate Christmas with the ones I love was a blessing. There was many I didn't get to celebrate with, but they were in my thoughts!

I pray everyone had an amazing Christmas weekend, and I pray we can keep the Spirit for the days, months, and years to come!

Only Three More Months!!!

2010-12-28T11:17:00.000-08:00

Carl is NINE MONTHS OLD!!! Where has the time gone? Since it is going by quickly I know I need to get on to planning the 1st BIRTHDAY PARTY. But in the mean time I am going to enjoy every second with this little guy.

He is about 18 lbs. We get mixed comments of "Oh he is so big", or "He is so tiny". I think he is pretty heavy, but I have to trot him around. :)
He loves to eat! His food consists of baby food, regular food, boobie food; with him anything goes.
He is a good napper. I put him down and he plays for a second then he is out like a light. When it is time to wake up he greets me with a little giggle and a smile. Then of course he wants to snuggle with me for a bit.
He "crawls" all over the place. (His crawl consists of a low prone army crawl)
He has one tooth that has broken through, it peeks out just a bit. Can't wait to see that toothy grin!
Speaking of grins, he likes to grin with his tongue out. (The best pic of this eludes me, but trust me I will capture it!)
He talks alot!!! He babbles (likes to say Da Da, working on Ma Ma) and will just make random noises. He used to just do it at home, but now he is very loud almost everywhere.
He wants my constant attention, this is a blessing and a curse. But I love it!

What a sharp tooth you do have!

2010-12-23T21:45:00.000-08:00

Finally, finally, finally! Carl's first tooth has broken through!!! There is still a lot more going on in that little mouth of his, but it has finally cut through. This journey has been a long one.

Our journey for teeth started back in August. There was the little sign of drool, then he wanted to chew on everything, and every so often when he would nurse he thought it would be a good idea to try and gum me!!! He learned very quickly that was not part of the plan. But these little signs brought nothing. Then there were the days when his gum would swell up but a few days later he would be fine.

Then there was the Saturday after Thanksgiving (and the night before) he was miserable!! He was up most of the night crying and he spent that morning and early afternoon crying unless he was held constantly. This was so stressful due to it being Friendsgiving. But we survived. And I thought his tooth would have broken through that weekend or following week, but no dice!

And for the next few weeks he was okay, there would be moments his gums would bother him but he soothed with frozen blueberries (they are his favorite!)

There is still more journey to come, and I know it won't be that pleasant but today made me happy to see and feel that tooth break through. And yes it is sharp, thankfully no issues with nursing yet, so hopefully you will start to see pics of toothy grin from Carl soon.

But for now you get this.

November You Have Treated Us Well

2010-11-29T15:11:00.000-08:00

This has been an amazing month!!! It has been a busy one. We took another trip to John Day to see John's mom. Fortunately she still remembers who John is, and for me she just looks at me. Now that we have Carl she looks at him the whole time. This visit Carl was very interested in her and he kept trying to take her blanket. That got her to laugh a little bit. In addition to seeing Grandma Lois, Carl got to hang out with two other amazing people, Uncle Nick and Aunt Linda! We all love getting together with them. They got Carl his first toy tractor! We spent the afternoon hanging out and talking. Aunt Linda held Carl while John made him laugh, and Uncle Nick and I talked sports! I sure do love seeing them.

Then two weeks later we took a trip to Seattle. I love visiting Seattle because the trip usually means I am seeing my family. That weekend I got to see my step-momma!!! It has been a few years and I was so happy to see her. And I know she was excited to see me and her mom and brother and sister, but I am sure she was most excited about meeting her grandson. :) He sure did love her. At lunch they just talked and laughed. That weekend was definitely a cold one for Seattle. That wind was very arcticky (I know not a word.) So Carl was all bundled up the first time this year!

That following week was definitely a cold one here for us in Portland. I was hoping for snow, but we only got a dusting and then it was freezing temps for a few days. Carl hung out inside while I braved public transportation for the commute. It was packed!! Nobody wanted to drive themselves into work.

Then of course we are wrapping up the rest of the month with one of best holidays ever; THANKSGIVING!!! A holiday where we get to be gluttons for just a day, or in my case two days. LOL! Seriously though, I loved Thanksgiving this year! I think having a child puts a new spin on the holidays. You are definitely filled with more excitement and joy. I have a lot to be thankful for this holiday. I have a little boy that brings so much joy into our lives. And I am so thankful for the doctors and medical technology that exists today that have saved my son. And I continually pray they find a cure for hydrocephalus. I am also thankful for John. He is such an amazing husband. At times in our marriage it has been hard, but he is my best friend and I look forward to each new day with him and the years to come. We have been together for six years now. The Monday after Thanksgiving marks when we first started dating.

This year we went to Kayleen's for the feast. We enjoyed food and games. My nephews sure did crack me up with their antics over Catchphrase! Then as a big group we played Apples to Apples Bible Edition. Miguel and Kayleen were trying to own that game. The last time I let them sit next to each other! LOL!

This face just cracked me up!

We had another Thanksgiving hosted at our house. I call it Friendsgiving. Since my house is small we only had a few friends over and it was last minute. So I am hoping next year it is bigger. This was my first turkey that I made and Giada De Laurentiis from Food Network provided the amazing recipe for it!! It was so moist and yummy!!! Definitely making it for the years to come. Carl did not have any turkey but he enjoyed some yummy rolls and potatoes and then proceeded to fall asleep in mid meal. It was pretty cute!

The Friday after Thanksgiving I bought Carl a couple of Christmas presents. Thank you Black Friday specials, and Friday also marked Carl's 8 month mark. I can't believe he is getting so big!!! I can't even begin to guess what he weighs now. I do know he is about 26 inches or longer. He sits up now all by himself. He is almost crawling. Right now he practically gets up in a push up position. It is quite humorous. He is also an eating machine! When we eat he wants to eat. When we're not eating he wants to eat. He is nursing, and eating food. He is feeding himself for the most part. And of course he is moving all over the place and talking up a storm! The sad part of this month has been teething. He has been teething the last few months, but now it has kicked up a notch. The night before Friendsgiving Carl was up all night! He was so miserable and nothing seemed to soothe him. The teeth started showing themselves but the gum is covering them up again!!! Poor guy. But he is still as cute as ever even in the midst of teething pain!

The day of Friendsgiving. He was miserable, up all night and crying most of the day.

Daddy was exhausted too!

The best way to wrap up the busy month was seeing Santa Claus!! Carl didn't fuss or cry. He didn't really smile either. He looked more intrigued. He was more excited about the Christmas Tree and the lights. So there will be a lot of Christmas festivities for us to do this year! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

I love love love this picture!

It happened again!!

2010-11-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

Yep life got busy and I neglected the public by not posting updates. The joys of life!!! So there are few things I would love to share with you! Some are short some are long. Instead of doing separate blog postings I will just have five different sections! Neither section really relates to one another except they all relate to the Driskill family's life. So read the whole thing or read whatever section you would like. It will go as follows; Utah trip, 99 mph, He Really is 7 Months, Halloween, and Kicking off November.

Utah Trip
Back on the 14th I took a "quick" drive down to Utah where I spent the weekend. It was my first time back there since having Carl. It was the first time my sisters, grandma, and great grandma got to meet Mr. Carl. I was also able to squeeze in some short visits with my buddies Shay and Peter. The trip went by in a whirlwind. I filled my trip with food! Leatherby's, Best Burger, Training Table, and Dee's. I was sad that I was not able to hit up some other Utah faves. I have this rule when I go anywhere outside of Portland I will only eat food that I can't get there. So Utah is full of places that I can go to. Besides eating I went and saw my grandma, and great grandma. I love those women to pieces!!! And before leaving Utah my sister Brandi and I took our kiddos to go do pictures. Below are some quick pictures of the visit and the professional ones too.

Meeting his GG for the first time (great-grandma)

Codi and Carl (CC Cousins)

My grandma with her great-grandbabies.

Three generations

Carl and Aunt Nikki

How ferocious!

Rawr!


Brandi and I and our kiddos!

99 MPH

Life is going going and going. When I open my eyes it isn't a day that has past it is months! That is what it feels like anyway. I started my new job the end of September as a Social Worker. I only work two days a week, but I love it. And in the future I do hope it will be more. But right now it is perfect. The days I don't work Carl and I spend going to Indoor Park and Book Babies. It is quite interesting to see how social he is. When I am not filling my days with work and family I am trying to spend my time with my hobby of photography. This is my favorite of October!

Working on a quote for this. . .

He Really is 7 Months Old!
On October 26th Carl turned 7 months. Everyday he is doing something new. He makes everyone laugh and smile and it is crazy to think that our world existed without him. At night as I am putting him to bed I will just stare at him and I know that God has something amazing planned for him that I can't even begin to daydream about it.

So what is Mr. Carl up to? He is rolling everywhere. We can't turn our back on him, if we do he has moved several feet. One day I went into the kitchen and when I came back out he was gone. It definitely gave my heart quite a jump. I quickly found that he had rolled underneath the coffee table. When I found him he gave out a big squeal of delight he thought it was the funniest thing.

In addition to rolling over Carl is rather talkative. He loves to babble and he is possibly saying Da Da. I say possibly because he will say it whenever, but when John goes to grab him or says hi, he does say Da Da. It is rather cute!!!

He almost has his two bottom teeth. His bottom gum is super swollen and those teeth will break through any day now. I do feel bad though because it appears to be absolutely miserable. He isn't too fussy because of it but there are times when he cries and cries with no comfort.

So stay tuned to for an update on his pearly whites!

Halloween
Carl's first Halloween!! Definitely not a night full of trick or treating but the weekend was exciting and makes me look forward to next year's Halloween. We went to the Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island with John's Aunt Marcia and Uncle Dick. It was super fun. We got there before the weather was crappy. We went on a hayride and picked out some pretty good pumpkins! Before we left we enjoyed some pulled pork sandwiches and an elephant ear!

After the pumpkin patch we went back to their place to carve some pumpkins and eat the pumpkin seeds! It was a great start the weekend. Later that day instead of dragging my hubby to a Halloween Party I took him out on our first date since having Carl. We enjoyed dinner and then after a nice drive through the city we decided we were old and ready to go home. So we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some goodies then went home.

This year there was no trick or treating but Carl still had a costume. Enjoy the pictures.

Definitely looking forward to the rest of the year. Carl's first Thanksgiving and Christmas is just right around the corner!!!!

1/2 year!!

2010-10-03T23:01:00.000-07:00

Carl is 6 months old!! 6 MONTHS!! He is half a year old! In six short months he will be one. I thought the year would go by slow, but the first six months have shown time does not go slow.

Just yesterday my little boy slept 18+ hours a day.

Just yesterday my little boy was Mr. Wobbly head.

Just yesterday my little boy's cry was a squeak.

Just yesterday my little boy had his nourishment provided solely by me.

Just yesterday my little boy was tiny and picking him up was effortless.

But the yesterdays have past and we are in today and there are a bunch of tomorrows ahead.

Today my little boy sleeps through the night but is ready to go by 6 am and usually only takes one nap.

Today my little boy not only holds his head steady but he rolls over, he scoots, he jumps like crazy in his jumper, and he is just a few tomorrows from sitting up on his own with no support.

Today my little boy lets out quite a cry. He cries when I walk away and he cries when something is just out of reach. One of these tomorrows his cry will be replaced by words.

Today my little boy not only eats his boobie milk but he eats peas, carrots, rice, oatmeal, squash, sweet potatoes, bananas and bread. And that menu is growing!!!

Today my little boy is not effortless in picking up, matter of fact he gives his momma quite a workout!!

The tomorrows are going to bring so much. Talking, walking, and just pure amazement.

That is what I feel when I look at my little boy. Utter amazement. John and I helped create him. We are a part of him and he is becoming such his own little person.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow I love him!

I am not able to give you a fun and exciting peek into his 6 month old well baby because I did not attend. Daddy took him to the appointment. And from what I am told he did great!! Below the pic is his stats as of late.

Length: 25 1/2 inches (25th %)

Weight: 15 lbs. 7 1/2 oz. (25th %)

Head: 17 1/2 inches (90th %)

So here is to our tomorrows!!

Change of Plans Pt. Two

2010-09-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

Back in May I discussed how plans change. Well it looks like plans have changed yet again.

As each day goes by things change. There are many times I wake up with an agenda but at the end of the day I see that agenda was not completed or even started. Sometimes I wonder why bother keeping a schedule or making lists if they don't work. But the truth is I am a type A personality so I will always make lists and have an agenda. Even if they don't get completed I feel responsible because I wrote it down. LOL!

Over the past few months our world has definitely been shaken around a bit. I will not lie my faith was greatly tested over the past few months and there were times I was at a loss and overwhelmed. I remember wanting to crawl into a hole. I was so afraid to go to sleep after Carl's surgery because I didn't know if he would wake up. The mortality of my child's life smacked me right in the face and I must say I had a difficult time coping. I put on a brave face but inside I was scared out of my mind. Thank God though I have an amazing support system. And most importantly I knew God was there, even though I questioned Him and became frustrated with Him I knew that He would see us through.

So here we are a couple months after Carl's surgery, our world seems like it is settling for the time being. But with that settle comes change. This change was me going back to work. As I mentioned back in May I made the decision to stay at home. Well as much as I wanted to continue this path it was made clear after his surgery I would not be able to do this. Because unfortunately even with medical insurance surgery comes with cost. I knew that I would need to find something. Fortunately after much talk we realized I needed to only find part time work. But then it turned into the question, Where? I prayed and I knew God would show us the path. Well I must say God knew all along what He was doing. A good friend of mine sent me an email to see if I would be interested in temping at DHS (Department of Human Services) two days a week. I couldn't believe it. I of course took the opportunity. And now I am employed as a Caseworker. I get to utilize my education and learn so much more. And I only work 16 hours a week!!

In addition to finding good work. God also opened the door for a good friend to come to our home and watch Carl while John and I are at work!! So even though the plan was to stay at home the plan changed but God had it already figured out. I would find myself thinking too much and getting worried but when I pull out and look at the big picture it is amazing to see how everything fell into place. I couldn't have worked it out better by myself. Which just goes to show I need to stop trying to work it out and give it to God. Because this is definitely a testament to His power.

I am so thankful. And I appreciate Timisha and Wendie so much! Thank you ladies for being part of our lives. God has utilized you both tremendously and I know He will continue to do so in many other ways!

Everything that has happened in the past couple months has brought a scripture to my heart. Ecclesiastes 3:1

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.

Sometimes our seasons will be joyous, other times they will be heartbreaking. But in all seasons God is there loving, listening, and providing.

Where Have I Been? Pt. Two

2010-09-23T16:36:00.000-07:00

Hey so a couple weeks ago I posted what has been going on and where have we been. Here is the second installment, and hopefully the last. It depends on how much I get on here before I get tired or Carl wakes up.

So I just want to say in doing this update I am looking at pics to remember what has been going on! Thank the Lord I am a compulsive picture taker and chronicle our lives in pictures.

I have tried to give a monthly update on Carl. The June update was a lot different compared to the July update. And now I find myself a couple days shy of 6 months and I realize I didn't do a 5 month update. Since Carl's surgery it seems like the days have been flying by. And he is growing so much. In August we started Carl on rice cereal!! Here is a few pictures to tell that story.


Carl's first time in his chair, I think he is happy with it.

Really happy!

So how are we gonna do this. . .

Here comes the first bite!

Hmmm. . .

Well this is new and interesting!

Another first for Carl in August was going swimming! I unfortunately did not take any pictures since I was in the water too. To clarify Carl didn't actually swim lol. His cousin Alex had part of his birthday at the Clackamas Aquatic Park so we got Carl in some little swimmers and his swim trunks and sat in the water with him. He thought it was the funniest thing ever. The waves would splash up against him and he would giggle with delight. I am looking forward into getting this little boy into swim lessons!!

Shortly after Carl turned 5 months we went camping with John's Uncle Gary and Aunt Sherril for Labor Day weekend. That was a learning experience. I learned don't go in with expectations. The weather was deceiving. It looked nice out but it was really cold. I learned that though the fishing might be really good one moment, the next moment not so much. I learned that people will steal at anytime and any place. Someone straight up took Aunt Sherril's canoe. We got it back, John and Gary found it on the other side of the lake. But really, who takes a canoe for a joyride? LOL! And on this tripped I learned Carl was ready to move to solids. He was literally eating every two hours and at night he was eating every hour!! So despite some lessons learned. We enjoyed ourselves. It was Carl's first camping trip. Our first time camping with Uncle Gary and Aunt Sherril. And my first time fishing since I was 13. And on the way home from the camping trip I got my first speeding ticket!! Yay for lots of firsts!! LOL! Here some pics from camping.

Caught my limit in an hour!!!

Hanging out in the Pack n Play!

John was happy to see the tent set up by the time he got there!

With my little boy who is mesmerized by the fire.

Aunt Sherril with Carl.

Three Creek Lake (looked warm huh?)

Hanging out down by the water.

Look at my big boy!

Stewie was having the time of his life!

The place was beautiful.

Kisses from Daddy!

Family Photo Op

Getting ready to go on the canoe!

So there it is for now. Summer is over and Autumn is here. Soon very soon Carl will be six months. I hope everyone had a wonderful safe summer and here is to the rest of the year!!!

Where Have I Been? Pt. One

2010-09-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been a month since I last posted! Where have I been? What has been going on? Let me tell you! It's been go go go! And when I wasn't go go go. Carl was!!

So where do I start? The past month has been busy and great! Early in August (from the 7th to 14th to be exact) the best brother in the world came for a visit!
It was a great visit. This was the first time my little brother was meeting his nephew! And talk about love at first sight!
The week was full of baby love and keeping my brother busy. Sunday was a day full of church and then wrapped up the day with Capture the Flag, the little brother got some good exercise!

That week we went to the zoo. It was a full family affair with my sister in-law and her fam! It was good to take all the kids. It gives us a preview of things yet to come! Carl is super fortunate to have a couple cousins close in age! And in Lucy's word we got to see "Raffiki!!" and "Simba!". Carl did alright it was his first time in his stroller without being in the carseat! I think he did pretty good. Here are some pics from the zoo visit!

During the week my brother was here there was a short visit from my friend Shay!!! Can't wait until she moves here. She got to meet Carl. Pics describe best the evolution of that visit. . .

During Shay's mini visit she met Carl, I got us lost, went to Hawthorne, and found a good cheap place for drinks where we were asked if we wanted to smoke weed! But hey we went through the DARE program, so we said no! Then Shay went home. :(

Then it was back to just my bro. There as a visit to the Historic Hwy 30! My brother got to see the falls along the way. And this was Carl's first visit there too! So to spare you written details here are some pics. Pics are always fun!

We wrapped up my brother's visit with a trip to Pacific City, and the Tillamook County Fair. My brother climbed a huge sand dune. Enjoyed some rides at the fair where he then proceeded to puke (oops I don't think I was supposed to say anything). We also enjoyed time with my Kayleen's brood, and Aunt Pam and Uncle Mark. My brother really enjoyed spending time with Uncle Mark and seeing their home he is building. It really gave my little brother some motivation. So here are the rest of the pics of the trip!

So this is an overload. And there is still so much more. I would love to continue but unfortunately Mr. Carl is demanding attention.

Stay tuned for part two!

Carl for Gerber!!

2010-08-06T14:53:00.001-07:00

Hey guys vote for our Mr. Man!!

Gerber Nation

So you want to play some basketball?

2010-08-05T22:04:00.000-07:00

Carl followed up with Jenni Wednesday. And he looks great!! He is healing really well. So the plan of action is this; they will see him September 17th for the 6-8 week post op visit. They will then see him every six months. When he is able to talk and communicate how he feels physically (1-2 years of age) they will see him once a year. These check-ups will by just to see how everything is going and he is doing with his hydrocephalus.

The shunt he has now should be fine and he shouldn't grow out of it. Unfortunately they can't promise he won't have to have any more surgeries. If his shunt malfunctions they will have to go back in.

So Carl will have the shunt for the rest of his life. What does this mean for him? Nothing he will just have a shunt. Carl will be able to do anything he wants. . .with a couple of exceptions. . . they recommend he does not play football or wrestle because it would increase his chances of breaking his shunt. With that being said they did let me know they do have patients that participate in those sports. They just advise against.

Since his momma is a football fan I was a bit sad but hey he is healthy and is going to be okay. But I did ask if he can play basketball, and that is okay by them.

So Carl, would you like to play some basketball?

Carl's Story so far. . . :)

2010-07-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

On July 28th the day started just like any other day. Carl woke up for his morning feeding. We said morning prayers, read a little bit, and then got ready to go. It was time for Carl's well baby appointment. I could hardly believe that it had already been four months. And just a year ago I didn't even know I was pregnant. We get to Dr. Shah's (his pediatrician) office. What was interesting was the dark clouds in the sky. They were not in the forecast. I don't know why I was so focused on them. I just felt weird looking at them. Carl was all giggly for the nurses and the doctor. Carl weighed in at 13 lbs. 7 oz. and measured 24 in. We talked about how he was doing and I mentioned a little indent he had on his head. About a week ago I had this weird feeling something wasn't right. I couldn't place my finger on it, but it was just a feeling. On Monday the 26th I felt the indentation along the right side of his head. John and I talked about it and I decided to let the doctor know on Wednesday at his well baby. So there we are the doctor feels it then she measured his head, 17 3/4 in. I remember my heart beating faster after I read that. His previous measurement in May was 16 in. His head went from the 50th percentile to the 90th percentile. I became concerned and I knew Dr. Shah was concerned because of the diagnosis of ventriculomegaly. Time just seemed to cease to exist after this point. Right before I had just uploaded this video

In just one moment everything changed. Dr. Shah called Dr. Wheby (Carl's neurosurgeon), she wanted a CT Scan done and then wanted to see him that day. I called John at work and he met us at home. We were scared but we were trying to stay in the moment. We went to Emmanuel and Carl laid perfectly still for his CT, he was such a good boy. The techs were so amazed how well he did considering his age. The CT was done by noon and now we just had to wait. We were told we couldn't feed him anymore in case he needed to go to the OR. As soon as I heard that I knew it was serious and there was no going back.

We were called back and Dr. Wheby and Jenni (her PA) showed us his films and let us know that he would need a shunt placed in because he had hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus implies an excessive amount of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), within the cavities of the brain (ventricles). The excessive amount can lead to blockage which prevents the normal flows of CSF, or it can hinder the absorption.

After being told this so much overloaded my brain. Is he going to survive? What type of life will he have? Will he have it is whole life? The questions just overloaded me. But Dr. Wheby and Jenni were amazing. We got a pamphlet to read over. Instead of overloading us with information they were simple in giving answers.

Carl will have a shunt for the rest of his life but he will have a long normal life. He will be able to do what other kids can do. They recommend he doesn't participate in full contact sports like football and wrestling. But hey he is four months old I don't think he was thinking too much about that yet. There is going to be a lot of information that we will receive over the next couple of months, but the last couple of days were about action.

After the doctor saw us she scheduled his surgery for the next morning. But before we could go home he needed to get an MRI. Since the MRI takes about 30 minutes he needed to go under anesthesia, which meant no food. He was miserable! It felt like he cried for an hour straight (and let me remind you this is the same day that he had his shots) so he was not a happy camper. Click on link to see picture taken before MRI. Sad boy.

After the MRI was done we were sent home. We needed to be back the next morning, surgery was scheduled for 9:45 am. The poor little boy couldn't eat after midnight. How do you communicate to a four month old that they can't eat!? Lots of prayer went in for Carl to be okay without food. I woke him up at 1145 pm to eat one last time and we waited to the very last moment to wake him up in the morning. We got loaded up in the car and headed out.

We arrived at the hospital got checked in and headed up to his first room that he would wait in until the doctor called. Fortunately we did not have to wait alone. Aunt Pam and Uncle Mark came to join us. It meant so much to have them come. They loved on Carl, and us. They did a really good job keeping us in conversation so we weren't working ourselves into upset. So 9:45 am came and went. It turned out a 2 day old came in and needed emergency surgery, so they would take Carl as soon as Dr. Wheby called.

So now my little boy has gone almost 10 hours without eating! But he did okay. He went through his moments of being upset but we got him calmed down and he would fall asleep. Around 11am they came and took us down the OR holding area. There we met with Dr. Wheby and the anesthesiologist. I honestly cannot remember anything we discussed. All I could think about was how in a few minutes my little boy would be whisked away. I am not going to lie I was so scared that I would not see him again. At 1130 they came and took him back. We went to the waiting room and waited. . .

While we waited we talked about anything and everything. I did not look at the clock. I think it was about an hour when Dr. Wheby came out and let me know the shunt was in and everything went great!!! Now it was all about waiting some more before I could go back to recovery. Which I was able to do after about 30 minutes. When I got to see him I was taken back by what I saw. His poor little head on the right side was swollen. But he was sleeping so peacefully. We got up to the room and I got to hold him! It felt so great to finally hold him.

We spent the night in the hospital. He got upset now and again but for the most part he did okay. The rest of the day he was out of it and a little bit sick. The next morning he had to get another CT. Later Jenni came and saw him and gave him the okay to go home as long as he could keep feedings down. So after a few more hours we were released.

When we got home I had John blow up the airbed and we camped out in the living room all weekend. I will be honest the night we came home I just cried. For the last two days I was scared and worried and did my best to keep it together. So when we were home and the exhaustion set in I just bawled. But in my tears there was joy. Joy for the Lord who had and always will be watching over us. I know God has been watching over us through everything and will continue to watch over us. Jeremiah 29:11 NIV: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

That is a promise I will hold dear and true.

Hello July. . . wait. . . Goodbye July?

2010-07-27T18:04:00.000-07:00

I love summer. I love it because of all the adventure and sun I need to take on. However, I leave my little blog followers behind. Taking care of Mr. Carl, spending time with John, taking on new responsibilities, and experiencing life has taken me away from blogging. But so much good times have taken place this month. So hold onto your seats and enjoy the read.

At the beginning of the month, 4th of July to be exact, two amazing people I love made an amazing choice! My sister in-law and her husband were baptized!!! While our country was celebrating yet another Independence Day we were celebrating Kayleen and Miguel's recognition of dependence on God! The day was amazing. We spent time together as a family enjoying some good BBQ afterwards (Miguel you are amazing), enjoying good conversation, and of course some smores!!!

Lucy sure did enjoy her cupcake!
This is what Carl did most of the time! zzzzzz
He woke up for a minute so I got a quick shot with him!
Enjoying some smores! Jealous much? LOL!
A Family Photo OP!

Carl attended his first birthday party!! Our friends sweet girl Shelby turned three!!! Shelby loved seeing Carl and was very attentive of him before we left. This party is just a preview into Carl's social schedule! LOL!

This month we have been to the coast a couple of times. At the beginning of the month we went to Newport! This was my first time to the aquarium since living in Oregon. So it has been four years in the making. We enjoyed the trip with my dear friend Megan. Carl slept most of the time he was there but we got him a new pal! Sharky. Such a well suited name. We wrapped up the day eating some Mo's. YUCK! I don't know why they say that place is good. We have been there three times, each time was nasty! So no more Mo's for us. Three strikes your out. Despite the nasty food it was a good day and I got some good pics for my portfolio.

The second trip was for my birthday! July 24th I turned 26! And just two days before this John and I celebrated our four year wedding anniversary. We left that Friday for Manzanita and stayed at our Aunt Marcia's beach house. It is such a beautiful home and Manzanita is such a beautiful beach! We spent the night there and had the best pizza ever, Marzano's, when you are in Manzanita you should definitely check it out!! The next we spent the morning at the beach then we left for Tillamook and spent the day and evening with our Aunt Pam and Uncle Mark. It was so good to see there house that they are building. And Pam made us a delicious dinner plus she made me a birthday cake!!! (Love you) It was great just to hang out and I know they loved seeing Carl!

Hanging out on the floor with Carl after the drive!
Enjoying Manzanita at sunset!
And enjoying it in the morning!
Carl hanging out with some of his favorite people!

This month has been filled with lots of love and family!! I couldn't have asked for a better month! Now here is to the rest of summer!

His Giggle is too Cute!!

2010-07-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

Could it Be?! Is That My Baby Boy. . .

2010-06-26T07:07:00.001-07:00

Today my Mr. Man is three months old!!! Where has the time gone? Surely I don't know. The time seems to be flying by. I am enjoying it because I get to enjoy all his new developments. But at the same time I am terrified because I know one day my baby boy will be a walking, talking, educated, mature man! Wow that is hard to swallow. So I must focus on the here and now! Enjoy every minute with him!!!

So what have I been enjoying with my little boy?

1. He laughs! He laughs alot (at first they were airy laughs but now that are getting more squeaky).

2. He wiggles. . .ALOT! Especially during diaper change. He gets so excited when he is naked! It just cracks me up.

3. He smiles all the time and it is the biggest, cutest wide smile ever!4. Our conversations! He loves to talk. He gets so excited talking with people!

5. He is starting to mimic. When Daddy vibrates his lips together he tries to do it back. He has actually succeeded a couple of times.

6. He sleeps like an angel. He sleeps through the night!! He goes down at around 9 or 10 and he sleeps to 6,7, or even 8!!

So those are some highlights of our joys. There are with joys though, some sorrows.

1. He is starting to teethe. He is not happy about this. I feel super bad for the little guy.

2. His diapers are bigger and stinkier. When they say breastfed babies diapers don't smell, that is not the case with our little bug. Woo-eee!!

In addition to Carl turning three months old today he got to hang out with his cousins Reed and Holly for a bit today! But Mr. Carl was a bit of a troublemaker he got kicked out of his first bar today. We went to Amnesia for some food and drinks with the cousins and they kicked him out. So Amnesia hates babies and they have terrible beer! But Carl handled rejection well and we enjoyed some pizza down the street!

So now we head into the fourth month there is alot to look forward. . . maybe some teeth, perhaps rolling from back to front, and who knows what else. But the best part is his cuteness will just get better and better!

Father's Day Weekend!!

2010-06-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

Father's Day Weekend was amazing!!! There were several reasons for celebrations!

1. My Dad was able to come up for a visit. This was his first time meeting Carl his first grandchild!! Carl and my Dad hit it off quite well!! Carl sure did love to smile and laugh at his Papa!

2. It was Carl's Dedication! The dedication took place in our home with our close friends and family. Even though not everyone was able to make it the dedication was amazing. It is such an important decision to promise the Lord we will raise Carl in a godly home and to instruct Him in the ways of the Lord! We really appreciate everyone that was able to be part of the ceremony and appreciate all the prayers and support of those that could not make it.

Elder Perry Mitchell performed the Dedication we are so blessed to have him and his wife in our lives!

3. It was John's first Father's Day!!! His gift was a bit cliche. . . But c'mon, it's McDreamy in a bottle! LOL!! (inside joke *chuckle chuckle*) But the best of his day was this little guy!

4. We did family portraits. In all honesty it was not the best but it was so laughable. Carl was not feeling it, John was in pain, I was tired and my hair was retarded, but of course my Daddy was lookin good and ready! LOL!! So I could have gotten uber frustrated or just rolled with it. I started to go the first route but then I said whatever and realized who cares. So I rolled with it. So here are some of our pictures.

On the Road to Recovery!

2010-06-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

Well it's been almost four weeks since John's accident. Rrrrr. . .hit the brakes! Since I have not blogged about the accident let me give you a quick run down. The Friday of Memorial Weekend (the 28th) John was at work. It was his last work day before the big fishing trip. It was supposed to be a low key day. Well he went to Organically Grown to service their forklift when the unimaginable happened. He needed to take the forklift outside as he was doing that it started to slide. He tried to get out of the way but his left leg didn't quiet make it. So that got smashed in between the forklift and his work truck. OW!!! So John was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Looking at his foot didn't look good. We thought everything was broken. Fortunately only his ankle and leg were broken. Unfortunately he need surgery.

So surgery was back on the 10th. He was looking at needing to get screws and a possible plate. Well fortunately he only needed one screw put in his ankle. The doctor said things are looking pretty stable, and he should be able to go back to work on light duty at the beginning of July! Which will make John happy because he will no longer be stuck tagging along with me to places like hair appointments! :)

Smiles, Laughs, and Milestones Make it a Great Two Months!!

2010-06-02T16:43:00.001-07:00

Well it came and it went really really fast! What am I talking about? None other than my baby boy of course. Back on May 26th he turned two months!!!

Carl is no longer a little blob, he is a little boy developing personality with blobbish tendencies at times.

What did the second month of his life hold for us?

1. He blew out his diaper (more than once) and I would just like to say each time has been while I have held him!

2. He started smiling!!

3. He started laughing!

4. He realized he doesn't like his Daddy's scruff.

5. He can rollover from front to back! (sorry the video is poor quality)

In addition to these things he also got to visit his grandma, Uncle Nick, Aunt Linda, and many others in John Day!He gave his mommy one of the best Mother's Day gifts ever. . . . him!! He also was in my cheering section for graduation.

Carl wrapped up the month with his 2 month well baby appointment. Now for all the mommas out there you know what that means. The fun news first though. His stats!! It's always exciting to go in and get your baby weighed. You watch them grow and grow in front of your eyes and it's really exciting to get an idea of what all that growth is leading to. So as of May 26th Carl weighed in at 11.4lbs!!! And he is 22.7 in long!!

This is what he looked like after they poked him! :(

Carl did great with the shots. He cried for a second but was all better when his Momma picked him up and held him. He slept most of that day. Of course when he was awake he was miserable. But within just a couple of days he was back to normal!!

So there it is, our baby boy is 2 months old!!! As we go into the third month I am excited to see what he does. I don't think he could get any cuter or sweeter!

The Nod

2010-05-27T08:32:00.000-07:00

In society (well at least in America's society) we all belong to groups. And usually we belong to more than one group. The groups can be based on ethnic origin, religion, politics, likes, or dislikes, etc. Usually we belong to more than one group. There are groups we will always belong in but there are groups that just last for a moment. Like in high school you might have been in the "cool kids" group or the thespian group. And of course if you remember high school the groups were unlimited. We usually refer to such groups as cliques, but I don't like that word. Personally for me it has a negative connotation. And I want to use the word group because it is all inclusive to what I am talking about.

Let me get back on track.

Like I said the groups we belong to can last for just a moment, or we are part of them forever. One group I have entered into now is the Mommy group!!

I didn't need to fill out a membership application. I didn't need to know anyone in the group. What got me into the group was having a baby.

The Mommy group is a permanent group. Even when Carl is off and married with children of his own I will still be in the mommy group.

The interesting part of this Mommy group is all the mommies recognize each other. Obviously it is easy to recognize each other when the kids are with us. But there are other signs. Perhaps the stained shirt or blouse. The stains are not noticeable to the naked eye but to the mommy eye they are there. Another sign could be the awareness that a woman walks around with. The awareness of her surroundings and always taking account of where everything is. There can be numerous signs (signs I am still learning and observing). One sign that is the same in all of us is in the eyes. No not the circles underneath from the lack of sleep. But the love that is in them. It is a love that is deep and forever. It is not that giddy love or that twinkle we have for our husband. It is a love that will last forever and nothing can break it. The eye of a mother changed forever when she looked at her baby for the very first time.

At first none of these signs were obvious to me and as I said I am still learning. And I didn't even know I entered into this forever group. What clued me in was the nod. The nod from other women that let's another woman know that she understands. It is a nod of understanding, encouragement, empathy, and support. The nod is not a nod of judgment and it is not confrontational. It is the salute of respect.

It doesn't matter if we know each other or will never know each other. Mothers nod at each other as a symbol of knowing that this journey is forever. Each of us have different techniques and styles but it doesn't matter. The journey is hard but rewarding. I never knew of this journey or group until I had Carl. At first the nods confused me and I didn't understand. But then I realized these nods were exchanges from mother to a mother. A nod that no other woman would notice or understand until she becomes a mother herself.

So as a new mom I would like to give a nod to all the mothers out there. New mothers, mothers of teenagers, and mothers who are now grandmothers. My nod is a hello. My nod is a thank you for accepting me into this group. And my nod is a nod of encouragement and respect!! Here is to us!!

Change of Plans Part One

2010-05-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, everything I wanted to do or did not want to do as a mother has gone out the window.

That is why this subject will come in parts. Because as motherhood continues I am sure there will be something that I initially thought I would do and it will change.

I have realized my plans will not always be the right plan. Carl is doing a good job letting me know that sometimes he has a better idea. And God is definitely telling me that His plan trumps all other plans.

There are two changes that has happened; pacifiers and work.

Regarding pacifiers I was like, "No way." If he is going to cry it is because he wants something like food, changed, or attention. I didn't like the idea of putting something in his mouth just to get him to stop crying.

Well after eight weeks that plan has changed. Carl likes to suck on things, and using my breast as a pacifier started getting a bit too much. John has been trying to help Carl find his fingers and I was like, "Oh no, not a thumbsucker." But oh well. Then there was his crying. It seemed like not matter what we did he would cry. And I shouldn't really say cry, it's more like a whine. Let me say right now, I love my son. I completely adore him and can't get enough of him. But his cry/whine really gets on my nerves. I used to think that made me a bad mom for thinking this, but I am not. So after some lengthy discussion we decided to get him a pacifier. And oh how I have fallen in love! He doesn't want it all the time. But I have learned that Carl wanted something to suck on because it soothed him. And now I have a happier boy!!! So Carl now has a binkie and the world did not implode on itself!

The second plan that changed is work. I always used to say to myself, "I am not a stay at home type. I will love my kid but I love to work too." I learned something about myself. I am not that person. After just four weeks I could not fathom the idea of leaving him. Every time I thought about June 1st I cried a bit on the inside. How could I go back to work and not see Carl!! Well God must have known I would end up like this. He blessed us abundantly. John got a job by mid-April. A job that replaced what I was bringing in plus a little bit more and his benefits start at the beginning of June!!! So an opportunity presented itself and I took it. After meditating on it I finally made the decision and let my job know on May 21st that I would not be coming back. I am going to miss the kids and the wonderful people I work with, but being a mother to Carl is so amazing!!! So I am going to take this summer and stay at home!!! In September I will revisit the idea of going back to work, but as of right now I am going to stay at home!

There it is, my plans changing. And I know for the next 18 years + my plans will always keep changing. But the changes are rewarding and I am learning so much about myself. So stay tuned for the next change of plans. I don't know when they will happen or what plans they will be. But I know it will happen.

All about the milk!!

2010-05-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to breastfeeding!! Oh how I love breastfeeding. . . . NOT!

I don't mean to be sarcastic but I am going to say I do have a love/hate relationship with breastfeeding. It was not what I thought and it always surprises me.

Before I ever got pregnant I knew I was going to breastfeed. The benefits were just far superior to formula. I have nothing against formula because I was given formula and I am pretty phenomenal! :)

After I got pregnant I wanted to learn as much as I could. So I watched my sister in-law she is my breastfeeding superwoman. Kayleen and her girls made it look easy! So I got lots of advice from her and John and I even took a breastfeeding class! I went into breastfeeding with lots of confidence. I was like, "I so got this."

But then I fell, and I fell far and hard. Carl was born and the poor guy couldn't latch on. Let's just say I have a lot going on. But have no fear the wonderful ladies of the St. Vincent's Lactation team came to the rescue. They introduced to us a nipple shield!! Oh, how I fell in love with the nipple shield.

Before we left the hospital though the doctors made sure to freak us out about his jaundice. They wanted me to supplement with formula because his jaundice was so bad. Talk about sending us home in a panic. When we went to our lactation appointment the midwife continued to freak us out. So needless to say that night we made a bottle of formula. There it was. The bottle just taunting me. I was crying and I felt miserable. After a mini-freakout I got myself together and I said, "No!" I will keep nursing him and everything will be okay. We followed up with a pediatrician and sure enough she said he would be fine!! I am so glad I did not give him the formula.

So we survived jaundice and we continued on our happy way. I went through my engorgement period and I survived. But I still noticed we were on the nipple shield. Carl was comfortable and I was like fine. But one day I tried to latch him on with out it and it worked!!!

There we were breastfeeding perfectly. Everything was great! We survived the first six weeks and everything was perfect.

But this is no fairytale. Just this past week it seemed like my milk supply was getting low. Wednesday morning I pumped out a 5 oz. bottle in ten minutes. Thursday afternoon I couldn't pump anything. Carl was eating every hour or less, and it just seemed like he wasn't getting enough. And to be honest my boobs felt empty. I was in panic mode!!! I could not believe I was reaching the end. I again started to cry. I thought everything was finally going to be perfect and this happened. Here it was, the end.

Thanks to facebook I got some amazing encouragement. Saturday morning Jennifer came over and brought me some Mother's Milk Tea (which is super yummy). She talked with me for a bit and I felt super better. So for the weekend I went on a nursing marathon (every two hours), I have been drinking the tea and eating oatmeal.

Needless to say everything is back to normal. Talked to lactation; he is getting enough and my ducts are fine. So who knows what happened. Maybe I was getting to comfortable and my body was like, "Let's freak her out."

So here I am breastfeeding comfortably again, but I am not naive anymore. I know there will be some difficulties too come. Growth spurts, teething, teeth, and whatever else.

Now we just need to get comfortable breastfeeding in public (definitely not as easy as I thought it would be).

The love/hate relationship will continue. Love the benefits and the bonding, hate the complications and the unknown.

So for all you breastfeeding mommas out there you are amazing and I want you to know this. And for all the future mommas breastfeeding is the best but I will not lie to you; it's not easy and can be down right awful at times. But hang in there!!!

Taking the path to discover my roots

2010-05-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

I have a strong desire to know my lineage. Doing the research and genealogy was never an interest to me until now. I think having a son now I want to know so I can share with him. Fortunately my husband's aunt conducted all the leg work on his father's side. Because of ancestry.com I have discovered a lot on his mom's side. I just need to pow-wow with his aunts to get more information. As for me my mother's side is easy to research and a lot of it has already been done.

But that is it. My father's side is a struggle and I am hitting road blocks. Tracing my Black roots is difficult because due to slavery names were changed and census information is not necessarily always accurate.

I really would love to know what part of Africa my lineage is from. Thankfully science has come quite a longs ways. We can now send our DNA off and they can tell a lot from a DNA as to where we are from and what our make up is. So I was hoping all I needed to do was swab my cheek and voila all would be revealed. But since science is so complex I found out I cannot swab my cheek to find my African ancestry because that comes from my paternal side. The lady I talked to was so nice because she said, "All you need to do is have your father, brother, or a paternal uncle take the test." Unfortunately she did not know my situation.

After I hung up the phone I cried. What she did not know is that was not as simple as it sounded. When it comes to biology I don't know who my father is. I know who my Dad is, he is amazing and I love him to death. But at the age of 13 I got earth shattering news. The man I had met and come to love was not my biological father. But because my Dad is an amazing person he did not care what a test said and he continued being my Dad.

So here I am at the age of 25 still asking, "Where do I come from?" I stand at this path and I ask myself do I want to go down it? Do I want to go through the pain?

The answer is I do. Because at the end of the path is answers and in a sense there will be sense of completeness for me.

As is I start down this path I know it will be long and it will take time due to money and science. But I am full of anticipation to what waits for me along this journey. So here I go. . . .

To Grandmother's House We Go!

2010-05-16T20:34:00.001-07:00

This weekend Carl got to meet his Grandma!! We ventured and took the 5 hour drive to John Day by the teeth and owned it!!!

This was a long trip for Carl, but he did okay. He definitely got cranky on the way back but on the way there he was an angel. He slept most of the time which actually worked out great because he was so alert for his visit.

The visit was even more amazing because John's mom was having a good day! She was alert and recognized John. She even seemed happy to see Baby Carl. And of course John was able to get his Mom to laugh. I am just so happy that we were able to make this memory. I was able to get some pictures for Carl's book.

Turns out Carl was quite a little celebrity in John Day. Many people were excited to meet him and are excited to have another Carl (his great-grandpa went by Carl). As Carl's mom it was so amazing to see how many people love him and care about him. He is going to have an amazing support system in his life!!! I am just so excited to share with Carl his family history as he gets older.

1st Mother's Day!!

2010-05-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day was amazing!! I am a MOM!! And I have a son!!! It just was so amazing to hold my son and really think about how I am his mom and will be the rest of his life. I am the one that holds him when he wants to be held. I am the one that feeds him when he is hungry. I am the one that he sees when he wakes up. I am the one he sees when he falls asleep. I will be the one that kisses his hurts away. I will be the one that he will get mad at, but will be there when he is no longer mad. I will be the one that will love him no matter what!!

So what I did I do for my first Mother's Day?

Went to church and got to witness my dear friend Timisha baptize her little girl!!! After church John and I went to the waffle shack and enjoyed my favorite waffle (peanut butter and sausage, YUM!!) Then I went to lunch with Timisha for a Mother's Day lunch! Came home took a nap. Then my hubby took me to Newport Bay (YUM!!)

The best part about the day? Coming home and laying down with my little boy!!!

GRADUATED!!!

2010-05-11T10:23:00.001-07:00

WOOT WOOT!! After almost four long years and a major change I have graduated from college!! On Saturday, May 8th I graduated from Warner Pacific College receiving a Bachelor's of Science in Human Development.

After hundreds of papers, a few dozen all nighters, and a lot of take-out my college journey is done (for now). I met some amazing people along the way, and have made a lot of new friends that I know I will keep for a lifetime. There is nothing I would trade for what I have experienced the last few years. And I really have to thank my husband! He was so supportive, patient, loving, and encouraging through the whole process. Now that it is over I am excited to start making dinners again. :) And I also would like to thank my little boy. I know he is too young to understand right now, but he inspired me to finish. After having him I finished the last month with the motivation of completing to provide better things for him. Looking at him makes me want to do the best in life!! I love you guys!!

Now that I have graduated what are my plans? Well as of right now I am going to just hang out with my little boy! I have decided to just relax this summer. In the fall I will venture out and see what is out there. Ideally I would like to work for DHS. But for right now I am just going to focus on my family.

Update on Carl's Diagnosis

2010-05-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

Carl saw the pediatric neurosurgeon back on the 7th of May. It was a follow up appointment for the CT Scan. Dr. Wheby saw nothing of concern in his CT Scan!! She told me she is not worried and therefore I should not worry. His measurements are great. His head is still in the 50th percentile and he is reaching his developmental milestones on time. She will wants to see him back in August just to remeasure his head and take a look at him.

So we just want to say PRAISE GOD!!! He is the Healer and Comforter!! We are so thankful for all of your prayers!

(Just click on the title to read our post back on January 12th to read on his diagnosis)

Already a month?

2010-04-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

Carl is a month old!! Seriously, a month old!

The past month has been super exciting and has been quite a learning experience.

I have learned that everything I thought I would do or be as a mother has been thrown out the window. I knew nothing and I am now learning somethings. And who is my teacher? My Baby Carl. He is teaching me how to be his mom. As soon as I realized that things became easier.

You see I am a perfectionist and an overachiever so I wanted to be the all out perfect mom. What that meant to me was; breastfeeding would come naturally, and I would love every second.

HAHAHA!! Yeah right. Breastfeeding is amazing, but it has not come without assistance. I never took into account that I might be too much for my baby. Thank God for nipple shields. I have heard nipple shields get a bad rap, but who cares. It is working for us and frankly he could stay on it until he's 12! LOL! But seriously it has helped tremendously and as he gets bigger it's a bit easier for him

Now loving every second of motherhood has not quite happened either. I get tired and I have realized that is okay. I like going on runs and to school without him, and I have learned that is okay.

The biggest lesson I have learned thus far is I cannot compare myself to other mothers. Why? Because they are not Carl's mom. I am. Loving him, listening to him, and being there for him is all I need to do.

Before I end this post, let me share with you what has been fascinating for me and John this first month.

1. His poop! The noises it makes is quite hilarious. We are just fascinated by how loud and how much he can poop. I am sure in time the novelty will wear thin on us.

2. His pee! He is a pee monster! There are days that every time we go to change him he will pee on his face or us. And the distance his pee has is pretty amazing!

3. Watching him sleep. He does not like to be swaddled he stretches and stretches until he get's himself out of it. Afterwards he is perfectly content and likes to put his hands over his face. He just makes the most adorable faces and poses when he sleeps.

4. Tummy time. He works really hard to lift his head and in the process his back legs will lift up too, so essentially he looks like he is break dancing!

5. He is smart! He is great at distinguishing who Mommy is and who Daddy is. He knows how Mommy feeds him, so when I am at school he does a great job taking a bottle from Daddy. But taking a bottle from Mommy is out of the question. He gives me a weird look then turns his face into my chest. His face says, "Give me the boobie!"

So the first month has passed. He is getting big and developing quite a personality!
The journey ahead of us is going to be amazing and I know I just need to buckle up and enjoy the ride!!

Welcome Mr. Carl

2010-04-02T22:16:00.000-07:00

John Carlton Driskill IV was born March 26h, 2010!!

To set everyone on the record, we will be calling him Carl. Deciding what to call him was the dilemma since finding out we were having a boy. We already knew if we were having a boy we would name him after John. Then the next step was figuring out what to call him. John is John and for those of you that do not know this he is also known as JC. Growing up he was called JC because his Dad was John. So I decided I did not want to call our son John, and John said no initials. So that left his middle name. We sat with this for awhile because we did quite know yet. Then John's Aunt Linda sent out a book of the whole family genealogy. I found it quite interesting to read on my husband's family. In the book there are quite a few pictures. There is one particular picture in there of John's grandfather, John Carlton the first who went by Carl (who died before John/JC was born), as soon as I saw it I knew instantly that our son would be called Carl just like his great-grandfather.

So here I present to you Carl!

Born: March 26th, 2010
@ 5:29 pm
Weight: 6lbs 5 oz
Length: 19.75 in.

Now for the story.

If you remember my previous post "I Will Survive" I talked about being put on bed rest for Gestational Hypertension. So that is what I did, rested. My doctor wanted to see me that Thursday so it had only been a couple of days. As we were leaving for the appointment John asked if we should bring the bags. I said, "No this is just a follow up for my blood pressure and NST. And since I have been down for the last few days everything will be fine."

Boy oh boy was I wrong. After the NST Dr. Martinez-Poyer (amazing doctor by the way) was like I am going to send you across the street (St. Vincent's) and we're going to get you started to have this baby. So there it was; anything else that needed to be done would have to wait. There was not much longer before I would no longer just be Aimee, a wife-daughter-sister, I would Aimee a mother then a wife-daughter-sister.

So we went straight in, skipped past all the triage waiting stuff, and into our room. They started the inducement process around 11 am (I won't go into details about what they did). By midnight I was in active labor. My doctor came in around 8 am and broke my water (that was an interesting feeling). He checked in with me and I was still going with natural childbirth, after all I had been surviving for the past eight hours. Well. . . around 9 am I demanded an epidural. Do I regret it? No, tried natural it was painful. God created amazing people that developed amazing medicine.

After the epidural I was able to get some rest and everything moved quickly. By 4:20 I started pushing and at 5:29 Mr. Carl made his entrance. The emotions were so overwhelming. I cried, I laughed, and I praised God. The most amazing part was that first look at him. Every image I had imagined was shattered by the perfectness I saw. No image I could have made up would compare to God's creation. There he was Carl, my son. For the rest of my life my son. I his mother. As soon as they laid him on my chest he stopped crying and we just looked at each other. Nothing will ever make me forget that moment. The love I have for him is unexplainable. I have never felt this type of love.

Through out the whole labor and delivery John was right by side. Giving me words of encouragement. The look on his face when he saw his son was amazing. I do not know the exact emotions that he felt but at that moment we entered into parenthood together. Our love grew deeper that day.

And now we enter into a whole new journey.

I Will Survive? Yes. . .

2010-03-23T21:13:00.000-07:00

Well here I am, sitting, here. Sitting and laying here I must stay. I have been put on restricted bed-rest! Oh joy!

So here is the lowdown. This whole pregnancy I have had the epitome of perfect blood pressure and health. Seriously my blood pressure was always down in the 120's. Then the past week and a half my blood pressure decided to start being not so nice. No worries, nothing above 160. But in the high 140's. Since I have an amazing doctor he discussed some concern of preeclampsia. He knows my body and health so the increase in blood pressure had him slightly concerned. Hours at work were reduced, instead of 40 hours a week I was going to work 30 hours. No big deal, I actually enjoyed it. However I noticed this past week I was feeling dizzy and lightheaded, nothing abnormal for pregnancy, but slightly annoying. Kept track of my blood pressure and noted it to be in the 140's. On Saturday I saw nice little floating spots in front of my eyes, oh great.

On Monday I saw my doctor and told him what was going on and of course my blood pressure at the office was not good. So he sent me to the hospital to do some tests for preeclampsia. Well my blood pressure wouldn't stabilize so they decided to admit me. The plan was to continue testing and if I came back as preeclamptic they would induce me. I of course was nervous, but John of course was excited. He is definitely ready to meet our son.

Well after a long day and night of peeing into a large container, that's right they collected all my accumulated pee from 12 hours, it came back that I am not preeclamptic. But I am walking the line, got diagnosed with gestational hypertension. So they sent me home where I have to stay on bed-rest until my 39th week. If I have not gone into labor on my own by the 39th week they will induce.

So even though the situation is not ideal it's just a short amount of time until we get to meet Baby Carl. To give you a quick update on Baby Carl; he is doing great. He is weighing in at 6 lbs. 9 oz. and he is in the position he needs to be to come out. I am dilated at 2 and there is effacement going on (don't remember the number). So maybe he will come on his own!!

In the meantime what will I do to survive the next week and a half in bed? Here is the list I have compiled:

Finish Thank You Notes
Do as much homework as possible
Go through a stack of paperwork that has been waiting for me
Watch The Office series consecutively
And try not to lose my mind.

If anyone has other ideas, just shoot them my way!

Feeling Accomplished

2010-03-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

Over the last few days I have been a purchasing and cleaning machine!! My bathroom is probably the cleanest it has ever been, out of all the bathrooms that I have owned or rented, this by far is the cleanest. And I have been turning my hubby into a cleaning machine too. He was even sweet enough to go and take Lola to get detailed. After I saw it I said, "Yep I can bring a baby home in this." Haha, what is wrong with me? LOL! Over the last few days we have bought a lot too, but leave it to me to go and find the deals. I must say I am impressed with our savvy shopping.

But as the time is approaching I feel accomplished. There are still a few things that I want done before Baby Carl gets here, but at this moment if he decided to make a surprise appearance I would be okay with that. (Don't get any ideas Carl!)

I had my weekly check up today. As usual Carl is bouncing all over the place when they are trying to do the NST. I find it rather amusing. I love getting a glimpse of his personality. They told me my weight is good and healthy. I find it rather funny everyone says I look good but at this moment I feel huge. I tried to convince the doctor there was something wrong with my cankle situation and there had to be something they could do. Nope, nothing. The elevation and water is all they can recommend but the Doc said those methods don't necessarily work for every woman. I guess I am not an every woman. But by the end of this appointment I still felt an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. I am at 1 cm!! I know that is nothing, but to me that tells me my "girl stuff" and Carl are doing what they are supposed to be doing.

This is all for now. To tide you over to next time below is a pic of my hugeness. :)

Is it time yet?

2010-03-13T13:57:00.000-08:00

Is it time yet? LOL! No, not yet. But I have come to the conclusion I cannot get any bigger! And the swelling is horrendous. I drink massive amounts of water, I ice, I elevate, but nothing works!! I hope after I have the baby the swelling will go away. And I have decided there are not enough hours in the day. I feel like there is so much I need to do before he gets here. The scary part is I have an intuition that he is going to get here sooner than I think. We’ll see how my appointment goes on Monday.
Speaking of appointments we met with Dr. Wehby back on Wednesday (the pediatric neurosurgeon). John and I absolutely love her. She has a presence about her that is very relaxing and calming. And she has an accent that originates from Texas. So her personality and how she talked to us just set us at ease. She is not concerned about Baby Carl. Matter of fact she doesn’t really pay attention to mm measurements because she says everyone’s brains are different. This is something John pointed out at the beginning back in November with the first initial visit. Dr. Wehby talked to us about what she will do. After Baby Carl is born she will come to the hospital and check him out. He will need to get a cat scan. My initial worry was right after his birth they would whisk him away to run tests. She said the tests would most likely be conducted the next day or later that day. The only reason he would be whisked away is if there was something wrong. She said at this time it does not sound like he needs a shunt. She still discussed what that would entail if he did though. I was rather shocked to find out that it’s not that invasive and if he did need a shunt he would have it for the rest of his life but there would be no hindrances. He would still carry out a normal healthy life. So at this time it definitely seems like Baby Carl is going to be okay. He is in the care of some amazing people, (Dr. Martinez-Poyer, Dr. Wehby, and of course me and John, lol).
So I am now 36 weeks!! Baby Carl will be joining us soon!! I will have a post shortly after this to show you my belly!!

Ultrasound pics from 2/22

2010-02-27T21:00:00.001-08:00

Look at my lips!!!

Gettin big!!

And of course, John's favorite pic. . .

Update on Baby Carl!!

2010-02-27T12:52:00.000-08:00

The update is here. The doctor’s appointment on February 22nd has come and gone. First and foremost I want to thank you all for the prayers and encouragement for Baby Carl. This child truly is loved by so many and I can’t wait for him to meet everyone and feel that love surround him every day of his life.

I want to say I felt little to no anxiety right before the appointment. God really gave us peace knowing that no matter what the doctor was going to say that it is Him that decides all things. So this appointment wasn’t filled with foreboding or doom. The appointment held excitement for me because I got to see him. Baby Carl is getting big!! He weighed approximately 4 lbs and 12 oz. and we still got six weeks to go!! Our Dr. says he is definitely at a healthy size.

Then the real reason for our visit became the focus. Baby Carl didn’t want to really cooperate though. He only wanted to show one side of his head. So ladies you know what that meant? I had to get the wand. Definitely not pleasant, but the outcome was pleasant. The ventricles did not grow!!! One vent is still at 17mm and the other reduced to 16.8 mm. The doctor was extremely pleased. He was honest with us and said he expected it to go up because of the drastic change we saw in January. He also got a good look at the corpus callosum. With a ventricuolomegaly diagnosis the callosum is usually affected by the dilated ventricles, but Baby Carl’s corpus callosum is completely healthy!! So my doctor’s opinion is that his condition is stable. We still have to meet with the pediatric neurosurgeon but he is confident that she won’t recommend surgery!!! They will check his vent size one more time before delivery on March 22nd. We are going to keep praying for perfect health for Baby Carl. The vents didn’t grow and one showed a decrease so we are going to ask God for further decrease!! All things are declared in the name of Jesus!!!

I have no ultrasound pics for this post because they are on the other computer. So I will have a follow up post to this to show you our cute boy. John is particularly proud of one of the pics. You will see why, lol!

But in the meantime we thank all of you for the prayers and encouragement. And let’s keeping praying for Baby Carl!!

Love John, Aimee, and Baby Carl!!

Thoughts and emotions of a prego lady!

2010-02-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

So yep, I am 31 weeks pregnant and I feel like I can't get any bigger. But I will, I know, but I don't want to know.

This blog is just going to be a bunch of random things; ranging from my own thoughts to what people have said, and so forth.

First, there is this interesting dichotomy taking place in my life right now. I am either really tiny, or I am huge. Here are the things I have heard from friends, family, and even strangers (if you are someone that has said something to me, please don't be offended as I am not. I am just musing).

"Wow you are so tiny, when are you gonna get bigger.?"
"Oh wow, you got really big." (this was followed by what seemed like nervous laughter)
"You're gonna pop, are you sure you're not carrying twins?"
"There is just one in there right?"
"It looks like you've still got a ways to go[after finding out how far along I am]. He's gonna be a tiny little guy."
"Are you eating enough, you seem small?" (courtesy of a complete stranger)
"Your belly is so big, it's crazy!"

So pretty much I am either big or tiny. Is it possible to be both? Only in perceptions. As for me and how I feel. . . I FEEL HUGE!!! I feel I am carrying around a house (or I am a house). But I will be honest and say I love looking at pics of myself being pregnant. I feel like I am getting huge, but when I look at my pictures I see a big belly but that is it, I am all belly (in my opinion and few others anyways) if you don't agree, keep that to yourself, please.

Then there is the most amazing thing that is taking place right now. MOVEMENT!! Towards the end of the second trimester to now there is definite movement!! More movement then just flutters. There are kicks, punches, and possible head butts, lol! These are the emotions and thoughts I have had thus far.

Awe
Amazement
Joy
Tickled (actually tickled, there is one spot just under my ribs on the right side that just makes me giggle when he moves over there.)
Pain (sometimes those punches and kicks come with a lot of force)
Creeped out (yes, when I watch my stomach there are times I literally see him push really hard like he is trying to come out of my stomach. Have you seen Alien?)
Amused
Irritated (at times when he haves himself a little disco party in there, I would like to sleep, but he is already showing me we work on his time not my time)
Worried (mostly this past week, his movement decreased for a little bit. Kick counts still good, but there wasn't alot of umph like there was before. So I became concerned, but now he seems back to normal. Another emotion he is just trying to have me realize will be prevalent for the rest of his life.)

Those are just some emotions I can identify. The whole experience to feel him move inside me makes me feel so close to him. There is this bond that just seems unbreakable and strong. Sometimes when he is not moving because he is sleeping I actually miss him. It's weird to explain.

Here are some other things that have gone through mind or have felt.

I want to be the best I can be for him.
Protective (because of my job and what I do, there have unfortunately been some threats made to my unborn child. Outwardly I stay calm and handle the situation like I am supposed to, but internally I am ready to pounce! LITERALLY)
There are things that I thought were so important, that now are just trivial.

So that is it so far. I am sure I have left alot out but hey the mind of mother is constantly cycling and emotions are constantly strong. I just want to say I have had a few people that have told me they are sorry that I have had such a rough pregnancy, and I do appreciate that sympathy. However, it's okay. I wouldn't want a re-do. This is Carl and mine's journey. It's the beginning of our relationship and I wouldn't want it any either way. I love him and I am ready to be his mom. I wouldn't trade in the nausea, vomiting, symphysis pubis dysfunction, and even his diagnosis because it's all part of our journey together. I am so excited to meet my little guy, just need to wait nine more weeks!!!!

Thank you!!

2010-01-18T23:28:00.000-08:00

This post is for all of you and all about you!!!

John and I feel so incredibly encouraged, supported, and loved!! We thank all of you for your prayers.

This week was definitely one of the slowest ever but it wasn't spent in agony or despair. We feel very assured that we did the right thing by sharing what is going on. Family, friends, and even strangers have said the most encouraging things.

I found a forum online at i-am-pregnant.com that caters specifically to parents who are or have been through this diagnosis. The stories have been uplifting and provides a support to me and John. No, we don't know of these people but it is comforting to know that we are not the only ones out there.

This past week has been a test of faith for us (and we know this journey will continue to be a test of faith) but I know now more than ever God is taking us through this for a reason. I was given a scripture this evening Ecclesiastes 7:14 (NIV) "When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future."

God created good times and bad, and I know it's easy to be happy when things are good. I think we all find it easier to be happy when things are going right. But God did create the bad. Not as a punishment but to give us perspective. I don't know God's plan or understand His ways all the time. But I do know if He is bringing us to it, He will bring us through it.

Again we just want to say thank you. Family, friends, and strangers we do love you and appreciate the support.

Update on Baby Carl

2010-01-12T16:43:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this email is an update on Baby Carl. John and I wanted to fill everyone in on what is going because we know how much he is already loved and right now he needs lots of love and prayer sent his way.

Back in November we had our gender ultrasound. During that time they thought his kidneys were a bit dilated and they were not able to get all the views of his heart like they wanted to. So our OB doctor referred us to NW Perinatal Center to do a follow up ultrasound. November 23rd was our first appointment. At this appointment they found his kidneys were fine and they conducted an eco on his heart, this too yielded a positive result (that being good, everything was fine). However they did find he had mild ventriculomegaly. Ventriculomegaly is a condition in which the ventricular system of the brain is enlarged. His measurements were at 15 mm. The doctor discussed our options including conducting an amnio so we could make the decision on termination. Of course that is not even an option for us! The doctor discussed that this abnormality could be caused by an infection, chromosomal abnormality like Downs, or be nothing. They drew my blood to see if there was an infection and there was not. So the doctor had us follow back up in seven weeks to re-measure the ventricles.

Our appointment was this past Monday January 11th. Unfortunately the ultrasound showed that the measurement increased to 17mm, now moving the diagnosis from mild to moderate ventriculomegaly. This is now eliminating the doctor’s option of this being nothing. At this appointment they discussed also that his kidneys are slightly dilated they are supposed to be at 6mm, and they are measuring at 7mm. He isn’t too worried about the kidneys but they are going to keep an eye on that now too. They are not too worried about it being a chromosomal abnormality; there is only a 5% chance of that being the issue. We can do an amnio in March or he can be tested for that after he is born. We have a follow up on February 22nd. That might seem far away and you might be wondering why we are not getting seen more often. The fact is though, there is nothing they can do inutero. In addition to our follow up in February they have referred us to Dr. Monica Wehby a Pediatric Neurosurgeon. She will look at the images and discuss with us what Baby Carl might need done after he is born. Our doctor through NW Perinatal talked a bit with us that he might need a shunt to drain the fluid after he is born. (At the end of this you will find a hyperlink to an article on ventriculomegaly in case you want to read on it).

As you can imagine this is very scary for us because there is still so much that we don’t know yet. There are many emotions that we are cycling through. Despite the emotions and any crazy thoughts that might go through our head we are leaning on God in this. We are remembering God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Even in this crisis we are going through God has a plan for me, John, and even Baby Carl. God knows Carl more than we do and He is still forming and creating him. Through this whole experience God keeps whispering in my soul, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.” God is the final authority and we need to trust in Him.

We are asking everyone to pray for complete health for Carl. We believe in miracles and we believe God is greater than medical technology. In addition could you please pray for me and John that during this time we stay connected and lean on God? Let us not lean on our own understanding and trust the Lord throughout all of this. (Proverbs 3:5)

We love all of you so much and we thank you for the support.

Here is an article from the Children's Hospital in Boston. Ventriculomegaly

Last post of the year, a blog of reflection!

2009-12-31T23:51:00.000-08:00

Wow-wee!! Sorry guys its been over a month since my last blog. Let me be honest, I just haven't wanted to. It's not that there is nothing to talk about it's just another thing I put on my things to do and frankly that list is just super long.

Alot has been going on for us the last month. Lots of evaluating and decision making has happened. I'm telling you having a baby changes everything. And that is everything. Not just finances, and social life. But how you view life and you evaluate all your relationships. And it is also a new year soon, and with an end of a year there is evaluation. I think I just got an overload (which I needed).

So honestly there has been a lot of "a-ha" moments for me. It's been empowering but also saddening at the same time. I can honestly say I don't think I have cried this much in such a short amount of time ever. Even in my childhood. I have been scared, excited, disappointed, heartbroken, and empowered all within a span of a month.

Being scared and excited are emotions that I feel together. In just a few short months I am going to be a mother!! Like my friend said I already am a mom, but in a few short months he will be out of my womb and in my arms!!! That excites me but there is definite anticipation and nervousness. I am not scared to be a mom but I am scared of the process. Yes I am scared of labor. I am scared that I am going to chicken out. Even if I do it doesn't matter. It's a natural process. When the baby is ready to come out it's going to come out. But it's the pain aspect. I am not one that shies away from pain and I have been in some serious physical pain in my life. But this is going to be different. Obviously. I heard this is normal and it will be an up and down emotion for me. Thank God I have such supportive people in my life!!

Disappointment and heartbreak has come together for me too. This disappointment and heartbreak has also empowered me though to set boundaries and has enabled me to walk away. The pain of broken relationships has come to the forefront in the past couple of months but just within the last couple days I have realized I can break the cycle and no longer put myself in that path. Shockingly I realized I brought the pain on myself because I had expectations that I knew would never be met. People in our lives represent who they are and when they show consistently who they are it is unfair to expect change or demand change. However, I can change how I am. And I am choosing to do better for myself and set a better example for my son. It's okay to love and care for people but we don't have to put our own emotional health in harms way to love people.

As you know this is the end of the year and a New Year is right upon us (30 minutes for me) and I am blessed to have gone through what I have the past month. I have realized my value as a person and what I want for the future. In the past I have known what I need to do, but now I am empowered to take action. Like I told a friend tonight I have closed a book in my life, not a chapter but a book. This book should have ended along time ago but I made the choice to leave it open and try to write more chapters. And it is clear to see the chapters were unnecessary and I was just dragging it on and on. I didn't want to let go. Have you ever read a book or watched a movie that dragged on too long? My book should have ended five chapters ago. So now it has there is an end. And while I am sad and its going to be hard not to pick it up again I feel at peace. God has been trying to show me for so long and I didn't follow.

John made a big change just within the past week also. He made the decision to close the business. He worked long and hard but the closing doesn't bring us loss. It brought lessons, maturity, and growth. John has a new perspective and was grateful for the experience having his own business brought him. I am super proud of him, as I know all of you are.

So there is my last post for the year. I wish you all an amazing 2010!!! And let's pray for Baby Carl who is already a promised blessing for 2010!!! Thank you all for your support!!! Remember put God first and all other things will fall in place!

Here is a belly update, yes I am gettin big! LOL! (taken last week @ 25 weeks)

20 weeks and counting!!!

2009-11-18T20:39:00.001-08:00

Updating just to update! LOL! Today marks 20 weeks!! Now for those of you that might be tracking this closely and has kept up to date on the due date, you might be wondering why I am posting today. That is because they moved my due date from the 9th to the 7th. I didn't find it to be that big of a deal, but the Dr. said the ultrasound gives the most accurate due date. So it has been changed. Does it really matter? No. The baby will most likely not come on that day, after all only 5% of expectant mothers give birth on there actual due date.

So there have been questions on his name. We have no problem sharing this because I am not worried of anyone stealing it, and I know everyone will be nice. Even if you don't like the name you will be nice because that is the socially appropriate thing to do. So anyway his name is:

John Carl Driskill IV

That's right, he will be the fourth!!! So now you are thinking are we going to call him John? Perhaps John Junior? Or perhaps will use initials? All of these thoughts will be incorrect. Not going to call him John, because John is John or to his family he is JC. Which means we are not using initials either, mainly because John doesn't like initials. And John Junior is just too much. So what name will we say everyday for the rest of his life, or until he tells us otherwise?

Carl

John's grandfather, the original John Carl Driskill, went by Carl. He unfortunately never got the opportunity to meet his grandfather. But his aunt created this amazing book that goes over the genealogy of his family. With that comes pictures, I like old black and white pictures. There is a picture (a few actually) of his grandfather and he seemed like a wise, confident, intelligent man. And I think it would be nice to have the name Carl back in the family. Anyway the point I am making is the name Carl is good name that isn't used too much anymore. It's a strong name. It also means strong one. And in my personal opinion I don't think they are talking neccesarily about physical strength. I think they are talking about character. So anyway that is what our little boy's name!!

Our little blob is now our little. . . .

2009-11-08T15:56:00.000-08:00

So the big day was this past Friday!! That was the day we were finding out if we were having a baby boy or baby girl.

The day started off really early for me; 5am!!! The appointment was for 730am and you needed to check in 15-30 minutes early. You also needed to show up with a full bladder. There idea of a full bladder is 32 oz of water! By the time I finished 20 oz I was done!!! Before I was pregnant when I had a full bladder I toughed it out, but this made me nervous because my baby likes my bladder, the feeling is not mutual. So the whole time I waited I thought I was going to pee my pants. After what felt like an eternity the technician called us back.

Then the fun began my stomach was slathered with the nice cold jelly and then the pictures began. Unfortunately I had to wait another long eternity while he looked at the placenta and other stuff blah blah. Then he measured/listened to the heartbeat; 154 bpm!! Then I saw my baby!! All curled up and most likely sleeping. It just amazed how much growth there was since our last ultrasound. The technician looked at all the important features, heart, head, kidneys, spine, diaphragm, etc. Then he started to look for the anatomy. That took forever!! Our baby didn't want to show us. I changed positions and it still didn't want to cooperate. The technician said he was pretty sure he knew what it was but he wanted a better picture because the umbilical cord was down there. Then the baby decided to put it's hands down there. But finally the technician got the picture he needed.

As soon as he typed that up there I thought John was going to dance, jump, and do cartwheel! If there would have been the space he might have! LOL!! So while I look at the picture and don't really get it I am just happy to know so I can start planning!!! I am so excited to show our son the amazing world of basketball and football!! John is excited to show our son the amazing world of cars, destruction, dirt biking, and giving me a heart attack!! LOL!!!

Ever since the appointment I have been on cloud nine!! I can't stop looking at my little guy.
I haven't even really seen him yet and I already think he is absolutely amazing and beautiful!!!

Now as far as the contest goes; I want to thank everyone for playing. The turn out was awesome!!! 41 people entered 21 guessed boy and 20 guessed girl! Pretty even. However, the boy guess won and out of those entries our cousin Chris won!!!

So there he is everyone!! Be ready to play in the next contest that will start around end of March!! GUESS THE SIZE (pounds & inches)!!

GUESS THE SEX!!!

2009-11-01T14:33:00.000-08:00

All righty boys and girls it's time to enter into a little contest called GUESS THE SEX.

Pretty self explanatory but let me explain how it works.

Contact me through my blog, email, facebook, phone, or however you want. Tell me if you think we are having a boy or girl.____________________________

From there I will enter your name in the boy basket or the girl basket. ALL SUBMISSIONS NEED TO BE MADE BY THIS THURSDAY!!!

The next day (FRIDAY!!!) we will be finding out what we are having. Based on that I will go to whichever basket is the one then randomly draw a name out. The name selected will receive an awesome small gift. I will contact the winner that day!!

So there it is. Have fun and play the contest. The rules are simple: just guess by this Thursday, oh and there is no bribing of either me or John.

Again, ALL SUBMISSIONS NEED TO BE MADE BY THIS THURSDAY!!!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Bladder Bed

2009-10-19T10:44:00.000-07:00

We went to our check-up today!! The baby's heartbeat can now be heard, it's quite amazing actually. Only problem is my doctor had some difficulty finding our little one this morning. She is moving the stick around and just couldn't find it. We talked about last week when I went in (for the leaking, which turned out to be my bladder). She noted that last week they found the heartbeat with no problem. Despite the difficulty I remained calm because I am learning a bit about my little one's personality. It likes to be difficult and is one for the dramatics, lol!!.

The Dr. moved the wand a little lower and then a little lower and there it was, the heartbeat! Right on top of my bladder!! My baby has been quite comfortable there for a week now. After talking to my mom last week there is a chance this is a permanent home. When she was pregnant with me I camped out on her bladder the entire time.

So I have decided there must be something really comfortable about my bladder. Perhaps because I am always drinking water it is squishy and it likes it. I wish I could just ask our little one what is so enjoyable about it but it will be it's little secret. John finds it quite hilarious when I sneeze or move and I go, "Oh crap, I will be right back." He offered to buy me Depends. My response was a glare and a bunch in the arm.

That is how our little one is doing. It has made my bladder a bed for itself. So the check up went well. The baby is fine. I too am alright for the most part. I need to eat more protein and my next appointment they will be checking my glucose. It's a bit early to be doing it but because of family history and some slight concerns now we are going to look into it.

Before I end this blog you are probably all wondering when and if we will be finding out the sex. Yes, yes we will. We are all about supporting gender identity and roles in society. So on November 6th we will find out!!!! In just a few weeks our little one will no longer be it or baby. It will have a name (yes we already have names). So be on the lookout for that update.

Anyway for now John & Aimee + Baby are doing quite well!!

15 weeks going on 16!

Joys of Pregnancy!

2009-10-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

I will probably have lots of joys that I will share along the way. Some will be genuine others will be sarcastic. Hopefully my tone never comes across as resentful or annoyed because in all honesty I am super happy that I am going to have a baby, but sometimes the journey there isn't so pleasant.

An amazing joy is knowing that each day the baby is doing something new! And for me it is amazing how just overnight my belly expands.

Speaking of an expanding belly; with that comes the joy of stretchmarks. Not all people experience this but I knew before I was even pregnant I would get stretchmarks. Last night my first one appeared. It was the strangest feeling actually. I got this crazy crazy itch! I will note that I didn't scratch instead I went to find the lotion and as I stood up all the sudden there was this feeling of release. I looked down and there it was, one sole stretchmark. At first it bummed me out and then I was like hey this is just another joy of pregnancy. And while it seems a bit unflattering and depressing the overall picture makes it better.

One joy that I was not expecting was the hair. Everyday I am plucking one or two dark noticeable hairs from my chin line! But that isn't anything. You should see my stomach. My stomach is almost as hairy as John's (no offense babe, but we know, lol). And it really did come on all of the sudden. One day I said out loud to John, "You know this is weird, my stomach sure does have a lot of hair on it." His response, "Yeah I know I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to hurt your feelings but it is definitely hairy." Maybe this is too much information for you but I just thought I would share with you. Hormones can cause crazy things to happen to your body and each woman is different. Nobody once told me that my stomach could turn into a grassy knoll, so I am choosing to make it known now to anybody that might become pregnant.

So there it is just a couple pregnancy joys that I wanted to share. While calling them joys might seem odd please trust me that anything that happens to one's body during pregnancy is amazing because you are carrying life!!! How cool is that?!

Surprise! It's a kitten!

2009-10-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

Yea for my first bizarro prego dream. I have heard many stories of weird pregnancy dreams. I have always laughed and find them to be cute. A few people lately have asked me personally if I have any weird dreams. The answer has been no, until now. Let me say this first; there is nothing cute or funny about my dream. It was just weird, bizarre, and . . . yeah. Just plain bizarre. So it was a few nights ago that I had this dream.

I am in labor. It's time for me and John to go to the hospital. I vaguely remember not really wanting to but I can't remember why. And I remember feeling like it was too early to be having the baby but John and the doctors were not worried. So I am in the delivery room and after a few pushes I am done. I ask what it is and no one would answer and I didn't hear any crying. Then they hand it to me. Well it really wasn't an it. It was a kitten. I gave birth to a kitten, one, just one kitten. Oddly enough it looked my cat at home. Now it wasn't small like a kitten when they are first born but it wasn't a full grown cat either. The next thing I remember very vividly is I was nursing. I was nursing the kitten!!! As I was nursing the kitten I turned to John and said, "Well take back all the gifts and tell everyone it is no big deal because we didn't have a baby we had a kitten."

So there it is, the dream isn't cute, but it is definitely bizarre. I even remember waking up a bit confused because it felt so real. Even the sensation of actually nursing a kitten felt real. Ugh. I hope these dreams get better!

Lists

2009-10-02T18:49:00.000-07:00

I find I am living my life through to do lists. And sadly I have lots of unfinished to do lists. Therefore I feel like I am not living my life. My life is nothing but unfinished to do lists. I am looking forward to when I am done with school. A huge chunk of my to do time will be freed up to be exchanged for baby time. And I am looking forward to it.

If you all didn't know April will be a month of transition for me. The baby will come and I will finish school all in the same month!! This also means I will not be working because I will be on maternity leave. This at first was overwhelming but now I am at peace and realizing that April, May, and June will be wonderful months for me.

But until that time comes I am surviving on to do lists. The to do lists I make over the next six months are going to need to be completed.

So here is where I leave you to go and make my lists.

The 2nd Trimester is here!!!

2009-09-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

So I feel like I am already a bad mother. Why do I say this? I haven’t really been journaling or focusing too much on my pregnancy. I obviously know I am pregnant and I am aware because of things I stopped or started doing. But I feel like I am not making a big deal of it like other people have so far. But after Friday I feel that has changed.

Friday marked the beginning of my twelfth week. I am now in my second trimester and I only have 28 weeks or less to go!!! I didn’t realize what day it was until I looked at my baby ticker on my blog. There it was: You are 12 weeks 0 days. You are in your 2nd trimester. 28 weeks left. I saw that at 5 pm right before I left work. In that moment everything seemed to stop. There it was; the first part of my pregnancy is over. The feeling was surreal, and now I feel a sense of urgency. There is so much I want to have done before the baby gets here. And I do need to move with a sense of purpose. If there is one thing I have learned in the past few years it is the fact that time goes by fast.

Here it is I guess it has hit me. I am going to be a mom! I am having a baby!! My belly is firm and growing and soon I will be able to feel it. All in one moment nothing else matters in the world except my child. Within my body God is creating a person, not just a body, but a person someone who will smile, laugh, and cry. Someone that might be an athlete, a writer, an actor, or a missionary; the possibilities are endless. I can look at me and John and get an idea of who they might be or what they might look like. But regardless the child inside of me will be an individual that will have its own purpose. God already has a path laid out for him and her. It will be our responsibility to guide and instruct him or her.

So there it is; our responsibility is great. It’s no longer about us. There is a child that God has given us responsibility of, our choices no longer just affect us but an innocent child that already trusts us and relies on us. I can’t put into words how excited, scared, and overwhelmed I feel. But all I can say is I love my baby.I am so excited for the next months ahead of me. Keep praying for us and our baby! And here is a pic for ya!

12 weeks (got a little bump, and thankful my butt still looks good, lol)

The Pregnancy Story

2009-09-21T15:27:00.001-07:00

I have been super excited to write this blog for the last couple of months. And now here it is after much procrastination. As most of you know I am PREGNANT!!!! Writing those words seem so surreal for me. As most of you know John and I have been trying to conceive for a year and a half. It’s been a long year and half full of disappointments and questions. Along our journey I was diagnosed with endometriosis. I was glad to get a diagnosis but bummed to find out it could be hindrance in trying to conceive. After a long time of frustration a book of recommendation was made to me. Two of my FB friends recommended reading TCOYF (Taking Charge of Your Fertility). Abby told me after reading the book she got pregnant. I was a bit hesitant at first; I appreciated the encouragement and suggestion I just didn’t want to get my hopes up. Well sure enough I got pregnant immediately after reading the book!! The book gave me so much info that I just didn’t know. It’s amazing that I have been having my cycle for 14 years and it took one book to really explain everything to me, and I mean everything. Ovulation wasn’t just about days. This blog isn’t about TCOYF but here is the website http://www.tcoyf.com/. I recommend every woman reads this book!! AMAZING!!!

Now let me be honest I was reading the book around the time we conceived so I wasn’t even really thinking about it. I even told John that I thought it would be a good idea to wait until September to start trying again. So you can imagine my surprise when the doctor told me I was pregnant. This brings me to how I found out. The story doesn’t start off good so be prepared.

On July 30th I started feeling really bad. Not pukey bad but severe abdominal cramps. I could barely move that’s how bad the pain was and of course other things didn’t work just right if you know what I mean. So at 4 am on the 31st I had John take me to the emergency room. So they immediately took me back and took my blood and had me pee. Now honestly my cycle was due the next day so we started speculating that the pain was that and the reason it was so severe was because of my endometriosis. All I know is I wanted the pain to stop. While I was waiting on labs I slept and while I slept John went to the car and slept. I wake up to a tap on my shoulder and it is the doctor he takes a seat and says in a serious tone, “Well your labs came back and your pregnancy test is positive.” My response was, “Really? Ok”. After a year and a half of wanting this that was my response. Then my next immediate reaction was, “Oh my God is that what is causing my pain is there something wrong?” Then of course I called John and told him he needed to come back inside. When he came back he definitely had a look of worry he took my hand and asked what was up. I told him my labs came back and I tested positive for pregnancy. I will never forget the smile that broke out on his face. But unfortunately our happiness was replaced with worry. Is this new found pregnancy okay? So over the next 10 hours I had two different ultrasounds. Well the pregnancy was so early they weren’t able to tell anything. So I was released from the hospital and they scheduled me to come back the following Monday to get my blood drawn to test the hCG levels. Then I had to come back on Thursday for a follow up appointment and more labs.

Well that Thursday after all my labs and review of them the doctor looked at me and said, “Yes you are definitely pregnant and if you haven’t had any more problems I am assured things will progress nicely.” So there it is, that is how we found out we were pregnant! Definitely not the way I thought and I always had a different idea for how I would tell John but this is the way the cards played out. It turns out what sent me to the hospital in the first place was most likely food poisoning!! So in short, there you go, and you can expect blogs throughout the pregnancy and lots of pics!! Baby Driskill will join us April 9th, 2010!!

Our super duper amazing anniversary (and my super 25th birthday)!

2009-08-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

Just last week John and I celebrated our anniversary, along with that celebration we celebrated my 25th birthday. What did John have in store for me? A weekend away!! I am proud of my hubby he wouldn't tell me where we were going. So we set out on our trip.

I had nothing better to do than take random pics while we were driving!

Our first stop was in Tillamook. We went and had lunch with some of my favorite people! Aunt Pam and Uncle Mark. We even took a trip up to their house that they're building. Unfortunately I took no pictures.

Then it was on the road again going down Highway 101 to our final destination. . . LINCOLN CITY! John took me for a romantic weekend away to a place called Beachfront Manor. It was absolutely perfect. We had a nice comfy big bed. Room came with a "fireplace" and flat screen. Our room also had a balcony with our own personal hottub that looked over the ocean!! The following pics can only give a little bit of what it was like!

I want this sign for our own room!

On our trip we enjoyed some really good food (must go to Maxwell's if ever in Lincoln City). The shopping was good. And just the time spent together was amazing. And I also got to meet John McCain!!

John wouldn't let me bring him home. :(

Always adding his weird faces to perfectly cute pictures

Our last night there we went down to the beach and had a campfire. Early on John thought it would be good idea to feed a Seagull. Turns out you feed one then a bunch of them show up. I really thought it was going to end badly (have you seen the movie Birds?). Eventually they went away and we enjoyed more of our Sparkling Cider and sitting there watching the sun go down and were mesmerized by the campfire that danced in front of us. It was a perfect last night!

Started out with one. . .

. . . then a few. . .

. . . then way too many!

John took pleasure in chasing them away!

Our last day we spent out on Siletz Bay. It was quiet and enjoyable and we played in the sand!

John mischievously decided to bury my legs!

I did one better and decided to bury most of him!

He started to erupt!

Needless to say it was one of the best anniversaries and birthdays thus far! I am so excited I get to be married to John and can't wait for the years to come!!

Where has the time gone?

2009-07-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

Wow! Today is July 20th. It's already July 20th and in just a couple hours it will be July 21st. More than halfway through the month and already halfway through the year!! It's amazing how time goes by so fast. All the plans that have come and past. Sometimes I wish I could stop time and spend time with each of my friends and family. How many times have I said, "Yeah let's get together." or "Yeah we need to go do that." But when do those times come up? It seems I never have any free time. I work 40 hours a week then when I am home I am doing homework or housework. Is it time I just say whatever? Or maybe I just need to find a different routine.
Maybe I need to stop wasting time. How much time do I spend on the computer or watching TV? Probably too much.

I can't stop time or slow it down. But I am breathing and God is giving me time. It is time I just start to use my time wisely. Make time for God, family, and friends. I am one person and it is impossible to do everything. The pressure I put on myself causes me to lose valuable time. So it's time to set the alarm start my day and live each day to the fullest!!

VA Healthcare: Time for a Change!

2009-07-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

Going to the VA is like gambling in Vegas. Sometimes you hit big, other times you lose. . . badly. Since leaving the Army the VA has been my primary healthcare. There was a stint when we had BlueCross but for the most part it has been the VA.

As you may know that means my healthcare is free. That is great and I consider myself fortunate to have free healthcare. But is anything really free. What cost does this come at?

We can go into details like taxes and what the government pays into it, but that is not what I want to address. What does the soldier have to pay or give up to receive such benefits?

Time. Going to the VA isn't like going to an appointment at a doctor's office. You have a scheduled appointment that they recommend you show up 10 to 15 minutes prior and then sometimes you end up waiting 30-40 minutes after your scheduled time before being seen. The interesting part is there are signs that say, "If you have been waiting more than 15 minutes past your appointment time please notify the receptionist." What is the answer that is waiting you when you let them know? "Yes we know it's busy." Or "I'll let them know". The latter sounds nice, but when you sit back down and watch you notice they never pick up a phone or say anything to anyone.

Now sometimes, and actually alot now, you don't wait that long and you are whisked right in. However, the doctor does everything possible to make it the shortest appointment of all time. He or she makes you feel like you are not really being heard and when you are trying to press upon them the issue and what is going on they are quick to come up with a solution like; pills, rest, give it time, or referring you to someone else just to go through the same process.

On the subject of the actual appointment and doctors there is another thing that veterans lose out on. Care. It is a hit or miss. Sometimes you get someone that cares or someone that doesn't care. And the sad part is the latter is more likely to take place. Saying the doctors don't care is such a strong claim but the behavior and attitude shown to veterans is just that. Here is an example, You go in and see the doctor and he or she asks what is going on. While you are talking there back is turned to you and they are typing on the computer. They say the occasional, "Uh-huh", or "hmmm". Then they turn around and tell you to go the pharmacy. VA doctors in my opinion are pill pushers.

Now let me come into the defense of the doctors. It's not them that is flawed it is the system. The doctors don't just have some patients they are in the triple digits. There are thousands of veterans that require care and the doctors are left with seeing numerous patients. I don't know how many they see in one day. But when I go to the VA hospital there are a numerous amount of veterans. Yes there are various departments but I can say the workload is most likely heavy.

This leaves a dangerous situation. What situation is that you ask? It's the unanswered health concerns of veterans. And at times perhaps life threatening concerns. Let me share with you a couple stories that are personal experiences for me. After serving in Iraq I sustained some injuries to my right shoulder, back, and right knee. After returning home it was a joke trying to get some help. I was just given pills all the time; percocet, oxycodone, vicodin, robaxin, etc. I ended up becoming an addict. I will not blame them because I am responsible for my own choices. But that was the only help I got while in the Army. Out of the Army I was excited to hopefully finally get some help. After all the Portland VA is supposedly one of the best. The first year was nightmare. Same thing; pills. I was done with pills I knew I had a problem and on top of that I just wanted answers and solutions. I kept getting told about my right shoulder that I was fine, ice it and take ibuprofen. My lower back I was told I just have some bulging discs. Rest when inflammed, ice, and ibuprofen. So when it came to right knee I didn't even bother. There was a glimmer of hope when it came to my migraines. They did a CT scan and it came back normal, but the doctor wanted me to try Zomig because it helps migraines. I was okay with that it was non addictive and unfortunately migraines just plague some people. Well the night I got them I took one at the onset of my headache and layed down. Five minutes later it felt like there was 300 pounds on my chest. John was at work and I couldn't breathe. I could barely move. Thank God for cell phones it was right by me. I had to call 911. After that I don't remember too much until I got to the hospital. They started benadryl through my IV. Now in the civilian hopsital I gave them my list of allergies. The doctor was shocked to find out that they gave me Zomig with me being allergic to Haldol. They are in the same family. When I followed up with my VA doctor the following week, he didn't apologize at all. He made a note in my chart. Then he said, "Well just take excedrin for you headaches." Then he sent me on my way.

To give up an update on my back and shoulder; the year we had Bluecross both issues were handled. Had surgery on my right shoulder where they fixed two tears and took out part of my collarbone. Now I am fine. My lower back they sent me to an osteopathic doctor that was able to help me with that. Yes I still get pain in my back sometimes but I am able to take what the doctor showed me and help it.

Now for my right knee. Just recently I saw an orthopedic doctor at the VA. He definitely said there was alot of fluid in there and wanted to do an MRI. Well he didn't see anything on the MRI so he told me I would grow out of it as soon as I reached my thirties. To be honest I don't even know what to say to that. Fortunately my job just gave me full time and I start getting benefits the end of the month. I think it's sad that I am excited to go see a doctor outside the VA system.

I can buy into the conspiracy theories that the reason the system is this way is so they don't have to pay out more money in actually helping veterans or that they don't want the truth of what the war has done to the bodies of young men and women. But that is all they are theories. All I know is there needs to be a change. Veterans should be getting the same care that is offered out in the private sector, if not better.

We put our lives on the line for this country. We were shot at, bombed, and exposed to bacterias that we don't have in our country. The least they can do for all veterans is give them better healthcare.

I know I have started asking questions (and unfortunately hung up on or given the run around). Perhaps it's time we are start asking questions and asking for a better system. Veteran or not it's time we start to ask for a change.

Long time no talkie!

2009-07-08T17:20:00.001-07:00

Hello world!! Yes I still blog, I just got to busy. :( But no more, I like to blog and I am going to be way more candid then I use to be. So here is my disclaimer:

You might not agree with me, this happens alot. So the things I might say or post you don't have to agree with but I do ask if you disagree with me, do so respectfully. Understand that this a personal blog and in no way do I speak for millions. I might blog about things that make you smile or might make you cry. Or shake your fists angrily at the screen. This is John's blog also but please understand that it most likely me (Aimee) that is blogging all the time. So why not just have my very own blog? Because I like to think that you all care just as much about him. In addition my blog is in no way to insight sympathy, jealousy, or hate. I hope at times my words might be insightful, encouraging, or empowering. But since I am one to ramble it might just be at times (or most of the times) my soapbox.

End of disclaimer.

So what has happened since my last entry, which was back at the beginning of April?

Chinese and Russian cyber-spies allegedly infiltrated the US electrical grid.

North Korea departed the six party talks and resumed its nuclear program.

The Camel Reproduction Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, announced the birth of Injaz, the first cloned camel.

Argentina claimed, 1,700,000 square kilometers of the World Ocean.

SWINE FLU!

Iraq did not extend the deadline for the US Armed Forces to withdraw from the Iraq War.

Jacob Zuma was inaugurated as President of South Africa.

President Barack Obama proclaimed May 2009 as Jewish American Heritage Month.

Kris Allen won American Idol.

Harvard University discovered a molecular mechanism that regulates coagulation.

TV COMPLETED THEIR SWITCH FROM ANALOG TO DIGITAL TELEVISION!!!

Eddie Bauer went bankrupt!

Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, MICHAEL JACKSON (KING OF POP), Billy Mays, Karl Malden, and Steve McNair have all died!

Independence Day!

That was just some of the millions of things that have happened! What has happened in my life?

work
work
work
work
school
school
school
sleep (sometimes)

So there you go! An update and disclaimer all in post. Be ready y'all I am gonna be doin me some bloggin! (Yeah I don't really actually talk like that)

Uncle Richard

2009-04-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

I have considered myself very blessed to marry such a great man and to join into an amazing family. I always here stories about how tragic the in-laws may be. But that is not the case for me. John's family from day one (before we were married) embraced me. I love them just as if they were my own blood. This past Saturday our Uncle Richard was called home. He was an amazing man with a an incredible gift for music and compassion. I am so blessed to have known such a man. The following article was written about him, and I would like to share it with all of you!

Chaplain Remembered Fondly

Yes we are moving!!!

2009-04-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

We're moving! It was a difficult decision but my family needs me right now. We won't be gone forever. We are going to keep our house here in Portland and just rent it out. We hope to be back in a few years. Many people have asked questions regarding John's business. We are still trying to figure that out. He has a good friend that is willing to come in as a business partner. While we are gone he would run it and split the profit 80/20. We are still praying about it.

As far as the other details we are moving right after I graduate next April 2010. So we have one year left with good friends and family. But it's definitely not a good bye, just a temporary see you later.

I know this news is all of a sudden. Feel free to call us and lets get together y'all!!!

Here is a link to some houses we are thinking about, let me know what you all think!

Houses!!!!

The Cloud. . .

2009-03-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

Ladies this blog is for you.

I have decided periods suck! Let's be honest though, are they ever enjoyable? And if you think about it, periods don't just effect us one week out of the month. There is the week before, I know for me that is when my boobs start to hurt and I get a little moody. For me it feels like there is a cloud that comes over my head and looms above me. Then the week of the period the cloud rains on my head and sometimes it throws some lightening. Then the period is over. As sudden as the storm came in it leaves just like that. . .sometimes!!! There are those times it doesn't know what it is going to do. Have you ever had the fake out? You think its gone and you take off the rain boots, and then BAM. . .sneak attack!!!

I know it probably sounds like I am whining. And yeah I am. But I hate the week long depression and the mood swings that come with it. It's bad enough I have to bleed but I hate wreaking havoc on my poor husband. The poor guy probably thinks his wife has been invaded or abducted.

But anyway I am just pretty gloomy and irritated and I wanted to vent my frustrations at the cause of it all. Isn't that odd that a little period creates so much mental frustration. That is probably why the husband calls it a mental stration!

Anyway ladies feel free to share in my frustration or put me in my place and tell me to get over it. LOL!

All about John!

2009-03-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

I consider myself very blessed. Even when I don't think I have everything I need or want. I am still very blessed. God gave me a man that loves me unconditionally, respects me, and honors me. John truly does walk out Ephesians 5:25-29 "²⁵ For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her ²⁶ to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. ²⁷ He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. ²⁸ In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. ²⁹ No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. "

I too love John so very much. I want to honor him and respect him. So below is many reasons why I love my husband so very much.

1. When John looks at me I know he loves me there is a look of assurance and trust. I never ever doubt his love for me.

2. John makes me laugh! It doesn't matter if I am cranky or sitting there pouting (yes sometimes I pout). He will always bring a laugh to my heart!

3. John is my best friend. I trust him and I know I can tell him anything and he will listen to me. He will offer advice or just listen and not judge me.

4. John is thoughtful. He doesn't make decisions hastily. He is careful of his words and he takes everyone's feelings into consideration. HE NEVER gossips! He is an amazing example to me.

5. John loves his family. He is a loving son, brother, nephew, uncle, and husband!

6. John is adventurous and fun. He loves life and he doesn't sit by idly!

7. John loves the Lord with all his heart. Because of this John is so amazing at giving perspective and counsel.

8. John is focused. He knows what he wants and he goes for it.

9. John is gorgeous. I know I know, a little superficial but seriously he is gorgeous look at those beautiful blue eyes! When I look at him my heart just melts.

10. John always makes sure I am ok. It doesn't matter what is going on with him he makes sure I am good to go.

11. John is honest. He isn't brutal, but he is gentle in his honesty. And he knows when sometimes you should just be quiet. Again another amazing example for me.

12. John is accepting. First off he married me. If anyone knows my past they know each and every break up I had I was told, "You are too sensitive, you talk too much and it's annoying. But hey you would be a great friend." Since day one John has loved me for each and everything that makes me up. I can be 100% real with him.

13. John has a calming spirit about him. When I am anxious or agitated I just need to be in the same room with him and instantly I am calm. And have you seen him with babies? They usually smile and cuddle with him and then fall asleep!

14. John is humble. He never boasts about himself. He takes compliments gracefully and doesn't let them go to his head. And he doesn't put himself on a pedestal. Seriously if you haven't sensed a theme here, he is an amazing example to me.

15. John gives the bestest kisses in the world. Seriously I think so!

16. John is the cutest sleeper. I just love watching him sleep. There is something about the way he sleeps that makes me smile.

17. John is always surprising me. It isn't always extravagant either, it could be something as simply remembering.

18. John makes the best pouty face. Once he makes this face I am instantly laughing and he is getting his way, lol!

19. John is a very giving person. He gives his time and energy freely to help others. He never thinks twice he does it very automatically.

20. John is a gentleman. He respects women and thinks it is highly in distaste to ever disrespect a woman. And the most amazing thing is how he handles conflict, he has never ever ever laid a hand on anyone. My husband doesn't know what it feels like to inflict physical pain on anyone and says he never wants to. Now that is a man!!!!

Above were just only 20 reasons why I love John so much. But trust me there is so much more. I could definitely add to this list each and everyday. I am so glad I married my best friend. I hope everyone is married to their best friend or I hope everyone will get that opportunity one day. If you took your time to read this blog and look at all the pictures I encourage you to also stop and think at all the reasons you love your husband. Genesis 2:18 "¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” Each and every one of us was created specifically for one person! Let us give God praise in our marriages and see how right our husbands are for us!!! Amen!

The best gift is remembering. . .

2009-02-19T13:48:00.000-08:00

We all know that we are in a time of economic crappiness. So this year for Valentine's Day we decided we were going to go simple. Since I had to work on Saturday we were going to hang out Friday night. John told me on Tuesday he was going to take me to dinner. I wanted to know where but he was like don't worry about it. So I asked him to tell me attire and he said anything I wanted. Pretty much jeans and a tee would be fine. I will be honest at first in my head I was like really he's taking me some place casual. I didn't want to go somewhere we had already been. But I quickly pushed that thought out of my head because it didn't matter. I was just excited to spend the time together. Since we both work alot it's hard spending uninterrupted time together.

So on Friday I get off of work and I went to Christian Supply to get his book. Well they didn't have it so I had to drive up into Vancouver during rush hour and buy the book. I worked hard to get him a little tiny book. But he really appreciated it. I get home just in time to turn around and go to dinner. We start the drive and I realize we are going back into Vancouver. We had a good laugh since I was just up there a few minutes ago. When we crossed the bridge I instantly thought we were going to Joe's Crab Shack. That is the place we eat at when we go to Vancouver. But after we passed the exit I was clueless.

We finally exited the freeway. As we rounded the corner I instantly saw the restaurant we were going to.I absolutely love this place!!! We had not been to one since 2005!! We don't have one in Oregon, but John found out there was one up in Vancouver. What made this so unbelievable that he chose this place was because this is where we went our very first Valentine's Day together!!!! We had only been together for a few months. He got me a letter A diamond pendant and a teddy bear. Then we went TGI Friday. Ever since I left Colorado I always talked to him about that restaurant and how bummed I was that Oregon didn't have one.

For him to have remembered our first Valentine's Day is the best gift ever! John totally made my night! No gift in the world could be out the fact that he remembered! I love him so much and never ceases to amaze me!

My obligation to February

2009-02-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

What to say. . . what to say. . . I feel like I am obligated to blog since I haven't blogged since last month. I feel it is my obligation to February to get a blog on the board. So why not update everyone on how busily boring our lives have been.

As most of you may know I started working as an Adolescent Counselor back in December. I absolutely love it. It is definitely a bit stressful at times. And there are times I think I want to slap the kids I work with but I remind myself that I am here to help them. I absolutely love the look in there eyes when they start to get it and realize there is a greater life for them than drugs. But it does suck when you know they have no desire to change. So all I am left to do is pray for their lives. An amazing blessing to this job is I have found direction to my degree and what I want to. I want to definitely work with teenagers. This shocks me because I always told myself that is something I could never do. I also like working in the drug and alcohol field. Having messed up my life for bit I want to offer hope to these kids that there life can be so much more.

When I am not working I am at home getting much needed sleep or cleaning. When I am not at home or work I am trying to have a social life. Sadly there is not much of one. Its crappy because I thrive off of being with friends and family. Maybe after this month John and I can get our schedule more together and have some house parties.

John is doing well. He is working 10 to 12 hour days at his shop. I am so proud of him. He is going after his dream and showing such dedication to God and his family. I am glad we both work during the day because we get to hang out in the evening. Wednesdays we go to our ministry meetings and finish up the evening watching Lost. I must say Wednesdays are my favorite days! LOL!

I am still going to school, graduation date is still projected to be April 2010. I might try to get done sooner but that means upping my schedule and I don't know if that is really possible. I am finishing up my Cultural Anthropology class and even though I have loved it I can't wait until this Thursday is over. The class was definitely difficult and time consuming. I am going to have post a poem that I wrote for the class. I am thinking about actually framing it and hanging it up. Eh, we'll see.

So anyways that is what is going on for now. Life is busy but it's okay. God keeps showing His glory in every day.

Alive and kickin!

2009-01-26T18:31:00.000-08:00

Yes we are alive. Alive and well. This month (mainly the past couple of weeks) have been uber crazy. I have been working a lot. I think this is good except now I am never really home. I have wanted a day job for so long now that I have it I am like, "Ok, now I have to find time somewhere to do all the stuff I used to do during the day." My house-not so clean. My social life-on hold. My husband-miss him lots.

Speakin of which, my hubby is keeping himself super busy. He decided to keep the doors open on JD's Motors. He decided to change the direction of what he was doing. He is now running and automotive maintenance repair shop! I must say this venture is turning out well. I get so excited for him. I am so happy that he has found something he loves.

So that is what is goin on. Sorry the blog can't be longer, but I am tired from work and John is going to be home any minute and I want to see him and spend time with him! (after all why wouldn't a gal not want to hang out with such a hottie?)

I think I will forever boycott the BSC until they make changes!!!

2009-01-08T22:30:00.000-08:00

I have lived out of Utah for awhile now, but my blood still bleeds red!!! I was way proud of the Utes this year!!! They are the best team in the nation forget the whole stupid formula of the BCS!!! I won't vent anymore, Rick Reilly did it for me! (Got the following article from Eliza's page)

Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Life of Reilly

OKLAHOMA AND FLORIDA CAN BATTLE FOR THE BCS. BUT WE'VE ALREADY CROWNED THE TRUE NATIONAL CHAMP.

By Rick Reilly

The Utes trampled Alabama to complete a perfect season. How are they not national champions?

Some gifts people give are pointless: Styling mousse to Dick Vitale. An all-you-can-eat card to Kate Moss. The BCS Championship given to Oklahoma or Florida.

It means nothing because the BCS has no credibility. Florida? Oklahoma? Who cares? Utah is the national champion.

The End. Roll credits.

Argue with this, please. I beg you. Find me anybody else that went undefeated. Thirteen-and-zero. Beat four ranked teams. Went to the Deep South and seal-clubbed Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The same Alabama that was ranked No. 1 for five weeks. The same Alabama that went undefeated in the regular season. The same Alabama that Florida beat in order to get INTO the BCS Championship game in the first place.

FIND ME ANYBODY ELSE THAT WENT UNDEFEATED. THIRTEEN-AND-ZERO. BEAT FOUR RANKED TEAMS. WENT TO THE DEEP SOUTH AND SEAL-CLUBBED ALABAMA IN THE SUGAR BOWL.

Yeah, that's how it is now in the shameful, money-grubbing world of college football. If you're Florida and you beat Alabama, you get a seat in the title game. If you're Utah, you get a seat on your sofa.

Hey, remind me: What do they give out for one of those BCS things anyway? It's been so long since I cared. Something from Sears? This is the sixth year in the past 10 that the title has been in dispute under this cash-grab, fan-dis, monopoly that the BCS has created. Which is why the title game just doesn't matter anymore. It's like being named Miss Ogallala. Or Best Amish Electrician.

Just take a look at the teams that think they're worthy of being called national champs:

USC? Great year. Wonderful. Let's all go to SkyBar and celebrate. But it lost to Oregon State, a team Utah beat.

Texas? You think beating Ohio State by a nubby three points gets you the title? The Big Ten was 1-6 in bowl games! That's like pinning David Spade!

Florida and Oklahoma? They lost. Utah never did.

So that's it. Utah is the national champion. The Utes should probably have two now, actually. They went undefeated in 2004, too, and their coach still thinks they were the best team in the land. Smart fella named Urban Meyer. Coaches Florida now.

By the way, we're calling our title the "national" championship because it actually includes the whole nation —all 119 Division I schools—unlike the BCS, which includes 66. Yeah, the BCS somehow eliminated the middleman—the NCAA. The conferences these schools play in take their dump trucks full of cash straight from the TV networks and fairness can go suck a lemon.


	The Utes won't get the trophy they really deserve, so we gave them one of our own design.

Do me a favor. Call Ohio State president Gordon Gee and ask him why he won't support a playoff. He's one of the most powerful presidents in the NCAA. He could get it done. If he says anything other than, "We don't want to share the loot" then you know he's lying his bow tie off.

"This is not how we normally do things in America," says Utah president Michael Young. "In America, quality usually wins, not conspiracy. And there's a reason people usually enter into a conspiracy. It's money. You make money doing it. And those that are in on the conspiracy want to stay in and keep everybody else out."

Sure, BCS blowhards will hand you schlock about how the college football season is like a playoff, how it's an elimination tournament every week. Really? Well, how come Florida and Oklahoma weren't eliminated with their losses? Utah ran the table, beat everybody set in front of them, including Ala-damn-bama in no less than the Sugar Bowl, and gets the bagel.

Oh, by the way? It was Utah's eighth straight bowl win, the nation's longest streak. Among the losers during that run? Let's see USC, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, and now the legendary Houndstooth Hats.

"What else do we have to prove?" asks Utah's magical quarterback, Brian Johnson. Good question. He and the Utes essentially whipped Alabama at home. Handed Nick Saban a garlic necklace to wear the entire off-season. Stepped on his team's neck 21-0 in the first three possessions and never looked back. Let's see. Who was it that was losing to Alabama until nearly six minutes into the fourth quarter? Oh, yeah. Florida.

What, you want the Utes to win a spelling bee? Make a prize-winning souffle? Knock up Angelina Jolie? What?

It just slays me. It really does.

Call Myles Brand, president of the asleep-at-the-wheel NCAA, and ask him if he and his greedy presidents are going to stand in defiance of president-elect Barack Obama, who wants a playoff and wants it yesterday.

Ask Brand what he's going to do if Obama starts asking the Justice Department to look into anti-trust hearings against the BCS. The Utah Attorney General has already launched an investigation into that very thing. Or ask him what he'll do if Obama asks the Department of Education to consider withholding federal funds from these schools that have entered into this secret club called the BCS. You don't think playing in the title game means millions in general-fund donations for a school? That's as unfair as anything Title IX fought against.

Until all these people do the right thing, I'll be celebrating with the true national champions—the undefeated, untied Utah Utes. (Our new slogan: Utahk about a team!)

Lemonades for everybody!

Throwin in the towel and givin it to God!

2009-01-05T21:26:00.000-08:00

I am now a few weeks into my new job and I love it! For those of you that don't know I got a job as an Adolescent Counselor. My job can get draining but I find it is very rewarding. I love helping teens realize their potential and show them the control they have over their own choices!

My whole life I have always loved counseling people and trying to help them. I love being that friend that people can talk to.

A very hard lesson I have been learning the last few months is realizing that some people are not ready for help. It is usually best if people ask for your help. That is usually what I do but when it comes to family sometimes I want to rescue them and just show them how better things can be. But it only causes heartache! The worse is when they ask for help and then you realize they only want enabling and not actual help. I am sure I have enabled him once in awhile but it's only hurting him and me!

I have realized it is easy to work with addicts and help them find better coping skills but when it comes to someone you are super close with it doesn't always work out the same. It's really easy to recognize certain behavior and patterns in clients. It's easy to tell them the hardest part is first admitting you have a problem. What I didn't know is how hard it is to admit that someone you love and care about so much is an addict. Then it is really hard to realize that even though I might have the skills to help someone else I might not be the person that can help the one I love.

The reason it is probably so difficult is because of all the various emotions I feel. I have felt empathy, sympathy, apathy, confusion, frustration, anger, sorrow, irritation, and it goes on and on. I have thought about getting help to do an intervention. But then I am struck with the realization I would be the only one trying to intervene! So I have pretty much been pouring my heart out and offering so much. But I have been met with nothing but heartache. Then I am left asking myself when is enough, enough?

I am only one person. So is it evil of me to wash my hands of it? I have been pushed into a corner and I am throwing in the towel. It breaks my heart but there is nothing more I can do. And that is just it. My trust and faith need to go where it should have been all along. God our Lord and Savior is the Almighty Counselor! Who am I? Who am I compared to Him? Even though my heart is breaking right now I know through God all things can mend.

Running this year in Christ!

2009-01-03T20:55:00.000-08:00

HAPPY 2009!!!! It is insane that we are now in 2009. There are many days when it feels like I just got out of the Army - which is now practically three years ago.

I am so excited for this year. Lucy(my niece) turned one today! I can't believe she is already a year old. My sister in-law is going to have another baby in August! I am so excited for another adorable nephew/niece! My other niece turns one in April! John's cousin and his wife will be welcoming there first baby in April! I just love babies. Not just because they are so freaking adorable but because they are at the start of their lives!!! And when you hold a baby in your arms it is such an overwhelming feeling to know they are a new creation from God. I don't know hopefully that made sense. LOL!

The start of the new year is a symbol of a new start. Yes you can start anything anytime you want. But starting at 1 has such tremendous significance. For me it gives me the opportunity to track progress. I like to see where I was at the start of the year compared to the end of the year. This past year I didn't have lots of resolutions. Matter of fact I only made one. And that was to never get drunk again. I am proud to say in 2008 I was never intoxicated and as a matter of fact I can count on one hand when I drank alcohol! This year I doubt I will drink at all! The reason being is I will be participating in the Portland City Marathon on October 4th 2009! That's right baby, 26.2 miles of pure glorious running/walking.

As some of you might know it has been along time since I have been able to run. After getting hurt in the Army I never thought I would see the day. Matter of fact doctors told me all the time you will get stronger but you will never be able to run again. The first couple years after that I was in pain and depressed. In 2006 and 2007 I had an amazing osteopathic doctor that started to help me. He helped me to the point where there was no pain and I was able to start working out moderately again. Then last year I was able to work with a personal trainer that helped me strengthen my core. Everything started to feel great. Back in July on a family camping trip I had this urge to run. Nothing serious, I just to move my legs, something short. My nephews were with me at the river and they wanted to run back to the campsite. They took off and then next thing I knew I was too. My pace was steady, my breathing normal, and I felt great!!! When I got back to the campsite I waited for the pain. It never came! After that I had more urges to run. I felt a part inside of me come alive again! My running is no where back to what it used to be. But I know it will, one day!

I know God has an amazing plan for me this year (just like He does every year). My resolutions for this year are as follows:

1. Train myself physically and mentally for the next 10 months.
(I will be participating in as many little walkathons/marathons as
possible to help me get there)
2. Strengthen my relationship with Christ!
3. Be a better wife, friend, mentor, and counselor.

That wraps up my resolutions this year. I know God will be leading me through it all.

I also want to just mention something to everyone (including myself). Each year we set resolutions and a lot of times I believe people think they fail at what they set out to do. To hopefully avoid that feeling this year, keep your mind open. We are not control of everything. Circumstances happen. Always be ready to adjust and refocus the goal. And most of all, remember God is in control. We have plans but sometimes God's plans are different for us. Talk to Him and ask Him to help you follow His plan!

The doggies gettin down!

2008-12-24T21:28:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Fudge, Caramel, and Vet Bill!!!

2008-12-24T19:29:00.000-08:00

Well Stewie did it again. He got into something he shouldn't have and this time he is paying for it dearly (and so are we).

This time of year is when we do lots of baking and make yummy little goodies for all to eat! This year when I made the fudge and caramel I was not thinking of Stewie. I was thinking of my cell sisters and friends. John cut the pieces so carefully and then we wrapped them all nice in plastic wrap and tied them off with ribbon. I wanted to deliver the goodie bags a while ago but I due to surgery and weather I was unable to. So we were going to go this evening to make the deliveries. So yesterday afternoon I got them out of the fridge to soften up.

So lets break down the course of events. My Dad came into town so we hit up the mall to do some last minute shopping. We get home and the goodie bags were all over the floor torn up. I was upset but no big deal because I can just grab more bags. Later that night I had late night rendezvous with Tiff. We ended up getting stuck in the snow outside the house so my Dad and John came and pushed us out. While they were outside (for all of five minutes) Stewie thought it would be a good idea to get up on the counter and knock down the whole bowl of the fudge and caramel. Dad and John walked in to find only three pieces left. Other than that there was nothing left. Brian had him a few bites to but he is a bit finicky and he tore the plastic off rather than eating it. Unfortunately Stewie didn't care he ate the whole thing, plastic wrap, ribbon, and all. So I get home to two hyper dogs and John asleep. My Dad told me what happened. They seemed fine. Until I fell asleep. Stewie whined for a second and then laying down he just yacked it all up!!! So from 1 am to 7 am I was up with a very very very sick dog. The poor guy was so miserable and there was nothing I could do. The on-call vet people said to keep an eye on him. Luckily at 7am our vet opens (yes on Christmas Eve, amazing!). So John made the phone call and they told him to bring him in. Stewie who just loves the vet just walked in and moped. No greetings or kisses from him. That alerted the Town and Country (our vet's name) people something was wrong with poor Stewie! They took him to a room the vet came out and Stewie didn't even move. Seriously he loves the vet and can't contain his excitement. So this was very un-Stewie like actions. The vet pushed on his stomach and made him puke some more. They decided it was necessary to do some x-rays and then after that they realized they needed to do surgery. A few hours, a lot of cellophane, ribbon, and yellow plastic later Stewie is going to make a full recovery. In the meantime he needs to stay there until the 26th. This of course makes us sad because if you know us, Stewie and Brian are our kiddos!!

As you can see our Christmas is wrapping up nicely! Stewie tried to smuggle away fudge and caramel and it ended up backfiring on him! LOL! (And yes Brian is perfectly okay, he just misses Stewie a lot right now)

Grass floors and Christmastime!!

2008-12-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

As you all know a couple of months ago I was keeping everyone updated with our new house project-installation of hardwood floors. Well as I mentioned back in November we got really busy with some other events. Well I am proud to announce that a few weeks ago we got the living room completely done!!! Floors, basboards and all! So a couple of weeks after that we decorated for Christmas!!! So below are pics of the new living room and Christmas decorations!!! (psst. . .we decorated the outside too but I totally forgot to take pics and I really don't want to)

Putting in the basboards

Painting over the nail holes

Just a little 360 view of the living room, as you noticed John was very intently playing the Wii, we're happy to have the living room back so we can enjoy in such adventures again!

Now that the floor is done, time to decorate for Christmas. I thought it would be fun to be decorated too!

As did Stewie!

My nutcracker and Christmas Village collection, I hope to keep growing these two collections over the years!

John got busy decorating the tree!

And I had fun taking pics of the tree, I just put the aperture on 30 sec and moved the camera around a bit!

Here is the complete work, our tree is so beautiful, good job babe!!

Our nativity scene that we recieved as a wedding gift!

Our stockings plus one for my Dad, I am so excited to spend Christmas with him this year!

And that is it, like I said I didn't take any pics of the outside. Maybe I will later

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

2008-12-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

Today marked the 67th anniversary of when our country was attacked by Japan at Pearl Harbor. This day is clouded by sadness but there is also rays of sunshine on this day because it is my Grandma's birthday! She celebrated her 69th birthday today!!! When I was growing up she always told me the reason Pearl Harbor happened was because of her. The Emperor of Japan just thought she was so gorgeous he wanted her to come live over there and be an Emperess! You can just imagine my shock when I went to school and learned the truth!

Let me tell you a bit more about my Grandma. Her name is Judy Mae Virginia Sue Madsen Pyles Giles. Madsen is her maiden name and Pyles was her first married name, after my grandfather died back in 1963, she remarried and her name then became Giles. My Grandma decided to keep all her names, she doesn't really know why. I just think it is because she likes to be unique. My Grandma has always liked to stand out in the crowd and embrace life at its fullest. During my growing up day my Grandma always encouraged me in weirdness and humor. Her and I are kindred spirits and I love her to death.

My Grandma lights up a room when she "rolls" in. She always has; her zeal for life and her self-confidence has always spoke volumes! As I was talking to her on the phone today I became so overwhelmed by thankfulness. I am so thankful I have her in my life and I am so thankful for all that she has taught me. She taught me to love myself no matter what.

My Grandma has a beauty and elegance about her! It's very enchanting. Each day she would do her hair all nice, give herself a manicure, and put on a touch of makeup. There never had to be a reason. We could have been going out to Wal-Mart, dinner, or across the street. My Grandma told me today on the phone she doesn't do that much anymore. But you know what? It doesn't matter. My Grandma has a beauty and elegance that is undeniable!

I love her so very much and I just want to wish such a special lady HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Only pic of me and Grandma that is somewhat current. Excited to get a new one in January!

Grandma and my niece Codi

Circus Time!!

2008-12-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRITNEY!!!! Britney is so back!!!! Yes I have been a fan since 1993! So I was super excited today for two reasons; 1) Her birthday!! 2)And her new album Circus!!!

Every song is on this album is so amazing!!! To think about the lyrics to most of the songs it makes you sad to think what has been happening to her. I pray that some of these songs were not autobiographical.
Yes I know some of you might think Britney is crazy or you don't care but that is ok. The truth is did flip her lid for a bit. But while everyone was making accusations and talking crap they kept buying up the tabloids and didn't think twice that because of those sales the paparazzi kept hounding her!!! I am so happy that finally someone intervened and kicked Sam to the curb. He was such a scumbag. We were getting ready to have another Anna Nicole tragedy.
But here is the new chapter in Britney's life! I am so excited for it and I am ready for her tour.

Many thanks on a thankful Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T16:11:00.000-08:00

Well tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I just wanted to take this time to pause and give thanks. There are moments when it feels like Thanksgiving is just going to be another day. And there are moments when I am caught up with the thoughts of the day after and all the planning I have to do for next month. But to pause and think about the present and remember what tomorrow is all about brings a smile to my face and a joy in my heart.

1. John. He compliments my life so well, I truly know that God made him for me. He always makes me laugh and I always find myself in awe of him. The love he has for me is great and unconditional. He is always trying to better himself and our life. When he looks at me he looks into my heart and soul. He is so supportive and he helps me discover what I want and achieve. His humility and grace he as for life is such an amazing example to me. I love him so so so very much.

2. Tiffany. My secret lover, lol (inside joke). She is always there for me and without even saying it she knows what I am thinking. I know we can argue and butt heads but she will still be there at the end of the argument. She really is my best friend and God placed us in each other's lives for a reason.

3. My home. I will be honest and say that for the past couple of years I have always complained about my house and was always talking about the days when I am out of here. But as we all know this year the economy has not been good and I am constantly hearing about foreclosures and how hard it is for anyone to buy a home right now. It made me realize that I am so incredibly blessed to have my mortgage paid every month and I have this house. This house is truly my home. It is not the walls or the roof that make it that way but it is the memories and the love that feel this place that make it so special.

4. Cell sisters. I love all of these women. (They are not all in the photo obviously) They are amazing examples for me and they truly do help me grow each and every day. They might hate me for saying this but I love having the feeling that I have a bunch of moms. The love and help they show me is so amazing and I couldn't imagine not being able to seem them every week. They are so important that I am going to shout out all there names; Adrienne, Joyce, Wendie, Selena, Ameritia, Reyna, Shelly, Jackie, Nadine, Carolyn, and Lesley!

5. Me. Yes I am thankful for me. God has given me health and strength. I remember a day when I didn't like myself or who I was. But my relationship with Jesus has given me a new perspective. I know there is a plan for my life and the plan is good because all things work for the good and glory of God. I have purpose and I am so thankful that God has trusted me to carry it out!

"I know the plans I have for you. . ."

2008-11-20T20:51:00.000-08:00

I don’t know who reads our blog. Sometimes I care and sometimes I don’t. At the heart of everything it really doesn’t matter. It’s nice to just blog and talk about things going on in life. They might be important or completely trivial and will be long forgotten. I know I just enjoy writing and expressing opinions or moments in my life. Yes, it is John’s blog too, but I am sure you will see that I will be the only one writing. He says it is my job as the “wifey” to keep everyone updated. I am starting to ramble so I am going to get started with the purpose of this evening’s blog.

What I am about to talk about isn’t necessarily easy. I never thought I was going to share or discuss the issue. I felt like I should write about it but every time that thought entered my mind I would be instantly bombarded with all the different things people might say and I wasn’t ready until now. I realized that it is okay to let those close to me know what is going and understand where I am coming from. And yes there is a selfish reason, I need some prayer. I didn’t want to have personal conversations with everyone that might be just a bit too painful. Okay enough of the drama and suspense, I will start from the beginning.

John and I decided – what seems like a long time ago – to have children. It was nothing we really shared because we would just share it when we were pregnant. Well I have learned over the past 11 months getting pregnant is not necessarily easy. I was okay the first few months then by May I was utterly consumed. I was reading every article possible on the hows and ways to become pregnant. I truly believe I was driving John crazy. I kept up this whole process until October. In October I started a class at my church, No Other Gods, I was like hey why not I am sure I have idols in my life. So class started and it was just within a few days that God revealed to me that I was putting fertility/pregnancy before Him and everything else. I had been trying to take control from God. John had been praying and has told me since May that pregnancy would happen in God’s timing, He has the perfect plan. I would always say I know but in my head I thought I knew better.

As I dove deeper and deeper into the class I was realizing the effect this was taking on my life. I was avoiding loved ones because I didn’t want to be around babies. I was happy in general but I didn’t have the joy of the Lord. I was letting my craving for motherhood drown me. It was slowly destroying me and the love I am to offer to everyone. I would get words of encouragement from some of my close friends and I would slap on a smile and say thank you I will take that into prayer. But of course I did not. I just could not bear going one more month hoping and then being utterly disappointed. The two people closest to me that knew what was going on was there to offer support and utter the two words I absolutely hate, “I’m sorry”. I know they meant well but the words just felt like they were stabbing my soul.

So over the past weeks God has been leading me and guiding me through this pain. I have learned to let go. I was starting to lose my identity I was wrapping it all up in motherhood – or lack thereof. He showed me my true identity is in Christ. I think as Christians there are many times in life we lose sight of that one simple truth. We forget what that moment felt like when we gave it all to Him and the weight was lifted from our shoulders. Over the past 11 months I, me, myself, has put weight on my own shoulders. I created emptiness within myself. What truly delivered me from this idol was one simple verse that I have taught in Sunday school many many times before. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

The Lord knows me and He knows everything He wants for me He has my plan and He is in control. Nowhere in the Bible does my name appear, “Aimee knows, Aimee has a plan, Aimee is in control”. It is the Lord who knows, plans, and controls all things. I have hope again, something I lost for awhile, but I now have again.

Before I close this brings me to what is going on presently. As some of you might remember I was hospitalized back in June for severe pain in my right side. They thought it was appendicitis but my tests were normal. After a few days they sent me on my way and told me to follow up with OB/GYN to get everything checked through. Well since I was still so caught up with my own plan at the time I probably didn’t give it as much consideration as I should have yes I followed up I just didn't really focus on what truly was going on with me. However, at the end of October I went in and we discussed everything that is going on and the doctors believe it is possible I have endometriosis. Unfortunately if I do have this it is something I will have forever, but it is treatable and manageable and many women go on to have children. They have scheduled me to go in on December 8th to take a look and remove any endo that they can if it is there. Also while they are in there they are going check everything out and inject some dye to make sure everything is clear. I will not lie, at first I had doubts and some scary thoughts cross my mind. But God quickly whispered into my soul, For I know the plans I have for you Aimee! I truly do believe God and I know everything next month is going to be brought to light and when it is God will show His glory and more of the plan to us.

If you read all the way through this I thank you for your time and patience. I felt led to write about what I have been going through and I also want to express my apologies because I have shut people out for the last while. Please know that I love each and every one of you. I pray that if there is anything that you are dealing with similar or different and it is bringing pain into your life know that God has a plan and He is in control.

SO Much SOOO Much has been going on!!!

2008-11-14T08:30:00.001-08:00

*long deep sigh* Heylo everyone!!! How are y'all doing? We are good, good and tired actually. If you noticed previously I was blogging about our floor project, well, it's not quite done. Almost, really close, but not done. We had to put the house at the bottom of the priority list for awhile. But that is okay because we were doing something that was special.

Last weekend our Pastor celebrated 21 years!!!! Every year at our church we do a Pastor Appreciate dinner. This year the Daily Bread Ministry (it's our Catering Ministry) took on the task to prepare the food for our Pastor and 300 church members. John and I are a part of this ministry and we were really excited that we could do something like this for our Pastor. We always go outside of the church to cater, so this in a way was our coming out party. We went big and we came big. God really blessed the team and even when we thought certain things were going to fall through God showed up. As it is says in His Word God's time is always on time. So that is what we have been doing for the past month is preparing for the dinner. We prepared so much food and it was so good. Our team was small but we put our heart in it and I personally thought it tasted so much better than catered meals. Probably because of where the effort was coming from. Below are just a few pictures that I was able to take real quick.

Lighting the sterns so the food will stay warm

Shannen checkin up on things

It's getting there

Almost there

We're ready to go

Our Pastor's table, its absolutely beautiful

The team, we look pretty awesome!!!

So that is what we've been doing the past while. Tonight is a surprise birthday party, tomorrow is Tiffany's wedding reception, and then . . . well hopefully nothing!!! I AM NOT cooking Thanksgiving dinner!!!!

Change?

2008-11-04T22:41:00.000-08:00

Well, it looks like we have our new President-elect. Mr. Barack Obama. I was hoping for John McCain, but to be honest I knew from the beginning there was no way he was ever going to win. Look what he was up against. The United States was desperate for change. Mr. Obama has made his campaign all about change. And let's be honest the fact he is a Black man has totally helped. Yes, I am very excited that after all these years an African American is going to be President, I am just not excited about Obama. And I was really hoping color wouldn't be a factor in voting. Yes we can argue this point until it's dead, but I believe with all my heart people voted for him because of the color of his skin, and not what he could do for this country. If people did vote for him because of what he can do for this country, than that is really scary, and it means people want to change what America is about. I believe whole heartedly that Barack Obama is a socialist and he will change America into a socialist country. Hmm. . .look at the list of other Socialist countries:
China
Cuba
Korea
Laos
Vietnam

Out of those countries is there any country that you would just want to love living in? NO!!! I don't understand the logic.

What else does he plan to change? Handouts! He is going to be big on handouts. I am so assured now that if I want to be lazy and not really contribute to America he will make it ok!!

But hey at least he is green right? After all I know I am going to have a money for Hybrid. You know how I am going to get the money to buy a hybrid? From Mr. Obama himself. I am so excited for all the checks I will be recieving in the mail. Scratch that, I am going to change my bank account to his bank account. Or at least go to my bank and authorize that it is okay for Mr. Obama to make deposits in my account.

I am also deeply excited for the change on ethics. ACORN was such a great example. New ethics statement everyone, "Screw over whoever you want, unless they make less than 200,000 then give them a handout!"

And I am so glad we won't need Armed Forces anymore. Mr. Obama is going to be best friends with everyone!!!! I can't wait to have Osama bin Laden over for dinner.

The best part of his presidency will be the FREEDOM of CHOICE ACT!!! Abort your baby at anytime. It's definitely the woman's choice. No more needing to hurry up and make a decision, sleep on it for 6 months or more. When you do make the decision you can still abort your baby. I believe Mr. Obama will be performing them himself. His kids are so lucky, if they make a mistake he doesn't want them to be punished with a baby. Those were his exact words ladies and gentlemen, "If my daughters make a mistake, I don't want them to be punished with a baby." Yes everytime I look at babies I see what a punishment they are to everyone!!!

Well in all seriousness now, Mr. Obama might bring some good change. The war in Iraq, Veterans Affairs, Education, and possibly Healthcare. But I won't be shocked and saddened when there is no real change. I do pray for this country and I will now pray for Mr. Obama. I pray that he will remember his proclaimed relationship with Jesus Christ, and make changes to things he has said he will do.

Mr. Obama has made alot of promises this country. Most of them I doubt he will keep. But I have been wrong before. I am just glad that my savior is Jesus Christ. And it is in His word, Romans 13:1 "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."

So I will submit and follow all laws of this country, but I will not cast aside anything taught by God. The Lord has reasons for everything He does and I will trust Him even now. For God is way more knowledgeable than I or any of us. And as a believer I know I am not doomed for the Lord will not forsake me. As Christians we know we don't belong to this world system, nor should we desire it. So I pray Mr. Obama will lead this country wisely, and if he doesn't I pray we will make it.

Election 08, full of hate!

2008-10-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

I wasn't going to do it. Really I wasn't. I was going to keep my mouth shut, but I am officially fed up!!!!! This has got to be the worse election of all time. No not the candidates, I am actually rather impressed that we have two strong candidates to choose between. I am fed up over the hate among Americans. People are literally turning on each other all because of who they vote for, it is absolutely ridiculously. Why should it matter? If you're voting that is great, but don't hate on a friend, family member, co-worker, neighbor, etc. just because they are not voting for the same person you are.

I am voting for John McCain! I did my research on both candidates and I made the best choice for me. Come to find out though I should have been voting based on my families needs or my own race. That is right, I have been called a sell out because I didn't vote for Barack Obama!!!! Excuse me? Just because I am black doesn't mean I have to vote for Barack Obama. My own husband was called a racist because he isn't voting for Obama. So if you're white and vote against Barack you hate black people? Not true!!! Why does it have to be like that? Seriously grow up people!! Remember Martin Luther King's dream? That no one be judged based on the color of the skin. So why do we have to vote for Barack because he is black? I am not saying everyone is like that, but if there is a part of you that is, STOP IT!!!!

Don't vote for Barack Obama because he is a black man. Don't vote for John McCain because he is a war hero. Look at the issues and there solutions. Then make your decision. After you do give yourself a pat on the back for voting. Don't go punch someone in the face who is against you (figuratively speaking).

I am a 24 yr old Black woman who grew up in poverty and I am voting for John McCain. I promise that is not the end of the world. I am proud of my decision, and I am proud that I don't hate on others for not voting the same as me. If you have a best friend, family member, co-worker, neighbor, etc. that is voting differently than you that is ok. Embrace them, love them, and understand we make our own choices!!!

Broken bones, but busy schedules!!!

2008-10-18T13:54:00.000-07:00

I am a definite believer if you need a break and you won't take one. . . God is going to give you a break. And sometimes that is quite literal. The last month I have been really busy. I’ve been enjoying it but I knew I needed to slow down. But when I looked at everything there is no time to slow down!!!! I just finished up with Tiffany’s elopement, school has started, I am helping Tiffany plan an elopement, I am working, I am looking for a new job, I am full speed ahead with the Catering Ministry at church, I am working on opening up my own business in Photography, and we are putting hardwood floors in. In all honesty I am not stressing, but I am not resting. My body has wanted to but I am in full speed ahead. Since I didn’t listen to myself God stepped in to take care of it.

The other night I was playing with my puppy Brian and as I was chasing after him I rammed my foot right into the door frame!!!! Yes it hurt, badly, very badly, I cried, I shouted, and I almost passed out. But even then I was like, “No big deal I have broken toes before and it’s not that bad”. However, the next when I woke up I couldn’t put any weight on my foot!!! The doctor made me go to the E.R. After four hours of waiting I received the good news that there were no breaks in the stability bones of the foot, but I managed to get a spiral fracture in the fourth toe. That is why it hurts a lot worse than previous toe breaking. They sent me home in a goofy hard sole foot thing and I have to rest for a week.

The doctor drew me a picture of what the break looks like.

I must say the shoe is rather stylish!! LOL!!!

I got the message. I am going to relax and slow it down!!!! (just a little)

Progress!!!!

2008-10-07T10:51:00.001-07:00

The past week has been a week of progress. For starters I started school back on Thursday!!! I will be done 04/29/10, possibly sooner if I double up, which is an avenue I will try to take. So it is very very exciting. In addition to school there is alot more responsibilities with the Driskill family. We joined the Catering Ministry at church and it's alot of fun, but also a lot of work. John has Men's Conference Thursday through Saturday. He is a bit overwhelmed because he has work and the floors in addition to that. I am sure he will be fine and I told him not to worry about the floors this weekend.

Speaking of the floors we are making more and more progress. John was here by himself Saturday while I was out on my own adventures. But he worked diligently and when I got home he let me do a piece of the floor. I must say it is a lot of fun. If I was more confident and skilled I would totally surprise and lay more floor while he is at work.

Like I said though the floors are coming along well. The dogs are trying to figure it out, they keep sliding. It is really funny to watch, Brian went to jump on the couch but his back legs slipped out from underneath of him, hehehehehehe. It was the funniest thing today!!!!!
Well here is the pictures of more progress, enjoy!!!!

Grass floors!!!!!

2008-09-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

Yea for grass floors!! Who needs hardwood? LOL!! Just kidding. John and I have finally started to put in the floors. We have been talking about doing it for over a year now, and the opportunity finally presented itself. So yesterday John ripped up the floor and started the project!!!

We are hoping this will only take three weekends, but we will see. It seems whenever we start a project it is a bit more complicated. So far it is going well. I should really stop saying "we" this is so all John. I am taking on my own big projects while he is doing this. Yesterday I cleaned up the front yard, and I mean cleaned up the front yard. I ended up taking out a tree that was entangled all in the fence. Then I pressure washed the front of the house and the sidewalk. I am woman here me roar!!!

But I digress. The exciting thing is the floor and John never ceases to amaze me how good he is at home improvement and all skills in general. He is one talented guy. A total Mr. Fix It, Do It Guy!!!

Like I said this is the huge house project for right now. Hopefully in a few weeks it will be all done and you will hopefully only have to read a couple more boring posts like this. In the meantime enjoy the pics of progress!