Yay, the wait is over, finally!

I got the job at the bank! WooHoo! I start tomorrow at 9am and I am so excited. I'm excited to have a job at all, but even more excited to have a job at a prestigious bank in the area where my opportunities are endless! And who doesn't love banking hours?! And benefits!

Woooooooooooooooooooooot! Finally the wait is over. That was a long couple of months. I can't imagine ever looking for another job...it was WAY too difficult!

Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and support along the way. I really appreciate it!

I'm a little nervous. I haven't worked out of the house in FOUR years. It's going to be so strange to have to go on scheduled breaks and lunches, etc. Hopefully it won't be a tough adjustment. My biggest concern is that I hope I'm good at my position. I know the opportunity for advancement is there if I just show the potential and excel in my department. All I can do is take it and run with it, and hope for the best!

So, here I go...back into the corporate world with my corporate waddle, haha!

How many peanuts can one family have?!

The answer is TWO!!!! My sister Pam announced this week that she and her husband are expecting a baby!!!!!! WOOOOOT!

We are all SO excited and I think my mom and dad are about to explode with joy! Now Baby Carty will have a little cousin only 5 months younger than him!

CONGRATS SIS!!!

Still no job :(

It gets harder and harder everyday that goes by and I don't get a phone call. I've applied to around 50 jobs just in the last month. I am starting to think that maybe companies are waiting to hire until after the holidays. It's getting so close to Christmas that there would barely be time for training me before we'd be off. Hopefully I'll hear something soon. Please keep us in your prayers.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”~ Philippians 4:6-7

Turkey Day Pictures!

Here I am at mom and dad's on Thanksgiving Day after the feast!

and me with the love of my life!

I don't have a photo editing program on this computer so I apologize for the wonky pictures!

Life in Lynnville

Here is a picture of our living room! We have finally finished hanging pictures and ceiling fans and getting things ready for the holidays! I'll try to take a better picture during the day but this was mainly so you could see our tree!

Our tree

The puppies love it here. They love the sun coming in the door and they love watching out the front door for animals. When Maddy sees an animal, she starts to crying to get outside!

We went for a nice walk yesterday morning in a chilly 40 degrees! It was spitting rain too, but I loved it. It's nice to have weather that changes every now and then! I've always loved rain though so that's no surprise. Hopefully soon it will turn to snow!!

Tonya, Mike, Zak, Aly, Kevin, Yasmeen, Mila, Kira, Faith, Kevin and Dylan...you were all missed VERY much this Thanksgiving. Gobble Gobble, and we hope you had a blessed day!

22 weeks along and our new home!

We made it!!! We are moved in and loving it! The house is SO homey and just feels so right. We have most everything put away with a few boxes left. I only have pictures of the empty rooms so far but I'll take some more of the finished product once we do a few more finishing touches!

The living room with their curtains still up:

The kitchen with the hideous fan and border still up and their curtains! The backsplash and tiled countertop are my favorite!

ME! 22 weeks! and you can see some of our furniture and stuff in this picture but don't peek!

Thanks for checking in!

Taking a page out of Maddy's book...

Meet puppy. She looks like Maddy, same color, about the same level of activity and she is Maddy's new best friend. She came in a box from Nana a long time ago, but was just recently discovered during the packing and organizing phase of our move.

Amidst all the chaos, the boxes stacked high, and the loud sound of packing tape, Maddy manages to find her puppy and just take a break from the commotion...

Maybe it's time you find your puppy and take a break...even if chaos surrounds you. :)

At 4 oclock this morning...

I FELT THE BABY MOVE!!! It was like my stomach muscles were spasming and then I froze to see if I could feel something...it continued and then I felt a strong hi-YA to the gut, haha! Then there was a flutter, and it kinda tickled! WOOT! I'm so excited! I can't wait to see my belly move!

With Matt's prediction that he's coming out with a helmet and shoulder pads on, he might be practicing plays in there!

Belly Update!

Warning...nakey baby belly ahead! And for the full effect I have to show the photos leading up to today's!

Photo taken Aug 12, 2007

Photo taken Oct 7, 2007

Photo taken November 2, 2007

At this rate, Baby Carty may be a 10 pounder! Let's hope for my sake, he is NOT!

Happy Halloween!

The girls are coming over tonight and I can't wait to see them in costume. I'll take lots of pictures since theirs will be the only costumes worn around here. :( Last year we went to a costume party and it was so much fun! Here we are in our costumes:





Hope everyone has a fantastic day and I can't wait to see all the cute little ones in their costumes!

Comments!

Matt and I decided to change the comments section to allow anyone to leave a comment. We love that our family reads our blog and would love to be able to read their comments!

So, comment away!

Making Friends at Cosmo Dog Park

Yesterday morning we decided to take the dogs to Cosmo Dog Park which is located in Gilbert, AZ, about an hour drive. We heard about it on the news as one of the newest and best dog parks in the area so we had to try it out! It has over 5 acres fenced with a small lake on one side and then a dry fenced area on the other side. We loaded up the car and we were off!

And just as a side note, although Payton and Maddie look a bit cramped up in their crate, they would NOT have it any other way. They HAVE to be together or they cry!

We were worried about how they would do around strange dogs but they really did a great job. Even Payton was friendly with the other dogs (and their owners!). She warmed up to a girl that was about my height and weight and followed her around. It was hilarious. And you know Payton, she kept licking the girls' legs. The girl was a good sport though. She said, "Um, I think she has us confused!"

At first they didn't want much to do with the water, but I waded in and called them and they finally got used to it. By the end of the day, they were all three running and splashing in the lake!

Maddux and Louie made a new friend named Reese. Reese is a rambunctious male pug who had NO fear whatsoever! You can see him here leading the pack!

Payton and Louie enjoyed fetching the ball from the water's edge, but they wouldn't go in over their heads.


Maddie liked to do her own thing, sniffing around and visiting other dogs. So much to sniff, so little time!

It was so much fun. I'm glad we got to take them. If we could take them to a lake all the time I really think they'd be swimming in no time!

Here is the newest belly shot for the week. 19 weeks along. Eek!

My appetite is NOT lacking...

The doctor tells me I've gained 9.5 pounds since my last visit a month ago! Yikes! She was happy with it though because it brings my total weight gain to -0.5 lbs. It's hard to believe I weighed more than this BEFORE I got pregnant! Look at that belly!

A Day at the Park

ahhh, the Fall days in Arizona are starting to rub off on me a bit! The days are so gorgeous and sunny with a nice cool breeze, so last weekend we met Kevin and Yasmeen at the park and spent some time playing with the girls. Kev and Matt threw the football and Mila played with her soccer ball. She also made a friend on the playground while Kira was introduced to sand...she liked it...she liked it so much, she ate a handful! Blech!

Here are some pictures of the day:


Kira loved the swing! She always had one hand tucked in...it was so adorable!


Here are both of the girls. I love this picture because it's so typical of their personalities. Mila is on the go as usual (I'm surprised she isn't a blur!) and Kira in the background plopped down, just hanging out oblivious to everything around her! We sure are going to miss them!

Holy Crapsticks Batman!

hmm...where to begin this post....How about we go timeline style:

September 28th - Boonville, IN...mom, Pam, and I are looking through the newspaper and spot a home in Lynnville on an acre of land. I called the realtor who agreed to meet us THAT night to check it out! Verdict: We absolutely love it! It's quaint and cute and homey and has a fantastic yard too!

Oct 8th - I'm back in AZ with pictures in hand to show Matt and we decide to make an offer!

Oct 9th - The sellers counteroffer and we accept, pending inspections.

Oct 11th - The inspection is completd and the report is NOT good. The home was built in 1930 so we anticipated some problems but the list of DEFECTS was a bit unnerving...

-all electrical must be upgraded to a breaker box (from a fuse box)

-improper wiring needs to be replaced throughout the home

-wires are spliced and fuses are oversized

-siding is damaged and loose

-there is no ground rod (eek!)

-there is a leak of some sort in the crawlspace

-there is a moldlike substance in the attic that needs to be removed

-all gas piping in the home is copper and needs to be changed out to black iron

We were scared...but not scared off completely. We decided to respond asking the sellers to fix all of these critical items. We know that they do not have a lot of extra money (but hey, neither do we!) so we were hoping for the best. We figured if they agreed to do some of the repairs, we could suck it up and do the rest...

We received this email today from our realtor:

"Congratulations!! They are doing everything!!!"

We are thrilled, elated, BLESSED, and very very thankful! In three weeks, we'll be on our way to our new house!!

Here's are a couple of pictures of the front view and the awesome yard!

It's a.....

BABY BOY!!!

WOOOOT! And he has 10 fingers and 10 toes and is as healthy as can be!!! All his measurements looked great! Here is a great shot of his profile!

And here he is flexing for us, my little muscle man!

Here is a 4D shot they did. You can see his arm and hand up by his face. He was snuggled into me and wouldn't turn over! He's playin' shy!

The doctor gave us a CD with 173 images from the ultrasound! These are the ones we picked that show him the best. Now...we just need a name! Isn't he the most precious little thing you've ever seen!?

MVP

...and no, I don't mean most valuable player. I was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse in 1994 when I went in for a routine appendectomy. The doctor couldn't begin the surgery until my heartrate was stabilized. As I lay there on the table, in and out of it from pain, I could just hear phrases every now and then... "not stable" "cardiologist" "heart condition" Finally they called in a cardiologist (a nice guy who was gardening at home and came in asap in his shorts and tennis shoes!) who diagnosed me with mitral valve prolapse. The docs explained it as the most common heart valve abnormality and told us that most people are unaffected and only a small percentage actually need valve replacement. Ok great, I was thinking, now get my appendix out before I die from the pain!

The main inconvenience with MVP is that because some of the blood in my heart actually "leaks" backwards, infection is much easier to get than in a normal heart. So, before any dental cleanings or procedures I have to take antibiotics. No biggie! (Oh yeah, and no caffeine, only water and sports drinks like gatorade....oops.)

Fast forward to the year 2000 where I'm at a sorority function at my college...
Chest pains hit, dull at first and then very strong. With every breath my chest and shoulder ache terribly until I'm in tears. It's to the point where holding my breath was the only way to not cry, and then when I did have to breathe, the pain was literally unbearable. I called the cardiologist who had came to the hospital that day and he asked me to go to the Heart Care Center immediately. Mom rushed me in and I was diagnosed with pericarditis, an inflammation of the thin membrane that surrounds your heart, also known as the worst pain EVER. The inflammation was so bad that when I was breathing, my inflated lungs were coming into contact with the membrane and causing the terrible pain. So some anti-imflammatory drugs later, I was fine. The doc told me to take 4 ibuprofen every four hours and if I ever had a cold, or any type of virus, to start taking the 4 ibuprofen every four hours to try and prevent infection.

Fast forward to June 30 2007...
I'm now living in AZ with my hubby and we decided to go out and meet friends. We ate dinner and as we leave to go to a different bar, I start to feel chest pain, only when I exhale. I started to take shallow breaths hoping it would go away, but as the night continued the pain got worse and worse until I couldn't breathe at all. My left shoulder was radiating with pain and every breath I took made it worse. Matt brought me home and I took Ibuprofen and laid down, tears streaming down my face, determined to get through the night so we could go to the doctor. (I was so delerious I forgot that the ER is open 24/7!). The next morning Matt took me to the Urgent Care center where an EKG was done and returned some abnormalties. My blood was tested and my enzyme levels were fine, but because of my history with pericarditis, the doc wanted me to have an echocardiagram and some further testing that was not available at the UCC. We were instructed to go to the ER immediately.

We arrived at the ER and were taken back right away where another EKG was done. I ended up staying in the ER for over 8 hours being tested, blood drawn, etc. I was on a heart monitor where my heartrate was going from 40 bpm up to 140 bpm in a matter of seconds. Alarms kept going off, and I was still in terrible, terrible pain. Finally they decided to give me some pain meds (via a shot to the rear, Ye-OUCH!) and the pain became more bearable. The doc said there were no signs to say that it was pericarditis again so he didn't see a need to even do an echocardiagram. After my EKG came back normal (who knows?) the ER doc informed us, "Chest pains are the most difficult thing to diagnosis. It could be your liver, it could be your heart...it could be any number of things. I'm not here to blow smoke and pretend like I know what it is when I don't. The tests came back showing that your heart seems to be in good shape, so get some rest." And whoosh, he was gone. Excuse me, what? So I was discharged with diagnosis "Chest pain-unknown cause" (Insert Sigh here)

The worst part of it all is that I don't know what causes these spells and I don't know how to prevent them or stop them when they start. Lately my palpitations are much worse and much harder to get rid of. Usually if my heart starts to beat rapidly I just lay down and take a nap, and when I wake up, everything is back to normal. But in the last couple days I can't even do that. I'll doze off and then jump awake with a pounding heart and hardly able to catch my breath. And since I've been pregnant I've had very little to NO caffeine and lots of gatorade.

I guess I'm just scared and it's pointless to go to the doctor because they never help. I think I might mention the palpitations to my doctor tomorrow at my OB appt. because I really am starting to wonder what my heart will do throughout the rest of my pregnancy, and delivery.

Sometimes I think it could be anxiety/stress related too, since I've lost my job, am moving across the country, bought a house 1700 miles away, have a house to pack in 2 weeks, etc. etc.

Here's hoping for a heart healthy day!

Lists

I'm such a list girl. I make lists for everything, for work, for school (when I was in school), for home projects, etc. However, at this point my lists seem pointless. Every room I walk into I can basically say, I need to clean everything in here, and pack it. So, instead of making a very long list, I just started doing things this time. I feel like I got a lot accomplished today, even if it wasn't all moving related. I

*did four loads of laundry (and still going)
*packed all my scrap supplies and my craft area
*took all three dogs for a long walk (they're exhausted!)
*met Kevin, Yasmeen and the girls at the park for some swinging, playing in the sand, throwing the football and kicking the soccer ball!

I told Matt if we each pack a box a day, the move will seem a lot less stressful. So far, I've kept up my end of the bargain...

But, he did just cook me a yummy dinner of chicken alfredo with a side of vegetable medley!

Wednesday is our ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby! It's also the day Matt will give his two week notice at work. His last day will be Oct 31st and we pick up our moving truck on November 5th!

Woot! Woot! Woot!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”~ Philippians 4:6-7

My friend Andi posted this on her blog today and it was just what I needed to keep me at peace. Maybe some of my readers might need to read it too. Thanks Andi! I'm glad everything is ok for you and Keegan!

:cry:

Those are tears of joy! I'm so overwhelmed I can't even handle it. Everything is going so well with our moving plans and our mortgage approval and everything. I just feel so at peace! It's amazing how smoothly things go when they're part of a bigger plan that even you don't fully comprehend. Sometimes we try to do things and it's as if they are forced, nothing goes right, it's just a headache...and you wonder if you're doing the right thing. Then, there are times when everything falls into place and you KNOW that this was nothing you did because it's bigger than you. It's an opportunity that God has put in place for us and we are so happy to have realized it and taken the risk.

I think I'm rambling, but the bottom line is the winds have changed for us. I feel confident that our struggles and stresses are behind us and a new life awaits for us, a mommy, a daddy, and baby makes three!

We are making an offer tonight on the house we want, so I'm holding onto these positive feelings!

Belly Check!

Yep, it's there!

Here is the shot I took at 7 weeks, on August 12, 2007.

And here is the shot taken today, October 7, 2007 at 17 weeks. Whoa baby!

Matt calls me his "little Howitzer" which so lovingly is a type of German TANK!

I am only going to get bigger from here!! I'm loving it though. It's fun and the bigger I get, I know the baby is just that much stronger, and that much closer to being here!

The Details...

I just have to put the details on here because Matt and I handpicked every single item and designed everything ourselves (yes, I'm tooting my own horn!). We were so happy with how our vision came together and everything was just perfect and how we had imagined it!! Our ceremony and reception were in a 1940s barn that was restored with orginal floors and beautiful wooden beams on the ceiling, so we wanted our decor to compliment the rustic elegance of the building.

The signature frame - instead of a guest book, we opted to use a signature frame which now hangs in our living room with our picture in it. It's so neat to walk by and read what people wrote, and I swear sometimes I read stuff I don't think I've seen before!

The Place cards - I found a pine cone farm online and ordered 200 medium pines cones so that we could use them to display our place cards.

Our centerpieces were made of orchids and curly willow. We used old barn wood and had the table numbers spray painted on using stencils.

I ordered these flavored personalized teabags online and requested that a small pinecone be added to the tag.

The appetizer displays were so pretty, and yummo!

White chocolate and milk chocolate fountains with pretzels, bananas, pineapples, strawberries, marshmellows and I don't even remember what else!

And of course, the yummy food! Our caterer was SO absolutely sweet and an amazing chef. The food was delish! We went with a country style buffet dinner, eat all you can! And, I got to go first, woot!

The room setup. Our colors were burnt orange and chocolate brown with a touch of cranberry. Since my dress had a sash I wanted all the chairs to have sashes too!

And here it is once it got a bit darker.

The ceremony location was turned into a lounge once the reception started so people could mingle and relax on the couches.

Using the wood beams we draped beautiful fabric from the ceiling to mark off where the dance floor would be. In some of the reception pictures you'll be able to see the fabric hanging to the floor.

My hideout while people were being seated and during the start of the ceremony was in the reception room, so in this picture you can see the fabric behind me, and the head table setup near the window with cranberry fabric mixed in as an accent.

Now that everything is setup and ready to go, we can get this party started!!

The Sand Ceremony

The sand ceremony was one of our favorite parts of the ceremony and something we came across while researching weddings and unity ceremonies. The unity candle is the more traditional version of this ceremony, but with an outside wedding, sand is becoming more and more common so that the wind doesn't extinguish the flame. Our wedding was supposed to be outside but due to the weather it was moved inside. We were totally fine with still using the sand because the final result is something we can keep and cherish in our home as part of our decor! Instead of the mothers carrying in the candles, or lighting each side to symbolize their child, our moms carried in jars of sand that represented each of us.

Here is the wording of the ceremony for those of you not familiar!

You have just sealed your relationship by the giving and receiving of rings. This beautiful union is symbolized through the combining of these two individual jars of sand. The first jar represents you Jamie, in all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be, and the other jar represents you Matt, in all that you were, all that you are and all that you will ever be. Each one holds its own unique beauty, strength, and character. They can stand on their own and be whole, without need of anything else. However when these two are blended together they create an entirely new and extraordinarily more intricate entity. Each grain of sand brings to the mixture a lasting beauty that forever enriches the combination. Please pour the sand into this common container to symbolize the union of your two lives. This container of sand now represents your new life together, although you are two separate people your lives are now entwined as one. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual containers, so will your marriage be a molding of two individual personalities, bonded together forming one heart, one love. The life that each of you experienced now, individually, will hereafter be inseparably united, for the two shall become one.

The first layer was poured by the preacher and represented our foundation of God, friends and family.

Then Matt poured in a thin layer representing who he is as an individual.

And I did the same...

And then we poured together to finish it!

And here is our sand! It's corked and in our living room!

And there you have it! :)