The Beautiful Adventure of Life

Baby step

2012-01-15T08:42:00.002-05:00

I don't know if we can count it but since we were both there to witness it we will...

Micah took a step! He has been standing up without holding on to anything and this morning he lifted his foot off the ground, took a step, and then tumbled. But thats how it starts, right?

We are close! He might be taking steps by his 1st birthday!

This is where he was at Christmas- starting to get more steady standing with one hand.

Another house update

2012-01-13T22:11:00.002-05:00

at least there is insulation!
YAY- siding is done!

An update on the house

2012-01-02T10:03:00.004-05:00

I don't have an updated picture of the inside of the house but this is what we have been up to:

We got the new window in and boarded up the little window in the pantry. In this picture you can see the new sill plate above the bricks. Hopefully when we return from our stay at the Goads we will have siding in place from the contractors.

We decided to take off siding from a small section of the house and sadly we discovered MORE termite damage!!!!! ugh...luckily since the siding was off and there was no piping in the way, the sill and studs were replaced rather easily (I think considering the contractors did it in a few hours).
Here is the finished project with new vents for the dryer and new siding. I am really glad you can't tell that the siding isn't exact but what I really notice is that we need to power wash...add it to the list!

Too Busy to Blog

2012-01-02T09:46:00.005-05:00

I decided to tackle a pretty large Christmas craft - personalized stockings. I started with mine in the middle playing around with the embroidery and finished with Ariana's. I have yet to make Matt and Sarah's and told them they would be done for next Christmas because the hand embroidering is a little more time consuming than I planned. I am pretty impressed with the project and how they all turned out!

House updates

2011-11-05T22:15:00.004-04:00

Bryan says all I post about it Micah so this is for him.

We have had quite a setback in our endeavor to fix up an old house...

In hopes of remodeling our very outdated kitchen, Bryan started the project and it came to a dead halt when he discovered extensive termite damage.

Before- the wall that was going to come down to expand the kitchen.

Before: Pantry

studs/floor joists/sill- all termite eaten and need to be replaced- ugh

Progress as of today- everything is braced up and the sill (what the floor joists and wall sit on) is about to come out- the moment of truth

Sill being nailed in

I look forward to picking out the wall colors, floors, and kitchen layout but this is exciting stuff too. We are a long way off because of doing the work ourselves but we are saving thousands of dollars in the end which is worth it! Oh and by ourselves, I mean Bryan, his dad, and friends. Not me!

9 Months

2011-11-05T21:53:00.005-04:00

It is hard to believe that Micah is already 9 months old. He has such a big personality and gets very proud of himself when he does something new. He grins and makes sure we are all looking.

He hasn't perfected "pulling-up" as you can see by the video...

*I thought I would never own the light up toys but this is the best $5 I have ever spent! I got it at a yard sale and Micah plays with it all the time. It is the only toy that captures his attention for longer than a minute or two. I highly recommend it for other babies.

Happy Baby

2011-10-29T19:46:00.002-04:00

My happy baby is back! Micah finally cut that top tooth he has been working on for over a week. As soon as it happened, his smile came back along with his naps!

He took a two hour nap yesterday (unheard of!) so I actually napped...wow! Naps are amazing! I am usually running around like a wild woman trying to clean while Micah sleeps for 45 minutes...its amazing how great I feel and what I accomplished.

*just a side note: those PJ's he is wearing were supposed to be for after his 1st bday (12-18 months). God, can you please make time slow down for the next few months? I am not ready to be done with the infancy stage!

diapering

2011-10-16T21:25:00.002-04:00

This is what diapering an 8 month old looks like :

Why I love being home part-time :)

2011-10-13T14:36:00.001-04:00

8 Months!

2011-10-03T19:25:00.003-04:00

Disclaimer: started this post 2 weeks ago...

Bryan came into the nursery this morning and asked if Micah looked bigger to me. Honestly, it is hard for me to remember the little tiny baby that we brought home from the hospital and he does seem to be growing faster these days!

A few things have changed in the last week:

1. Sitting to tummy- I used to have to arrange Micah so that he wouldn't get bored. I would put him on his tummy and he would instantly roll to his back. He did not like being on his tummy. But now he has realized that he can get from point A to point B by rolling/scooting/turning on his tummy.

2. Tooth #2- came in today as a matter of fact! Micah made sure I noticed by flicking his fingernail on it and looking at me. He was very proud!

3. Crawling is just around the corner. He gets on hands and knees and propels himself forward. Yesterday he realized that he can move his knee forward so we shall see how long it takes him!

4. Micah doesn't stay still when changing his diaper and reaches for anything and everything within his grasp. I thought changing a newborn was hard. He pooped out of his diaper today and rolled around with poop still on his bottom- I ended up with it on my work slacks...

And TODAY!

Micah got on all fours, rocked, and crawled!

I've lightened up

2011-09-17T22:25:00.004-04:00

Today I went out of town for a dual baby shower- Erica (Bryan's sister) and Sarah (cousin)- which was really fun! It was an absolute CRAZY morning which included scoring an Ergo baby carrier from a yard sale :)

All that to say, Bryan was excited to be on baby duty for the day/night. Around 2pm I get a text that says, "When should I feed him?" It dawned on me that Bryan doesn't know our feeding schedule and it didn't even cross my mind to tell him. Realization: I trust others to watch Micah and I have lightened up. I used to worry all the time. (What if he cries and won't stop? What if he won't take the bottle? Is he being held enough? Is he napping? Is he doing tummy time?) I like this new me!

So the not so fun part of nursing is pumping. I left the house without all of my pump parts. We were an hour and a half from home and gone from 12 - 8. Needless to say it was the first and last time that will happen! Do I have mommy brain or am I that disorganized?!

Micah at 7 months

Reminded of Grace

2011-09-05T13:13:00.002-04:00

2Cr 9:8

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

I was reminded this weekend how much grace I really need. My wonderful husband showed me so much grace this weekend that it reminded me how much more so God gives me grace. Poor Micah is not an easy teether and has been miserable! For two days and nights straight he wouldn't let us put him down to sleep. Poor guy has needed so much love and comfort!

I am so humbled by motherhood. How amazing is the Proverbs 31 Woman? Oh that I would be a quarter of this woman!

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. - Pro 31:10 NIV

Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. -

She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. -

She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.

She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.

She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.

She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.

She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.

In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.

When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:

"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. -

Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. -

Friendship

2011-08-11T19:54:00.006-04:00

It has been said that good friends are hard to find. I would say good couple friends are even harder to find. Bryan and I said goodbye to our good friends, no best friends, Adam and Maleasa. We are so excited for them to move closer to family and have their own adventure, but it has been very difficult to say goodbye. It has hit Bryan and I harder than we expected because we could actually visit with them after Micah and Elias went down because our monitors reached from house to house.

Maleasa is that friend that will drop anything to come help me. I can't count the number of times she has come to my rescue. Even though she is a bit squemish with blood, she came running when we couldn't get Micah's bleeding to stop from his circumcision. She has talked me through pregnancy, giving birth, nursing, colic, and Micah's milestones. Maleasa is also the friend that I can be totally and completely honest with. She has challenged me to read my Bible and spend time with the Lord and she probably doesn't even know it. If you don't know, Maleasa and Adam lived two doors down so we often have called each other for brown sugar or a can of beans. We have shared many dinners together and movie nights. And the best part about our friendship is that Bryan and Adam get along great. They both love fixing things and having a beer. I know it is rare to find friends where the husbands get along just as well as the wives do.

Today I started to type a text to Maleasa to see if she wanted to go on a walk, but then I realized she is 5 hours away in the mountains of Virginia...

It is just one of those days where the "Sold" sign in front of their house gets me all choked up.

I Spy...

2011-07-24T20:14:00.003-04:00

...a furry creature eating my tomatoes

I saw my first groundhog last week and thought he was cute.

Then I saw him pulling my tomatoes off with his furry little hands and having dinner in my garden and changed my mind.

grrr.

The Not-So-Glamorous Life

2011-07-21T09:44:00.002-04:00

Since Micah was born I arrive to work around 8:10AM. I struggle to get through the door with my pump bag, purse, lunch bag, and coffee in hand. My hair is wet and my clothes are wrinkled. It is a miracle if I escape the house without spit-up running down my shirt. My co-worker accidentally brushed my leg under the table during an office meeting and my secret was out. I wore a skirt with stubbly legs...

My house is a maze of baby stuff- watch out or you will trip over the bouncer, the johnny jump up, the exersaucer, the activity center, the car seat, or the diaper bag. And if you can avoid the baby stuff- you might not be able to avoid the 3 laundry baskets that haven't made it into drawers yet.

So this the real me. No reason to hide the fact that I am not perfect. My house is not perfect. And my baby is not perfect. He was up 5 times last night and he didn't fall asleep until 10 pm despite Bryan and I both trying to put him to bed at 7.

Good thing God loves me because I don't know anyone that would want to be friends with the girl described above :)

We had a saying in my apartment in college and it was this: "Just Keepin' It Real".

first video upload...

2011-07-14T22:01:00.001-04:00

Gone Forever?

2011-07-10T22:33:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I wonder if having Micah has made me lose my brain. I have lost the ability to speak. I can't think of words in conversations. When I was talking with my OBGYN the other day, I had to describe an epidural because I couldn't think of the word. Will my brain ever come back?!

back to the word epidural- the doc said that mine didn't work...I wondered why it hurt so bad and why other friends said all they felt was "pressure". I got some satisfaction when we cleared that up.

i've grown up

2011-07-03T21:08:00.002-04:00

I'm an adult. officially.

I debated about calling the police on our neighbors because they are shooting off illegal fireworks. Then I thought about my life pre-baby....it would have never crossed my mind that there are families that can't have a relaxing evening with a scared crying baby.

Micah is now swinging and will hopefully move to the crib once he has calmed down. Poor little guy gets so spooked by thunder and now I have learned, fireworks. So much for a movie night with the hubby...

Big day!

2011-06-29T19:28:00.002-04:00

It's a big day in the Goad household- Micah rolled over three times (not like the first time which I think was an accident- about a month ago) AND he actually swallowed rice cereal! Maybe he will sleep through the night tonight...but I won't hold my breath! For some reason he was up every hour from 8-2...let me spell that out so you fully understand my exhaustion right now: 9, 10, 11, 12, 1, and yes 2 am...then I slept until 6am. I want to blame it on the thunder we had last night but I am not really sure I can.

I need to pray for sleep :)

Micah Sings!

2011-06-22T07:23:00.002-04:00

Micah Sings!

We have learned that Micah likes to sing along! It first started when I was singing to him the other week and he joined in. Then he did it at church, and now during rehearsal for a wedding that Sarah and I are singing in. Luckily Micah won't be joining us because he made his mommy get off key :)

swaddle

2011-05-25T20:57:00.001-04:00

I think we finally broke the need of the swaddle! Just in time for summer!

breaking the rules

2011-05-24T20:33:00.003-04:00

Do you know in the movies when the mom and dad slump down on the couch after all the kids are in bed? Bryan and I literally do that every night after Micah is asleep in his crib...and that is just with one child...I can't imagine the victory we would feel with more than one.

Tonight was like any other night. We sit down and talk about our day and hold our breath until we know that another peep isn't coming out of Micah for the night. The last week and a half Micah has battled a staph infection. He had an eczema outbreak on his arm that he rubbed in his car seat and on his swaddle blankets and it ended up turning into staph. I don't want to be one of those over cautious moms (though I have called for various reasons like Micah used to snoring, pooping, lack of pooping, etc.). But all that to say, I called with the eczema outbreak but felt like he didn't need to be seen. Then the next week it didn't look like eczema anymore and I found out this time I should have been more cautious. Lesson learned.

All that background info to say that I have taken pity on Micah because he had an allergic reaction to the ointment and the oral antibiotics they gave him makes his tummy upset. So we have fallen into a slippery slope of him waking up crying shortly after being put down at night...

Tonight Bryan went to get him and came downstairs snuggling with him. Micah has us wrapped around his little finger! Micah proceeded to coo, smile, laugh, and even squeal in delight tonight. Definitely worth breaking the rules :)

Micah laughs

2011-05-21T16:34:00.003-04:00

Last night when I was changing Micah for bed, I could have sworn he laughed but I thought it was just a fluke so I wasn't going to make a big fuss about it. But this afternoon when I walked Micah outside to visit Daddy doing yard work, he gave us a full giggle!

He has been making noises that sound like half coos and half laughs but there was no denying that the last two instances were distinct laughs! Oh babies are SO much fun!!!!

In other news, I got pooped on today...the good comes with the bad I guess!

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:54:00.003-04:00

Last Mother's day I contemplated what it would be like to be a mother. I have decided that there is no greater joy in this world. When Micah looks up and smiles at me, I see God's faithfulness and answered prayers all over his face.

This day was just like any other day- woke up early, ate cereal for breakfast, didn't get a nap, went shopping for Micah's needs, and loved every minute. Micah gave me a good mother's day gift of letting me rock him to sleep at church. As he is getting older he doesn't love laying in my arms so when he is quiet and drifts off to sleep while I am still holding him, it melts my heart...along with everything else he does!

I leave you with a sad attempt at Easter pictures...Micah lasted all of 3 pictures...he knew he looked ridiculous in the bunny hat lol

fist

2011-04-27T20:14:00.002-04:00

Micah found his fist today...as I type this I hear a lot of sucking noises coming from his crib. Bryan even said that he was more interested in his fist than in his bottle today...crazy boy!

He also has started to pull up his legs straight in the air- sometimes letting out a little toot :)

That's all for now...

Manic Monday!

2011-04-18T20:28:00.003-04:00

It was a crazy monday at work...mostly because there was a crazy nurse in the office practically all day who wouldn't leave me alone. She even walked in on me while I was nursing! Micah's nanny brought him by which was so special for both of us :)

I was trying to catch Micah's adorable smile and this is what I captured.

sweet boy

2011-04-16T07:18:00.003-04:00

Bryan and I say over and over how much of a different baby Micah is. He used to only be content for about 20 minutes. Now he plays, smiles, and just sits contently. We have so much fun with him! The other night after I got home from a baby shower, he was tootin' up a storm. Bryan and I would just laugh and then Micah would join in with a huge smile.

Last night at 4 am I realized how thankful I am that Micah doesn't cry all the time anymore. He started crying a few minutes after I put him into the crib so I knew he needed me. He used to cry EVERY time I put him down. He had a big monster burp (yes I burped him for what seemed like 10 minutes). Anyways- Micah now only cries when he needs me. He is a happy baby! YAY!!!!

It feels so good to have the nannies say the same thing- "he is so sweet!"

back to work

2011-04-13T20:52:00.002-04:00

I went back to work and have been a terrible blogger. There are so many more important things to do- such as hold my son until I absolutely have to put him to bed...

My first day back was rough. Micah wouldn't take the bottle, Bryan thought he was doing things all wrong, and I wanted to run out of the building never to return. I sat at my desk listening to my poor baby cry through the phone and cried myself. 8 hours feels like eternity....but not enough time to get my job done between pumping and texting to check in on Micah :)

I think the worst part is that I feel like Micah won't realize that I am his mom, but there is no chance for that. He smiles at me as soon as I come into get him in the morning and when I come home from work. The best part was what happened tonight - He was crying and Bryan had him. As soon as I took over, he stopped crying instantly. He just wanted his mommy and there is no better feeling in the world!

favorite thing

2011-04-05T20:07:00.002-04:00

My new favorite thing is to listen to Micah "coo" in his crib. When I left this morning he was just talking away and he is doing the same thing right now. He is the best :)

2 months

2011-03-31T20:57:00.004-04:00

Micah loves the sound of his own voice. We "talk" all the time :)

Micah is already 2 months...it is FLYING by! Bryan and I are loving this stage because it seems like every week he is doing something new, whether it is a new noise or face.

I like the idea of taking monthly pictures with a stuffed animal to show how much they have grown. I missed 1 month but here is his two month picture.

the in-between

2011-03-29T12:43:00.002-04:00

My closet is sad....

It is a mix between maternity and my pre-pregnancy clothes. I haven't bought non-maternity clothes in well...11 months. So, you can imagine preparing to go back to work is depressing.

I managed to put together 12 outfits this morning. I tried on each piece and asked Bryan if it was too tight or too loose or looked ridiculous. I figured if I could wake up and not think about what to wear to work on top of nursing, getting Micah ready, etc. it would be a little easier to get out the door.

I REALLY wanted to go back to work in my regular clothes but it looks like I will be in maternity pants for a little while longer. I never knew an extra 10 pounds made that much of a difference. I heard the last 10 pounds after a baby are the hardest to lose...but I don't want to buy the "in-between" clothes. I might have to because I have mommy hips and a breastfeeding chest...

Oh the in-between....

CIO - Day 2

2011-03-28T17:31:00.002-04:00

So yesterday was sunday and the day before was...j/k i'm not Rebecca Black and have seen enough posts about that on FB

Yesterday morning Micah cried in his crib until his next feeding - not constant crying but he never went to sleep. I fed him right before we left for church and he was asleep in my arms before the first song. I held him through the whole service and through the potluck after church. I finally had to wake him up to eat when we got home. He was sleepy after all that crying.

But he only cried a little on the next nap and never cried last night when we put him down. SUCCESS!

I know that he is still not completely ready to self soothe without any crying and it takes time but it feels so good when you can breathe a sigh of relief that you won't hear crying.

I also said THE most embarrassing thing today when shopping with my mom in Old Navy. I can't believe I am even sharing it but it was ridiculous stupid and hysterical at the same time.

Post Cereal and Old Navy have some sort of coupon thing going on so they had free samples of small cereal boxes at the register. My mom got really excited because it was her favorite cereal. The Manager came up and gave her a bag of samples, then walked away.

Then as we were shopping, my mom saw him again and said "Thanks again!" He said, "Yeah that will give you a few breakfasts but I can't supply any milk" and pointed to the stroller.

I responded, "Oh I got that covered."

When he walked away, my mom looked at me and started laughing. I said, "What?" She said, "Elise, he meant for the cereal." AHH!!! I was so embarrassed...he was pointing at the bag of cereal...not Micah.

I wanted to run for the door...

CIO- Day 1

2011-03-27T08:03:00.002-04:00

CIO...Crying it out...

I have learned so many mommy acronyms in the last few weeks.

Before yesterday I was completely against letting a baby cry it out. I didn't think a baby as young as 7 weeks would be able to self soothe...but I was wrong.

Micah woke up at 7 am like normal, and went down pretty easily in his crib for a nap. Then after his 10 o'clock feeding it was a different story. He basically cried until 2 even though Bryan and I were holding him, bouncing him, trying to feed him, etc.

I called the wonderful Susanne Leach because she has 3 well-behaved boys and I figured one of them must have had trouble napping. I was surprised and encouraged that she let her sons cry it out. So I figured that it must work and I needed to give it a try.

I fed Micah, changed his diaper, swaddled him, said I loved him, placed him in his crib, and walked away. I knew I did everything I could do so it made it easier to walk away. Immediately he started crying, the kind of crying that hurts to listen to. The kind of crying that makes you think that your baby is dying. Bryan told me to leave the house, but I realized if I went into the kitchen, I couldn't hear it. So I made myself get distracted and about 10 minutes later, I didn't hear any crying. I obviously went and checked in to make sure he was still breathing...and he was sound asleep!!!! I guess it shouldn't have surprised me since he didn't sleep for 4 hours....He slept until 5:30- 3 full hours.

Bedtime wasn't quite so successful. We put him down and put in a movie - "Life As We Know It" (Side Note: Bryan and I both really enjoyed it- it was different than the previews). Micah cried for 45 minutes, before we went and got him. FAIL. I fed him, changed him, and started over. He cried for about 20 minutes the 2nd time. He slept until 3am :)

I am now a believe in crying it out. Why?! Because I realized either way he is crying when he is tired. Whether we are holding him or not. And so far, we have had more success leaving him alone than bouncing, rocking, swinging him to sleep.

Side Note #2 - my blog is a mommy blog. sorry. this is my life right now and it feels really good to write about it.

the crib

2011-03-24T14:05:00.003-04:00

this post is being written one handed because Micah has an upset tummy and couldnt fall asleep in his crib. so forgive the lack of capitalizations, etc. because i dont want to disturb the little one sleeping on my chest

i bet you are wondering how i would ever know my 7 week old has an upset stomach. well i dont know for sure but he burped like usual at his last feeding yet i had to go in twice and move him to a different section of the crib b/c of his pools of spit up...gross i know. then when i picked him up he burped a big one then spit up again...a lot. then nestled in my neck and dozed off. i dont mind the big mucous-y wet spot on my shirt anymore :)

ever since moving micah to his crib i keep thinking i hear him crying in the night. dreaming of micah crying is making me not get good sleep. when he was in the bassinet in our room i got less sleep yet felt less tired because i wasnt worried about him.

btw...we had to put up a net to keep kona out of the crib...grr

Day 3

2011-03-21T14:37:00.003-04:00

Today is Day 3 of journaling and trying to REALLY get on a schedule. Prior to that, we were busy and I wanted to be on the go. Now, with 2 weeks left before returning to work, I am determined to enjoy my house and my wonderful baby.

I must apologize for yesterday...sorry to be such a debbie downer. Micah is a wonderful baby and brings SO much joy to Bryan and I. His noises, his smiles, his funny faces and of course his tooting always make us laugh :)

A blog was recommended to me, and I finally had a chance to check it out yesterday. I found some really good insight and felt refreshed to start today with a fresh outlook on scheduling. It probably helped that Micah went back to his "normal" night schedule - he nursed at 9:30 and 2:00 and then got up at 6:00 AM. I am trying to make 7:00 his normal wake time so he woke up again at 7:00 and I fed him again.

This morning, Micah was very sleepy so we sat on the couch and dozed back off together after his feeding. At 9:30 right on the dot, he ate again. An hour later, I swaddled him and sat with him in the rocker. I read that on babywisemom.com. I had been cradling him and rocking him which made him cry after a few minutes. So we sat, he relaxed and I put him in the crib. He started whining a few minutes later because he lost his pacifier but all it took was me going in 2 times, giving him his pacifier, rubbing his forehead, and he was out.

At 12:00, he nursed and we had tummy time for a few minutes, and I saw a yawn. I took him upstairs, swaddled him, and did the same thing as this morning. I only had to go back into the nursery once to give him his pacifier.

It is 2:45 and I have another 15 minutes of ME time :) I am so refreshed!

guilt-free mom

2011-03-20T19:11:00.003-04:00

Is a mother's instinct right or what is written in books?

Micah is not the easiest baby and has a deafening cry which makes getting on a schedule very difficult. I am doing exactly what is says in multiple books (BabyWise, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child) and yet, Micah screams and screams at naptime. Just now, after 45 minutes of nothing calming him down, I finally gave in and nursed him. I should probably add that I hardly EVER do that but NOTHING would get him to stop crying.

I need to be a guilt-free mom. Now he is here laying on my chest, incredibly relaxed, drifting off to sleep. I have to tell myself over and over not to offer him the breast because it will create a "bad habit" or "prop". Not only that, but it says not to have your baby sleep on you because then they won't be able to sleep without you. What is a mom to do?! Listen to her baby cry so hard that he is drenched in sweat or offer the only thing that will calm him down?

I never knew being a mom would be so hard because of feeling torn between instinct and what the books say....

Any input from the other moms out there?

6 weeks

2011-03-17T20:36:00.003-04:00

Micah is 6 weeks today...and I am so happy I told work I couldn't come back after 6 weeks. We are both not ready! I was crazy to think I could ever leave him this early...

We did a lot of tummy time today :)

In the life of a new mom

2011-03-16T16:11:00.004-04:00

yesterday was glorious...

6:00 am - nurse Micah

6:30 am- back to bed

8:00 am- get ready for 6 week post-pardum appointment

9:00 - wake up Micah to nurse

9:35 - in the car

9:45 - swinging Micah in his car seat at the doctor's office to keep him from crying since the car ride didn't put him to sleep (people looking at me like I am crazy)

10:00 - in the exam room, Micah asleep, I breathe a sigh of relief

10:05 - door slams to another room, wakes up Micah who starts crying...I try to grab the paper covering myself and calm him down

10:08 - Dr. E comes in with the nurse, I am exposed because I can't keep the pacifier in and hold the sheet covering me...i apologize. The nurse takes over pacifier patrol as I try to concentrate on the exam. All goes well and I go back home.

12:00 - nurse Micah

1:00 take a nap :) - somewhere in there Bryan left for work...i was out cold

3:00 - nurse Micah

4:00 - do some laundry and clean the kitchen

5:00 - nurse Micah

*don't remember what I did here

8:00 - watch Glee and nurse

11:00- Bryan came home from work- talked about his night

11:30 - fell asleep on the couch

*obviously my day consists of more than this, like playing with my baby boy and singing to him etc.

And this is where we start today....which is whole different story!

12:00 am - nurse

1:00 - put Micah down and crawl into bed

1:05- Micah starts crying- took him into the nursery, tried to get him to stop crying by rocking him, pacifier, he calmed down, I put him back into the bassinet

1:25- crying - took Micah back into nursery, nursed him to sleep, back into bassinet

1:47- crying - apologize to Bryan who says "it's ok" and my reply was "no it's not, he has been awake for over an hour and a half. I will take him downstairs."

at this point, I was ready to cry...

2:10 - finally crawl into bed with breath held, no crying!

3:00 - I hear Micah grunting that he is ready to eat again...feed him, change him, swaddle him

3:35- back to bed

6:30 am- My day begins! Feed Micah, change him, take him downstairs, tummy time, and get him ready for his nap -

* this is where I captured Micah's smile...FINALLY! he has been smiling since Sunday but I haven't caught it on camera until today. This is when he is coming out of the smile but still...

8:00- put dinner in crockpot, make myself breakfast, brew decaf coffee, sit down to relax

8:30 - Micah crying to eat again

10:30 - nurse, Bryan took Micah and put him to sleep for me

11:30- laundry!

12:30- feed Micah, play with him until he yawns, try to put him to sleep- he is crying and I can't get him to stop, put him into the Moby wrap. I walk laps around the house until he goes to sleep

1:30 -make lunch for Bryan

2:15- realize I have to pee but wouldn't dare take Micah out of the Moby because he is sound asleep...you know what is next :)

2:30 - Bryan leaves for work, I sit on the couch

2:45 - Micah wakes up crying

3:00 - Micah is crying, I do everything possible to get to him to stop...nothing is working

3:15 - take out the stroller, go for a walk. I walk until he is asleep. My legs are tired...

3:45- Micah's asleep in his car seat, I set him on the stoop as I pack up the stroller to put back in the car. I hear a faint baby cry...could that be him? Sure enough! Micah is awake and crying again...we go inside

3:50 get a call from Maleasa asking if I want to go on a walk. I explain that I just came in from one and will go next time...

3:55- Micah is crying, I call back Maleasa and say nevermind, I will go because I need to put Micah to sleep again

5:00- get back from walk, get back inside, Micah starts crying

5:15- put Micah into swing, he stops crying and goes to sleep...I love the swing!

Now it is 5:42, it is quiet, and I am blogging. I absolutely LOVE being a mom, but that doesn't mean that it is easy, especially with a baby who cries for no apparent reason. There are moments throughout the day that make all the hard stuff disappear, like cuddling, and when when my baby smiles at me, but it is still very difficult.

I prayed for so long to be a mom, and yet there are times that I think that I can't do it. But God always gives me the strength and the love that I need for Micah.

update

2011-03-11T08:54:00.003-05:00

The prayer of Bryan and I before Micah came was that Bryan would have a job by the time Micah was born. The day I went into labor Bryan accepted a job in Easton even though he had applied to our county detention center here in Salisbury and wanted that job more. He knew he couldn't take the chance that he wouldn't get the job. The week after Micah was born, Bryan was called by the county to come in for his final testing for the correctional officer position. We found out he got the job and would start March 10th. He called up the company in Easton and explained the situation. They took it very well- btw.

How amazing is our God? How could this situation be any more perfect? Bryan was home for the first 5 weeks of Micah's life. We know we are blessed for multiple reasons. People in our church have offered work for Bryan so that financially we have been ok-keeping up on payments, etc. Bryan and I have both been overwhelmed by the faithfulness of our Lord!

We also found out that Bryan has the 3-11 M-F shift for now..which will be a challenge because I work 8-5 but we know it won't be forever and we have the weekends! And I know there are other couples who hardly see each other so it will be ok :)

Also, I realize blogs are much more interesting with pictures...so I need to put more pictures up. This picture of Micah was from his first bath time- he LOVES it!

Sleep!

2011-03-03T07:25:00.003-05:00

We decided to take a visit to Dr. W, our pediatrician because Micah has not been a very happy baby. Up until about 2 1/2 weeks he was..how i would describe as "the best baby ever". He was eating every 3 hours during the day and 4 at night. I was a happy mommy because I was getting sleep and then a switch went off.

All of a sudden he wouldn't sleep during the day unless he was in my arms and he was waking up every 2 1/2 - 3 hours to eat. I was tired and well...starting to get a little cranky.

So I called Dr. W, after a LOT of encouragement from my mom, sister, and friend. I felt silly saying, "Micah cries a lot and won't sleep." I thought they would say, "Congratulations you have yourself a newborn." BUT the office staff was awesome and Dr. W reassured me that I am not crazy. She thinks he might have reflux so we are taking him in for an upper GI either today or tomorrow. I just pray we get answers for this poor little guy who cries like he is in pain. Dr. W suggested I sleep Micah in his car seat at night and it worked like a charm. He ate every 3 1/2 hours last night. I feel so rested :)

In other news, Micah is one month old today! Time is flying by! I was planning on going back to work after 6 weeks which was the craziest idea ever...I am tentatively going back on April 4th which is a little over 8 weeks. I have the best boss who says take all the time you need :) So we shall see when I will actually be ready to leave my little man (who has gained almost 2 pounds in a month by the way). He is now 8 pounds 14 ounces. I can't believe that some women deliver babies of that size. OUCH!

waterhose

2011-02-21T16:20:00.002-05:00

Our little man makes us laugh...

We had our two week appointment this afternoon and Micah was quite a charmer with the ladies!

He is like a water hose. Micah sprayed the whole wall behind him and all of the equipment for measuring at the pediatrician's office. The poor tech wasn't sure what to do. Every time she pulled the diaper away he sprayed again. A total of 3 times!

When the doctor came into the room, she even commented about it....

I wonder if this is what we will be known for?!

In other baby news...Micah used to be on a schedule- 4 hour feedings at night and 2.5-3 hour feedings in the day. This has been thrown out the window in the last few days. Our quiet baby is growing up and needs to eat all.the.time! He also only falls asleep on mommy's chest...is this a bad habit to get into? Dr. W said to feed him on-demand right now. There are so many different schools of thought on feeding...and I am a confused first time mom! Maybe I should throw out the books and go on instinct for now?!

getting to know Micah

2011-02-16T07:49:00.003-05:00

Micah is officially two weeks old and I have learned so much about him!

1. Every day he looks more and more like his Daddy :)

2. He loves to cuddle - he sleeps great at night but for some reason during the day he just wants to be held.

3. He smacks his lips when he is hungry.

4. He loves to be papoosed (swaddled). Our pediatrician called it papoose and I love that word...I call him my little papoose sometimes :)

5. He loves the glider. Last night he wouldn't calm down and I took him upstairs to the glider and sang to him to sleep. I love being a mom!

6. He got himself on a schedule...he eats every 2 1/2 - 3 hours during the day and every 4 hours at night! Praise the Lord! I have actually had 3 hour blocks of sleep which most people say is unheard of in the first 2 weeks of a newborn's life. Believe me, he came like that...it is nothing I have done. lol

7. He has very prominent birth marks on his forehead, eyelids, and the back of his neck called "stork bites". The pediatrician in the hospital told me it would go away in a few days, which is not true... our pediatrician said it could last up to two years, so we shall see. The one on his forehead as you can see is in the shape of a V. We joke it is for Victory!

8. He snores if he is not lying flat (in his swing, bouncer, or being held)...I plan on talking to the doctor about this on Monday.

9. He doesn't like to be changed...he pretty much cries every time. We haven't given him his first bath and I am hoping he will like it but I am fully prepared for him to scream the whole time.

10. He is already a ladies' man! We finally got to meet his twin cousins - Ariana (left) and Lyla (right).

Watch out! He may be a biter! Lyla doesn't seem to mind though :)

Micah's Birth Day!

2011-02-12T14:51:00.004-05:00

Well, I have had some requests for my labor and delivery story and figure this is the place to write it once, though I LOVE telling the story :)

It all started on Saturday 1/30. I started having contractions- strong ones! But they stopped...I also had something else happen which is rather gross and most women that have had babies can probably guess...

1/31 - felt great all day

2/1 - Contractions all day long at work- processed payroll despite my discomfort. They never got any closer together than 7 minutes. Thought I would go into labor that night but they stopped as soon as I hit the couch...

2/2 - Had a doctor's appt at 3:30. Bryan and I were really excited to find out that I was 3 cm. and 80% effaced. The doctor decided to stimulate labor while checking me which threw me into 4 cm and crazy strong contractions. She told us to have our bags packed and that she was let the on-call doctor know that they would probably be seeing us that night. She said, "If you don't have this baby tonight I will be very surprised. You will most likely be having him either tonight or tomorrow." So I did what any normal person would do...drove myself back to work with contractions 5 minutes apart and packed up my desk. I wrote emails preparing everyone on what I was working on and what needed to be done, etc. Around 7 pm. my boss asked if he needed to drive me to the hospital. I lied and said no even though my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. I finished up at work, and drove home. Bryan was working his part-time job and I told him he should probably finish up and come home. By the time he got home my contractions were 7-10 minutes apart. BOO!!! We went to bed.

2/3 We couldn't sleep all night. I was uncomfortable and really hungry. The doctor told me to eat light so I did which meant I was starving. When it hit morning I decided I wanted Panera for breakfast so we went out to take our minds off of waiting. Then we thought it would be fun to join the mall-walkers to bring on contractions. The contractions started but weren't regular and rather frustrating. We came home, rested, then walked the block a few times. Still nothing regular... So we decided to take a nap. I woke up with strong contractions. We packed the car, walked the block a few times, grabbed the rest of the stuff for the hospital, and headed to labor and delivery. The doctor said not to wait too long since I was already 4 cm so we decided that they couldn't turn us away so they would make it happen and I was fine with that.

5:45 PM

I showed up and instead of putting me in the observation room they put me right into a L&D room.

6:10 PM

5 cm 85% effaced

6:30 PM

Contractions slowed to every 6 minutes. Decided to start me on pitocin which meant I elected for the epidural. I was going to try to see how far I got without it but heard that contractions are crazy strong with pitocin. Started me on it before I got the epidural. My parents came by to pray for us and see if we needed anything. Contractions started getting stronger and closer together- Bryan helped me with my breathing until I got the epidural.

7:30 PM

Epidural administered. The nurse anesthetist missed the first time. UGH! He hit a blood vessel which hit a nerve so that was pretty painful. He had to take everything out and start over. As I was "shrimping" my legs fell asleep because they were hanging off the side of the bed. This scared the crap out of me and I told him that I couldn't feel my legs. He said that wasn't possible because he hadn't given me any medication. He got very frustrated with me and told me that I was using the wrong vocabulary. If I could wiggle my toes then I could feel my legs. I couldn't actually lift my legs though so I was really nervous. I wanted that feeling to pass before he proceeded but he wasn't nice or helpful and was rather pushy. The nurse finally reassured me that my legs probably were numb because they fell asleep because of how the baby was positioned and me being in that position. I finally got the epidural and didn't like the feeling of not being able to move my legs except for side to side.

8:30 PM

Doctor came in to check me. I was 6 cm and 90% effaced and he broke my water.

9:00 PM

I wanted to watch Grey's Anatomy :) We watched about 10 minutes and then my heart rate dropped and I needed oxygen and to lay on my side. We turned off the TV and I just concentrated on relaxing. My parents happened to walk in right when that was happening to deliver dinner to Bryan. Luckily he ate a roast beef sandwich quickly.

9:20 PM

7 cm - started shaking really bad but I was ok - thought I would sleep a little so I started to rest

9:30 PM

I felt so much pressure and had the feeling of needing to push. I asked the nurse if I could have more in my epidural because they decided to give me a small dose in the beginning because of my height and probably how I reacted during the administration. She told me that it wouldn't help with the pressure but that she should probably check me again. She then told me I was ready to push. I said what?! REALLY? He is supposed to be born on the 4th! (At work we had bets going and I said the 4th- this was prior to going to the doctor and knowing that i was dilated at all, mind you.)

So the pushing started. At first it was really fun. lol. Bryan and the nurse were amazing coaches. I was able to push with every strong contraction and hold it for the full 10 seconds, breathe, then do it again 3 times. I still needed oxygen in between pushing which actually made me relax in between which was really good. The nurse would walk away to chart, change my bed stuff, etc. and during that time I would squat and push that way. (sorry if this is too much info). So I guess my epidural wasn't too strong.

10:15 PM I started getting tired. Bryan knew exactly how to motivate me and I have never felt more loved by him. He kissed me in-between every push and told me how amazing I was. He had a cool washcloth ready for me and knew what I needed to hear.

10:30 PM The doctor got called in. This was my biggest misconception. I thought that I only had a few more pushes until our little boy came out if the doctor was there- but no! About 10 minutes into Dr. E being there, I started to say that I couldn't do it. I was so tired but Bryan and the nurse really talked me through each push to make it a good one. I started to hold my pushes for longer than 10 seconds hoping that he would come down a little more with each push. Finally I heard, "Here he comes! His head is crowning!" Another misconception! I thought that at that moment he would pop right out! NO! It doesn't happen like that! lol

I asked the doctor to just pull him out. His response was, " I can't just pull him out, he doesn't have handles" I thought that was pretty clever and actually made me laugh.

10:47 PM

Micah Samuel Goad was born! 7 pounds 2 ounces 20 3/4 inches long. In that moment, I felt so very fulfilled and more in love with Bryan than ever before. The way he looked at me and his son is something I will never forget. I am tearing up thinking about it.

So the name:

Micah - "Who is like God?" We had to trust in the Lord so much during this pregnancy. We knew that only He had the power to give us a healthy baby boy.

Samuel - "God has heard" I have wrote before about me and Bryan's journey to becoming a family of three. Around 6 weeks with Micah, I started having signs of an impending miscarriage. I cried out to the Lord for a full day and he had me open my Bible to the story of Hannah and Samuel. I felt an overwhelming peace that God had heard our prayers and that I was going to have the child in my womb.

"For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him." 1 Samuel 1:27

My mom gave me a plaque with this verse on it at my baby shower which made me cry of course. At that point she didn't know the name of "Baby Goad" which was just another God thing.

Micah is now over a week old and I still can't get enough of him! I had some complications from delivery so the healing process was a little slower than anticipated but I am much better now. Micah is such a good baby who loves to sleep. It is pretty funny trying to wake him up to nurse. He also loves to cuddle :) That is why I have taken so many pictures of Micah with his daddy!

I look forward to blogging more about being a family of three!

Blessings

2011-01-09T09:11:00.002-05:00

Blessings come from everywhere, especially when the person if fully relying on their Creator and recognize their origin.

I just have to share how much God has gotten my attention this week...

1. Bryan had an interview. A big interview. Praying. BIG TIME! So, to make a long story short, the interviewer happened to be known by Josh's in-laws and Bryan already had a good word put in.

2. Bryan was very committed to the company that he worked for back in October. Even after he knew that they weren't going to make it, he continued to work. We never thought we would see the fruit of his labor. Yesterday we got a check in the mail. Praise!

3. I am 35 weeks pregnant and everything looks good! We will have a baby boy! I am so excited about 2011 and am sorta glad to put 2010 behind us :)

God is so good and faithful that as I write this, it brings tears to my eyes and humbles me to my knees. I am in awe and can't wait to worship Him this morning.

2011 already?!

2011-01-07T21:38:00.003-05:00

On Monday we will be 5 weeks from our baby boy's due date. We are beyond excited and of course a little nervous about all of the changes. Today I got my paperwork in the mail for maternity leave and finally had the talk with my boss about easing up on responsibility. Since July I have been doing the work of two people and this week it finally got to me. It is VERY hard for me to admit when I can't do something, but it came to that point today. I can't sit at my desk for 11 hours to finish payroll anymore...so I have passed it over to someone else until I come back from leave. Now I will have time to train the two people taking over my job and there will be a nice transition...hopefully!

Also, for those people that don't know, Bryan got laid off at the end of October and has been job searching since. He has been able to do odd jobs and stay busy which has been great, but we are both praying for a steady full-time job for him close to home. If you are reading this, would you join us in that prayer? God has taken away our anxiety and taught us to lean on Him for everything, and we fully trust that He has a plan for Bryan. I know that God has taken away my fear of the future which I am so thankful for :)

So thats a little update on life and an updated belly picture of 33 weeks.

Hello third trimester?!?

2010-11-23T18:22:00.004-05:00

I just opened my pregnancy bible "What to Expect" and realized that I am in my third trimester! How did that happen? I thought it was 29 weeks...but the book says 28 weeks so here I am!

I guess that makes sense looking over the past few days...

1. I outgrew my pants...again! Each morning I wonder to myself, "Will these pants fit me this week?" Sadly, I retired a pair of dress pants this week...

2. I have to stretch my undies out like a slingshot before I put them on....maybe too much information but maybe time to get myself a bigger size!

3. My 2nd trimester energy is gone. Last week I couldn't keep my eyes open if I sat on the couch at night. I am very sad to see this energy gone because I am finding myself more irritable...

4. My emotions are all over the place! One day I am super excited about becoming a mom and the next I am terrified! I thought by the time the baby would come we would be ready but we are less ready now than we were 4 months ago. But God is good and provides everything we need!

All of these experiences and feelings are probably very normal and I am sure to see many more exciting and terrifying things! One I know for sure- Bryan and I start our birthing class next week!

no more procrastinating

2010-10-22T17:20:00.002-04:00

This week Peanut has been really active...I have actually seen him move with my eyes. It might have happened sooner if I had the time to stop and watch...

Things have finally slowed down some at work which left time during business hours to thing about maternity leave, day care, etc. I finally called the benefits department to ask how it all works and am getting really excited! I don't want to say that I haven't been excited but I have just enjoyed each week of pregnancy trying not to get too ahead of myself. I sat down with my boss and talked over his expectations of my leave, etc. I am so relieved that he said I could play it by ear as to how long I want to take. It is such a hard decision to make because my plan is to work all the way up to my due date, but you just never know what will happen! Today they were joking about my water breaking at work and I didn't laugh. I know I would be mortified if that happened...

We bought a crib this week! They had a really nice convertible crib on sale at Target and with the purchase you got a free mattress so Bryan and I decided to go for it! It is now in the box in our dining room and will probably stay there for at least another two months :)

We also went shopping for carpet for our master bedroom and left purchasing a new washer and dryer. Our dryer broke a few months ago and we have been using a rack. With a baby on the way, we knew we would need one. I happened to look at the appliance section and they were having awesome deals! We got an Energy Star rated GE washer and a dryer to match! SO EXCITED! They get delivered on Saturday and our ancient ones will be hauled away! Goodbye to the old and hello to the new!

I'm excited to take my 24 week picture this week! All of our nurses get so excited to comment on the belly that has been hiding behind my desk so there is baby talk galore! I love it! So far I have been feeling great, other than the occasional sore days when I do too much. All in all I have to say that I love being pregnant now that I am out of the 1st trimester!

our active little man

2010-10-09T16:55:00.002-04:00

Bryan felt our little man kick last night! He has been very active, especially right before bed. Yesterday we went to the neonatologist in Annapolis for a closer look at Baby Goad's kidneys and my placenta. We got a good report all around! I won't have to deliver by C-Section and we don't have to worry about kidney disease in a newborn :) Praise the LORD! Bryan and I have been praying fervently for health for both baby and I and we felt so blessed as we walked out of the doctor's office.

I learned yesterday that Peanut doesn't like the doppler. When they put the doppler to my belly, he started kicking HARD! I asked if he felt them pressing down and they explained that babies don't like the change in frequency from the doppler. He gave us quite a show yesterday by sticking out his tongue, playing with his feet, and sucking on his fingers. It's amazing what we can witness inside the womb!

Now I am busy trying to figure out how to register for baby items and thoughts of renovating the nursery in time :)

had to compare

2010-10-01T17:48:00.003-04:00

Sarah is 10 days behind me but the differences are obvious! The doctor today said that at her next appt she would look full term - thats at 24 weeks! It is so fun being pregnant with your best friend!

babies,babies,babies

2010-09-29T19:59:00.003-04:00

I get to make the announcement FINALLY!

The Mitchell Family is growing like crazy! Baby Josiah was born September 11 and is absolutely perfect.

Bryan and I are expecting our little peanut around February 14th- which makes two boy grandchildren for my parents...

And Sarah and Matt are having twin girls in February!

That's two boys and two girls for one family in 6 months- pretty incredible.

Sarah and I couldn't believe we were only 10 days apart...seems unreal!

In other news, I am 20 weeks and as I was writing this blog, I felt baby Goad really kick. What a wonderful thing to feel another life growing in you. I feel blessed.

Kaley- Kona got in the picture again :)

fixer upper

2010-09-09T17:28:00.002-04:00

Bryan and I started out full of energy and ready to tackle every room of the house. What started as excitement has turned into frustration. I am envying those with "move in ready" houses...

The master bedroom has been drywalled but still needs to be sanded. Then the floors need to be done, the trim put in, and the list goes on...

The house has wallpaper...and wallpaper that is at least 30 years old. You can tell where every picture was hung and it grosses me out! So Bryan and I decided for the time being we should just paint over the wallpaper. Bryan wants to rip down all of the plaster in each room and put in insulation and drywall. So I have a feeling that we will continually be working on the house so no sense in rushing...

belly pics

2010-08-31T19:44:00.006-04:00

12 weeks

13 weeks

16 weeks

I don't think there has been that much change since 13 weeks, but I felt like I needed to take a 4 month picture. I can't wait until Friday- The doctor is supposed to set up the ultrasound to find out the sex of our little "peanut". Bryan and I can't wait to find out!

...

2010-08-21T10:11:00.004-04:00

My life is pretty uneventful these days...which makes for a boring blog, my apologies!

I don't want to just blog about pregnancy so here goes nothing:

Bryan and I decided to hire a friend to help us with our master bedroom remodel. After scraping off all of the wallpaper and cleaning up the plaster, we decided to fully demo the walls. All the plaster and laths came down and we are left with studs!

There is a tax credit for insulation and windows for 2010 so we decided now is the time to make our house warm!

Here are the before pictures:

Stay tuned for the updates!

craving

2010-08-19T18:44:00.002-04:00

I had my first real pregnancy craving this evening...kraft mac-n-cheese! Bryan is on his way back from the store with the box---and I am way too excited!

I also have my 2nd or 3rd really bad headache...hopefully this isn't a start of a normal pregnancy symptom for me...

a few things...

2010-08-04T19:11:00.002-04:00

1. I am having a salty kind of day...

2. Bryan just offered to take me to annapolis to go shopping, do you think he is feeling okay?!

3. I was told at work today that I am looking more pregnant...

balancing work and pregnancy

2010-08-03T20:16:00.005-04:00

I used to be a normal working 40 hour a week employee. A few weeks ago, I was offered to take on another job at work. I was the Personnel (HR) Coordinator and now I am also the Payroll Specialist. I was told that it would make me busy but be easy to juggle. It has taken a huge adjustment. Now I work 45-47 hour work weeks and can't see the top of my desk...

I am inputing payroll for about 150 employees which I love because I was a little bored at work before. I used to have time to surf the web and balance the checkbook...those days are definitely over! I don't want to sound full of myself but, I am kinda proud of myself for being able to handle my job in my first trimester. I left early from work in my 6th week because I was put on modified bed rest but other than that, I have been able to stick it out despite the symptoms.

I am REALLY ready to welcome my 2nd trimester next week (I'm 12 weeks now) because I heard you get some energy back. I already feel the difference this week! I stayed up to watch the Bachelorette -though I might have dozed off during the episode a little. To be honest, I have had it pretty easy with this pregnancy. I have friends that puke for the whole trimester. I haven't puked :) YAY! I was ridiculously tired and had nausea but that's it! Not too bad at all! I have had some terrible stomach pains but I have always had stomach problems. I am pretty sure I am smaller now than a few weeks ago because my bloating has gone down. Thank goodness!

I have a feeling that I will need to shop for maternity slacks soon though...I don't love the bella band...

One project down!

2010-07-31T08:00:00.005-04:00

The bathroom is done except for decorating, towel bars, and the closet door. oh yeah and the piece of trim behind the radiator...

We finish one project and another one appears - welcome to home ownership! Yes this branch punctured our garage roof...

Heartbeat!!!

2010-07-28T18:15:00.002-04:00

Today at work I was having weird cramping that kind of worried me. I know I am just extra cautious because of my history but I mentioned it to the nurse at the doctor's office and she said I should just come in. After a seriously crazy day at work, I went to the doctors at 4. I was seen at 5:20 but was just grateful they fit me in. I saw Dr. L whom I LOVE and my favorite nurse on top of it! She pulled out the doppler and after some searching and cute comments of "hide and seek" we found the heartbeat! It was music to the ears :) So no more worrying for me...I am now a little over 11 weeks and haven't had any worrisome symptoms (except right in the beginning) so I just need to ask God to take away my fear. Not that I haven't already asked Him but it is a daily prayer!

pictures

2010-07-27T19:30:00.003-04:00

the goal happened but i accidentally left my camera at my parents...i promise to post new bathroom shots SOON...its so awesome to have a brand new, squeaky clean, freshly painted bathroom :) now onto the rest of the house!

Goals

2010-07-24T15:50:00.003-04:00

My goals for this weekend included:

Diving into the waves at the beach and completely finishing our bathroom. Bryan and I left for the beach around 7:3o and made it back before 11. He just found the last thing we needed for the bathroom- a vanity mirror. So goal #2 may be attainable and if it is- I will be posting updated pictures of a completed project! WOO HOO!

FOOD!!!!

2010-07-16T21:25:00.000-04:00

The only thing that takes away my nausea is to eat...uh oh!

Going Public!

2010-07-11T09:50:00.002-04:00

Bryan and I decided to go public with our news! We are pregnant and due February 14, 2011! We have had two ultrasounds and feel very confident that this is it! We are having a baby!!!

The road to having a baby has been tough to say the least which makes this pregnancy that much sweeter!!! Some of you might know and some of you might have guessed from previous posts that we have had two miscarriages. One last August and one in February. I had a few women with the similar stories come beside me and hold me up during that time which I am very thankful for. Bryan and I grew so much closer and learned to love each other deeper with each loss. When I look back on those days, they are so bittersweet- holding each other and crying ourselves to sleep. I am sharing my story because I believe that God lets you walk through trials to grow and to minister to others. At the time I was embarrassed but there are so many women that go through pregnancy loss that I have learned the more I talk about it, the more healing takes place. This baby that I am carrying will be so loved and appreciated! We would both appreciate prayers for a healthy full-term baby!

I had my first ultrasound at 6 weeks and the doctor put me on some extra hormones because of my history. My 2nd ultrasound was on Friday, which Bryan missed because he is in the hospital. My mom and sister took me and all three of us cried when we saw the heartbeat. What a beautiful picture! I brought the pictures to the hospital and Bryan taped them in front of his bed. Proud future Daddy :)

The dreadful 4th...

2010-07-06T08:31:00.002-04:00

Bryan and I have been looking forward to his family's annual 4th of July bash since we missed it last year. The day is full of great food, laughter, and some pretty darn competitive games of volleyball. Erica and Brandon hopped in our car and we drove to Berryville, VA. Bryan had been up most of the night with stomach pain (which I should add has been going on for MONTHS!) but he was willing to drive. We enjoyed the party for a little while and then Bryan's stomach was hurting. I had gone in his aunt's house for a nap and while I was asleep he had his mom drive him to the hotel to rest. When I woke up I realized after a little while that Bryan wasn't there and decided to call him and he couldn't talk through the pain. I finally said, we are going to the emergency room. His mom and I hopped in the car, picked him up, and drove to the nearest hospital. At 8:30 pm on a Saturday night, of course the ER was PACKED!

We waited a very long 4 hours with Bryan moaning, rocking, pacing, etc. to try to relieve some of the pain. I have never felt more helpless and wished I could just take it away. I have to say that Gail and I got pretty irritated when they took back people practically skipping through the doors, and left poor Bryan dripping with sweat. I wanted to scream, but resorted to a nasty comment after they took back a drunk guy that made it very clear he was a regular.

We finally got back into a room and as I was helping Bryan change into a gown, he ran for the sink and lost everything he ate that day. I have a pretty weak stomach, so I was very thankful when Gail offered to take over. What are mothers for right?? Thank you Gail!

After a series of tests, including an ultrasound that showed what looked like bubbles in his gall bladder - I knew before they said it that he would need surgery to remove it. At 4 am they finally said he was being admitted and Gail and I decided we needed sleep. We got about 3 hours at the hotel and I went back to the hospital. Surgery was scheduled for 1pm but he got bumped to Monday at 12:00 pm. Gail and Alan decided to come back on Monday.

Surgery was delayed so they came up to get him at 2:55. They said that surgery would only take an hour so by 4:45 I started to get nervous. The nurse called the room and said they were having "trouble" getting his gall bladder out so he was still in surgery. She didn't call back and it was 6:15. I tried to hold it together but lost it in the hallway. The nurse saw me and offered to call down to the OR and get a report. Thankfully, he had just gotten out of surgery at that point.

The doctor came up and explained that the gall bladder was much more inflamed than what they thought but they were still able to do the surgery laparoscopically. Bryan handled the surgery really well. Dr. P also explained that there were a lot of gall stones - of all sizes.

I decided to sleep on the couch in the room last night, thankfully! Bryan was in a lot of pain and was required to start walking. Dr. P came in to give us an update and it was not the news we wanted to hear!

Bryan's bilirubin levels were higher than expected, which would explain his yellow eyes. Dr. P explained that his gall bladder actually ruptured during surgery and there could be a gall stone that has blocked the common bile duct. I am kind of glad that I didn't know that yesterday because I would have been a lot more worried last night had I known that. So we are staying for more tests today. Hopefully there are no blockages and he will be released today; however, if there is something wrong I pray they find it right away!

Will you pray that with us?

I have to mention also that I have a ridiculously strong husband. This has been going on for months, and he has been dealing with the pain. Bryan's doctor back home misdiagnosed him with a stomach ulcer so he has been trying to manage all of this with acid reducers. Even after a call to him on thursday saying his condition was worsening, he stuck to his story of an ulcer and told him to up his dosage. Needless to say, we will be searching for a new doctor!!

We are in great hands here at Winchester Medical Center in Virginia but will be excited to return home!

Nowtro and Friends

2010-06-14T19:59:00.004-04:00

Sarah started doing music with Jim and Don a few months back. Then she invited me. Then Matt and Chad joined- and we officially had a band.

Sarah, Matt, and Chad make up Nowtro because they play out a lot more at smaller venues.

The friends consist of Jim, Don, and I.

We played out for the first time this past weekend and it was really fun!

Here are some pictures of the night.

last weekend with friends

2010-06-10T19:34:00.002-04:00

We have great neighbors now! Adam and Maleasa live two doors down from us and we are loving that we live so close! They are expecting their first child and hopefully he will make his debut this weekend. Adam does electrical work so he is helping us re-wire our bathroom and eventually our whole house!
Megan and Jimmy are also our great friends who were willing to put their baby Jack to sleep at Adam and Maleasa's and come over to help too! We also found out that the baby monitor reaches our house which is pretty awesome. With their help we took down all the wallpaper down the stairs.
Bryan's family came to help on Sunday and we finished taking down the wallpaper down the stairs. We love that we have seen them so much!
My dad came over last week and helped me put in a garden. And by helping I mean that he pretty much did the whole thing. He has a green thumb and a big garden growing, so my little one was pretty easy for him. Hopefully I can keep it alive and we have fresh veggies this summer!

Week 2

2010-06-01T21:11:00.003-04:00

We scored this awesome furniture thanks to Heather! Her friend graduated from Salisbury and didn't want to move this furniture back home so we got it for FREE! It was hard to move out of her apartment but it was worth it.
This was a much needed improvement to our bedroom. Old house=no central a/c= old windows=no screens. So the fan was a necessity. I am sleeping much better now!

Week 1

2010-06-01T21:02:00.002-04:00

With the help of family, we had our bedroom set up for a our first night in our new home.
With the help of Heather and my mom, I had shelf paper in all of the cabinets. By the end of the weekend, I had a functioning kitchen and most importantly a coffee bar!
The dining room isn't finished in this picture, but this is what it looked like end of week 1.

First Real Dinner!

2010-05-29T21:03:00.002-04:00

I cooked our first real dinner in our home! We sat at the dining room table and everything. That's it- just wanted to post that we are making progress!

I can't find my camera cord...otherwise there would be new pictures...

Christmas in May!!

2010-05-19T22:05:00.003-04:00

Tonight I started to unpack our boxes of STUFF that have been packed away for...23 months now! That's almost 2 years of not using all of our wonderful gadgets that we got for our wedding. It was like Christmas! I forgot how much cool stuff we have!

Every box was a surprise and it was all so beautiful and nothing was damaged.

It was a wonderful night of organizing the kitchen and getting set up. I love it!!! FINALLY!

God has blessed us beyond words. There were times that we wondered whether He forgot us because nothing has come easily. We had a very rough winter, but that means we are that much more grateful when the blessings come. We feel so blessed and are excited to move into our house this weekend.

Bryan got a few days off to work on the bathroom so it is looking better and better each day. I finished pulling up the carpet, tack strips, and staples yesterday so we are ready to move in this weekend. Our master bedroom probably won't be done for another month or so because of the new wiring. But when I pulled up the carpet in the other room, the hardwood floors were in great shape which means- clean and move in!

Oh and we ate Chick-Fil-A on our beach chairs tonight...it was pretty great :)

Week 1

2010-05-16T21:35:00.004-04:00

We were officially over ambitious!

I am going to use our blog to track the progress of our new home because it is a sight to see...

Bathroom before:

Bathroom in demo stage

This weekend we learned ALOT!!! Here are a few more pictures of the outside.

We are hoping to be able to move in this weekend- good thing we have another bathroom :)

We are homeowners!!!

2010-05-10T20:35:00.002-04:00

Bryan and I have been waiting to say that for quite some time!!! What a whirlwind story that only God could have planned!

House #1 - the first house we put an offer on but it had another offer and they took the other offer

House #2 - 1st contract. house was modern- open concept, master bed with bath (jacuzzi tub!). After we had the contract on it, I wanted to go in again to look at it and there was water everywhere! 6 inches of standing water around the house and underneath. After some great advice from our realtor, we pulled the contract. Thanks Scott Malone!

House #3 - 2nd contract but contract in 2nd position (there was a contingency on the 1st contract). Buyer won out and the house was sold to an investor.

BUT it wasn't the end of the story! 3rd contract on House #3 was the final answer! The investor wanted to flip the properties and so he was willing to re-sell it to us for our original offer! So it wasn't a simple sell because we had to make sure to stay within FHA guidelines with flipping rules, etc. but it all worked out! But the story gets better!

At closing today, the attorney explained that we got a better deal because the other closing was really complicated. We explained our story and he couldn't believe we ended up with the house we wanted!

And then he was explaining something about making sure the house wasn't in an area where there could be high flood waters. He gave an example of a house in a neighborhood and we asked specifically which one and he described house #2. We are almost positive it was the exact same house! House #2 was considered in a flood zone and had major problems. If we would have stuck with that house, we would have missed out on House #3. God has a way of protecting us!

Bryan and I walked away feeling like God had His hand in every part of our house-hunting and that he gave us the house that we were supposed to have.

We bought an old house that needs work so we will be busy working for the next few months. Good thing we have been watching DIY network and HGTV. We could probably be on that show :)

Quidditch?

2010-05-07T18:24:00.002-04:00

I laughed out loud today on my way home, which was a great stress relief for my day at the office!

As I passed my college alma mater, there in front of Holloway Hall was a full-blown game of Quidditch. (yes the game played by wizards on brooms in Harry Potter.)

Young adults were galloping with brooms between their legs in public....

I had to google it and I guess its' not just on Salisbury University's campus- I guess it is nationwide!

what an amazing woman!

2010-04-23T22:59:00.003-04:00

http://lifeoflisasmith.blogspot.com/

"Giving up the things I thought I needed, brought me freedom."

"God did it before; He will do it again. He turned my mess into a message. He will turn this test into my testimony. He is always good. He is the same yesterday, today and forever."

These are blurbs from my cousin's blog. I have learned so much from her about marriage, motherhood and friendships! Her blog is so inspiring and she is such an encouragement to women!

Lisa was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer. After surgery, they have decided that she will undergo radiation treatment Pray for her and her family!

I think everyone has been in "survival mode" at some point their life...

life

2010-04-23T19:03:00.002-04:00

I pretty much love the stage of life I am in right now...that's it! I just had to say it :)

playing catch up

2010-04-19T20:31:00.004-04:00

25th was a great birthday! This is going to be a great year! It started out amazingly.

The day following my birthday is a day that will go down in history!

1. I had my evaluation at work- got a great review which meant I got something else too ;)

2. My bosses took me to lunch in Ocean City- I think I worked a total of 3 hours!

3. Bryan and I got a signed contract on our first home!!!

It was fabulous! Josh and Tiffany came to visit and we ate a LOT! I felt like that is all we did!

My stomach could have matched Tiffany's baby bump! Oh yeah- I am gonna be an aunt!

So here are some pictures from the weekend. Sarah and Tiff laid out while mom and I worked, can you tell?

pleasantly surprised

2010-04-18T21:10:00.002-04:00

What a great weekend!

On Friday, 5:00 couldn't come soon enough. I sat at my desk counting down the minutes because I couldn't wait to be out of the office! It was in the low 80's and I just wanted to be outside to enjoy it!

Bryan and I were bringing burgers over to Adam and Maleasa's to grill then we were headed down to 3rd Friday. Every 3rd Friday, Downtown Salisbury keeps the stores open late, and there are vendors and musicians down main street. I had never been, but heard it was pretty cool. I couldn't believe how pretty SALISBURY looked! We had a really good time browsing in the antique shops and listening to live music.

Then on Saturday Bryan and I went furniture shopping. I can't say shopping because we aren't ready to buy, but we are in the dream stage of setting up a house. We ended up going to Rehoboth because Bryan needed to return something and I made the mistake of going into J.Crew. Okay, I thought it was a mistake but it wasn't! Their jeans were 30% so I thought, hmm...maybe I will just try to them on because I never have before.

Pleasantly surprised!!! They FIT! And they not only fit but they looked AWESOME! Bryan actually encouraged me to buy them because they fit so well and he knows how much I complain about pants in general. They were a little more then I usually pay for jeans but worth it! So YAY! AWESOME WEEKEND!!!!

i love kona...sometimes

2010-04-15T19:36:00.004-04:00

Kona is sweet and cuddly...sometimes.

It never fails that the times that she wants to cuddle with me, I am on my laptop trying to accomplish something. But it was still cute the other night- I had to capture it.

But tonight she wouldn't stay still. I got annoyed as she walked all over the keyboard and put her butt in my face. Then she turned on me because I was trying to move her. I think she is bipolar...sometimes.

Yet- I still love her and missed her terribly while in Oregon. My mom keeps asking if we are going to take her when we move...I don't know if my mom can part with her. Sometimes I hear my mom talking to someone. I ask her, "Who are you talking to?" She usually responds, "Kona"

Sarah calls her the whore of the house because she sleeps in a different bed every night. I love my cuddly, bipolar, keyboard walking harlot :)

warm sunshine

2010-04-09T21:00:00.003-04:00

The other day LP, Kristen, Sarah, and I enjoyed the sunshine and went to happy hour at Market Street. After being inside for 8 hours on the rare 85 degree day in April, it was nice to be outside. We sat on the deck and enjoyed the finer taste of Salisbury. It has been so awesome to be back and hang with old friends! I seriously missed everyone when I was in Oregon- and now I seriously miss my Oregon friends...I guess that is life when you move around as much as I do!

So speaking of missing friends...Kristen is moving Baltimore in May and I am soooo sad!!! I am happy for her because she gets to live with Julius again and go to school but BOO! Another friends gone...

And now LP is getting all stir crazy talking about the mountains and stuff...Don't leave me LP!!!!

Quote

2010-03-08T21:16:00.003-05:00

I have been chewing on John Piper's words for the last few days...

"God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him."

I am working on fully relying on the Lord for everything.

a little sunshine my way!

2010-03-05T19:51:00.002-05:00

This week was a stressful week. Work was crazy! Needless to say, I am SO glad it's Friday and the weekend is here!

On top of that- I came home to a package. The package contained my Grandmother's collection of knitting and crocheting needles. It also contained the things I lacked- stitch holders, a counter, ring markers, etc. I am soooo excited. So I was looking through everything and got the scent of my Grandmother and Papa. I started smelling the case and the needles and they smelled like my grandparents' house. My sister, dad, and I must have looked crazy smelling the package. But we miss them so much!!! I want to go to Texas so bad!

Grandmother, thank you for your collection. I promise to knit and crochet things with them!

1323 days

2010-02-21T09:28:00.004-05:00

1323 days- that is the number of days Bryan and I have been married to each other. Getting to know each other, loving each other, and praying for each other. We have spent a little over 3 and half years having adventures, having heartbreaks, and learning how to love each other in the good and the hard times.

This year has been full of valleys. We left the people we love in a canyon. We spent a year getting to know some of the most genuine people we have ever met. We had mentors, and older couples showing us Godly marriage. We miss it out west.

We have had losses this year. We have loved each other more deeply than we ever thought imaginable. God has chosen us to walk through the valleys this year, and though it is hard, I am so blessed to have someone with the faith as strong as a mountain and a heart as soft as sand.

I love my husband more with each passing day and am so blessed by him.

Also, we have put offers on houses recently. The first house didn't work out. We put another offer on a house this weekend and are really praying that God would bless us with a place of our own.

Winter Blues

2010-02-13T17:45:00.007-05:00

Considering we have been dumped with snow by three different storms or "blizzards" I have a little bit of time to do some crafting. I thought this hat looked hard to do- but it was easy! Even the pom-poms were easy!

My mom and dad got me sewing stuff for Christmas so I wanted to do a small project to try it all out. I made a needle case for my knitting needles and I am impressed by how well it turned out. I inherited a few knitting needles from my Grammy but I need to start buying more so that I have all of the sizes I need.

I have to mention that the reason why I wanted to knit and sew in the first place was because my Grandmother has always been able to make such great things! I hope one day I can be as good as she is. Hopefully I have the patience to learn!

2nd weekend watching the window

2010-02-06T10:54:00.002-05:00

Last weekend my goal was to lay on the couch and catch up on my shows. I am addicted to Hulu because I don't really watch TV during the week. I was very successful because of the snow storm!

This weekend Adam and Maleasa had a great idea for a sleepover. We ordered pizza last night, watched a movie, and this week's episode of the Office.

This morning we woke up and made breakfast and now we are watching the window. So much snow!!! It is fun to get out of our loft and hang out with an awesome couple.

Now we are going to bake chocolate chip cookies- YUM!

My dear cousin

2010-01-31T09:04:00.002-05:00

If you think of it pray for my cousin. She was diagnosed with a "sarcoma" of the breast. I am learning that this is not breast cancer but it is a very unusual type of cancer.

This is taken from her blog:

"Out of 28,000 cases of breast cancer the Mayo Clinic has seen over the last 50 years, 25 were sarcoma of the breast. Sarcoma is an aggressive, highly dense and fast growing cancer."

In the best case scenario Lisa will get a mastectomy and that will remove all of the cancer. The worst case scenario is that they find cancer elsewhere or it has spread and she has to go through chemo.

Lisa has and will always be someone who I look up to. She is a woman that loves Jesus and loves people deeply. She is incredibly talented in her writing and I have been convicted and uplifted by reading her blog. Visit her blog here

Lisa has four children: Julia (10), Alyssa (8), Hunter (6), and Palmer (3).

Pray for strength for Lisa and her family.

Pray that the pain in the tumor area will subside and that the cancer does not spread.

Blog Face Lift

2010-01-17T19:39:00.003-05:00

I searched and searched for a cool new blog template today. I came down with a cold and spent most of the day sleeping and trying to update my blog. And this is all I have to show for it. A new picture! Oh well....at least I was a little productive today :)

Ringing in the New Year

2010-01-01T08:08:00.003-05:00

I had to work on New Year's Eve until 5 so I didn't really have the energy to go across the bridge to the annual O'neill Bash. So Bryan and I opted to stay on the Shore and go see Avatar in 3-D. Wow! What an experience. It is amazing that technology of that caliber exists.

I asked Bryan if he wanted to do anything, and was relieved when he said he was tired and just wanted to go home.

On the way home I made the comment that we were losers because we went to the movies on New Years Eve, and he said, "No, we are just mature." hahah that one made me laugh!

So we crawled into bed around 11 and watched Anderson Cooper get really uncomfortable as Kathy Griffin made inappropriate jokes. *my dad surprised us one day but getting satellite and putting a TV in our room. I personally don't like the idea of a TV in the bedroom, but since our room is an everything room, I figured it was okay :)

Kathy and Anderson were entertaining but not enough to keep me awake. Bryan nudged me awake to say Happy New Year and get his kiss.

And that is how we rung in 2010!

I am gainfully employed!

2009-12-18T09:50:00.002-05:00

I landed a job! I forgot to post this information and I don't know how because it is such a huge answer to prayer!

I start my full time job on Monday as the Personnel Coordinator (Human Resources person) at Maxim Healthcare Services in Salisbury, MD. I really want to gain HR experience and am excited about this position for multiple reasons:

1. 9-5.

Can anyone say AMEN! I was looking for a 40 hour work week and all I was finding was 50 hours/week. Basically I am so excited about this because I will be home in time to make dinner. I loved being able to get home and get dinner started at a normal time in Oregon and now I am blessed with the same hours!

2. Monday-Friday.

I get a regular weekend. I didn't want to work saturday mornings!

3. Health insurance.

We need to pray that nothing happens to Bryan and I in the next two weeks, but after that we will be covered!

So I am so happy to say no more blogging about unemployment. Bryan has continued to work with Jim from church and has a job next week too! We are so blessed :)

8 hours in the car but we made it!

2009-12-18T09:36:00.003-05:00

Bryan and I spent the day in the car yesterday driving down to Wilmington, NC to visit Josh and Tiffany. They moved down here after living in Hilo, Hawaii and bought a super cute house! They are inspiration to Bryan and I because my brother was unemployed for I think 4 or 5 months. He landed an awesome job with the Army Corps of Engineers and they put roots down in NC. In the span of what felt like a week he started his job and put an offer on a house. Get this its the first and only house they looked at. They loved it so much they knew it was the one! They have been begging us to visit and it finally happened this weekend.

They are an inspiration because they gave up the newlywed dream of nesting to move to Hawaii and serve as worship leaders at a church. Bryan and I knew we would be making sacrifices to do an internship with YL but KNOW that God will bless us in HIS timing :) Josh and Tiffany are living proof of that!

So we are here and I am oh so excited because Tiffany is going to do my hair today! I love when she does it because it ALWAYS looks great and well its like a quarter of the price.

Josh and Tiffany are playing music tonight for their church Christmas program and then we are going to find something fun to do! I love hearing them sing together! It is great to see how God answered Josh's prayers in bringing Tiffany into his life, because he always wanted his wife to make music with him. I love seeing the way God works!

We aren't in Oregon anymore

2009-12-12T09:04:00.002-05:00

Bryan and I every once in a while say to each other, "That wouldn't happen in Oregon!"

One of those times happened yesterday morning.

We have been painting a condo down in Fenwick for work since we are both still unemployed. The first month unemployed was anything but relaxing. I was constantly FREAKING OUT! But now I have come to terms with the fact that we will be living with my parents through December and it is kind of fun because we all get to decorate the tree together and cuddle on the couch. It is just like old times. We play nerts (cards) and laugh until we cry. Oh yeah...Sarah is living at my parents too so it is one big party!

So Bryan and I have enjoyed being able to work together. Yesterday we listened to podcasts, and danced around to both reggae and country. I love being silly with Bryan :)

And a couple from our church asked us to housesit which is awesome! They have a jacuzzi tub with jets which felt great last night after a day of painting.

Okay- which comes to my point of this posting.

So we decided we would stop in Salisbury at a new coffee shop *which I might add I applied to and am thinking they hired this girl instead of me :( So we both ordered an Americano and I was looking at the local art when Bryan leaned in and this is how the conversation went.

Bryan: I just watched that girl put hot water and coffee in our cups.

me: umm...yeah its supposed to be espresso shots. Should I say something?

Bryan: Yes! That is going to be gross! Watered down coffee?

Me (to Barista 1): Excuse me. Aren't Americano's with espresso shots and hot water?

Barista 1: I don't think so....I thought it was coffee and water.

Barista 2: No....it's shots and water.

Barista 1: Oh hahahaha! Its still early.

Bryan: Elise, she just said it was still early. Its 10:00. That wouldn't happen in Oregon!

me: No it wouldn't!

a SHOE commercial?

2009-11-23T19:54:00.003-05:00

Has anyone else been really annoyed by the new Reebok advertising campaign?

The first commercial I saw with the camera focusing on the girls butt annoyed me but tonight I was enraged. The commercial starts with a woman's breasts. The camera is zoomed in and moving around the bra, so I am thinking okay Victoria's Secret, we get the point! Then I realize they are talking to each other about being jealous because this woman's butt gets all the attention. The commercial actually says, "Make your boobs jealous." Then it shows the woman's butt and she bends over....SICK!

I get uncomfortable watching those commercials with my husband. So that is why I am really annoyed. Annoyed enough to talk about it on my blog.

All I gotta say is....Reebok get some class!

Contentment

2009-11-15T22:08:00.002-05:00

I had a great day today of catching up with friends in Oregon/Washington. My beautiful friend Lindsey in Vancouver is having a hard time transitioning from the Canyon into the busy crazy city life. I just happened to catch her when she really needed a pick-me-up and I did too.

Have you ever had one of those friends who you know God has placed in your life for a reason? Lindsey and I have decided that we are so much alike its scary. We are going through the exact same struggles right now. She feels cramped because she is living in someone else's basement. I am living in the loft at my parents. She is having a hard time believing God has a plan. I have been struggling with that for a month.

The other day Bryan and I were sitting down trying to sort out our lives and God's plan for it. It is crazy because Bryan is so darn happy all the time! He could care less that we are living with my parents and technically unemployed (though Bryan has been doing some construction stuff). How is he like that? I asked him how he never worries about anything. I mean ANYTHING.

He said (in a very loving way, i might add) "Elise you need to learn to be content."

In that moment I fell more in love with Bryan Goad because he is willing to say the hard things that I need to hear and I felt like that was Jesus nudging me and stretching my faith. The verse that came to mind is this:

Philippians 4:12
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

So I shared the same thing with Lindsey. We cried together about how hard it is for us to be this way. It doesn't come easy but we have to believe that God has a plan and is directing our steps. I am learning to be content in every situation.

I have food to eat, a roof over my head, and clothes on my back. I have a loving husband and family. What more can I ask for?

How to survive unemployment...

2009-11-10T08:40:00.003-05:00

1. Get dressed for the day even if you have nowhere to go

2. Try to find a routine to the day

3. Get out of the house and do something free (library, barnes and noble, etc.)

4. Do something you have always wanted to do but never had the time for

You may be wondering why I am writing this today. Today is a new day. No more moping around. No more sleeping past 9am. I got up at 7, made the family breakfast, and have now already spent an hour looking for a job. I am going to actually shower today and get dressed :)

The longer I sit around the more lazy I have become...

Today is a new day!!!!

The Life of the Unemployed...

2009-10-15T10:26:00.003-04:00

Honestly, I was looking for a break. But now, I would give anything for a job that I love and a reason to put on real clothes. I have had enough of searching career builder, indeed, and craigslist. I am ready for the next step. Bryan and I are living with the Mitchell's up in the loft for now until we find something a bit more permanent. God has a sense of humor since I kept saying this is exactly what I didn't want to do. But we are enjoying it!

It has been great to relax and be with family. We love eating junk food and watching movies. We all got quite a few great laughs from The Proposal! What a good movie!

Anyone have any suggestions on places to live or jobs?

We are home....sort of!!!

2009-10-09T10:56:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we set out on the road in Des Moines, Iowa at 9:30 AM and arrived in North Beach, Maryland at 7:00 AM this morning. It was a lot of time in the car but well...we set a budget of $1,000 to get home and we were really close. We didn't want to ruin it with the cost of another hotel. Worth it? I don't know!

We had quite an adventure leaving camp and driving east. First we stayed a few days in Portland with Marc and Sarah Howell- awesome people! It was so hard to say goodbye to them and their three adorable girls.

Saturday: Olympic National Park, Washington
Drove the loop around the park. It was beautiful weather and picture-perfect scenery. Note: for those Twilight fans, we drove through Forks, WA. Everything is Twilight in the whole town. Kind of ridiculous!
317 miles 7 hours 30 minutes

Sunday: Glacier National Park, Montana
Drove through Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Loved this place- fall colors, lakes, mountains. Got to Glacier and was disappointed. Roads were closed because of the snow and it was really foggy. We decided to add it to the list of places to visit later. The plus side to bad weather was we got Huckleberry shakes- YUM! We got a hotel room in Great Falls, Montana because there was no way were camping in snow!
840 miles 17 hours 12 minutes

Monday: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming; ended up in Bozeman, Montana
On our way to Yellowstone our check engine came on so we decided to stop in Bozeman, MT to make sure everything was okay. We were looking for a garage when we are hit from behind. Even though it was a little tap, there was a good amount of damage. I guess thats what happens when a Dodge Ram hits a Honda Accord. So here we are in Bozeman, its snowing, our check engine light is on, and we just got rear-ended. This is the part in the trip where we really lost our adventuresome spirit! At this point we just want to go home! We decided to stay in town and not head towards Yellowstone because of the weather and slick roads. Later we found out that the guy's insurance was going to pay the damages fully! Praise God!
201 miles 3 hours 32 minutes

Tuesday: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
The drive to the park is awesome. Bryan fell in love with Montana- other than the fact that it was freezing in October. We got to the park safely and started exploring. We saw the paint pots, hot springs, geysers, and wildlife! We saw bison, elk, and a bald eagle. We waited on the benches for Old Faithful to go off and it was unbelievable. The whole park was like something you would see in outer space. We decided to drive through the night again to make it to Wyoming in the morning.
533 miles 11 hours 52 minutes

Wednesday: Mt. Rushmore Memorial, Crazy Horse, Badlands National Park
We did all of these things as quickly as humanly possible. We drove in, saw it, got the picture, and started on the road again. We saw bighorn sheep at Badlands- that was awesome.
702 miles 10 hours 50 minutes

Thursday/Friday: HOME!
The only thing we stopped for was gas, food, and to pee! We had to hit up things that reminded us of home so we ate at Panera and ChickFilA!
1,099 miles 17 hours 15 minutes

We are home safe and relaxing. We are staying at Bryan's parents and then heading to Salisbury tomorrow to see the family. The WHOLE family will be together for the first time in almost 2 years!

We have a lot of work to do since coming home. We are technically homeless though our families have opened their homes to us. We are jobless and not really even sure where to start. Its overwhelming looking online at jobs! We are excited because we feel we can go anywhere and do anything but that anything is hard to find! It all just kind of sunk in on our trip but we are going to enjoy the weekend with our families before getting to "work" finding jobs on Monday.
I will hopefully get to share pictures from our trip on here but I dont know when we will get our computer set up so please be patient. Thanks!

Patience

2009-09-15T13:13:00.002-04:00

I know the Lord taught me patience and perseverance this year but now He is really asking me to walk out what I learned and it is HARD! Sadly, I was really prideful about leaving this year. I didn't want to be like the other past interns who didn't know where they were going so they just moved back home with family. Here Bryan and I are with less than 2 weeks and no jobs to speak of. I am not saying we are just being whimsical about it, Bryan has put out applications and resumes. Alas, the question that everyone is asking us is, "What are you going to do after this year is over?" I never thought I wouldn't have an answer!!! I say the polite thing, "We don't know but God knows and we know He has a plan!" I put a smile on my face and act like everything is okay.

But really! I am going to be honest here! Every day Bryan and I race to the phone and email to check. I have never checked phone messages and email messages with this much earnesty. I do believe that God has jobs for us picked out and that He will not leave us. But it is really difficult when you want ONE particular job and that place hasn't gotten back to you yet. I won't disclose everything considering we are really trying not to get our hopes up!

Through this whole thing of applying and waiting, I have fallen more in love with Bryan. I know why God picked Bryan for me. He knows how to be patient, whereas inwardly I am a mess. I remember back when Bryan and I were dating and I had a conversation with my dad about Bryan. I was worried about being so young and getting serious so fast. I remember my dad's words, "Guys like Bryan don't come around very often and you are going to miss out on a great man if you let this one go. He balances you out very well, Elise. Bryan is a rock and you will come to appreciate that." My dad is FULL of Godly wisdom and just real-life wisdom. At 19 when Bryan and I started dating, I didn't really even know myself very well so thinking about marriage was a little overwhelming. My dad's words calmed me and reassured me that God was handpicking the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with. I really have grown to appreciate the fact that Bryan is very even keel. I am not saying I will ever naturally be the way Bryan is but, God is working on me by having a real life example sleeping right next to me.

Anyways, if you are reading this and feel inclined to pray for us it would be helpful.

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:33-34

My Friend Katie

2009-09-02T00:37:00.004-04:00

My friend Katie's story is sadly a common one. Katie grew up in a home where her mother had a faith and her father just went along with it. She grew up going to church so always believed in God. At fifteen years old she fell in love with a boy who was a christian. They got very serious and at 15 Katie lost her virginity. Her boyfriend made demands and since she loved him, she felt like she had to go along with it. One day she decided she had enough and that the physical aspects of their relationships had to stop. He proceded to pressure her making her feel used instead of loved.

She went to Young Life camp where she met Christian friends that invited her to a Bible study. She gave her heart and her life to Christ her Junior year of highschool and decided that she had to make the hardest decision and let her first love go. It was very hard for her but the guilt of their relationship became too much for her to handle. She finished highschool going to Young Life and being involved with church.

Katie got into a Christian college and played volleyball. A lot of the athletes only went to the school because of sports opportunities instead of their faith. After the first volleyball season the athletes were off their non-drinking contracts. They all decided to celebrate and Katie had her first drink...which turned into many. That night she was raped and left by all of her "friends". Because of the experience Katie continued to "numb" herself by drinking and trying drugs. She quickly deteriorated into the college party girl who drinks, smokes, and is used by guys. Katie tried to get out of her cycle by herself but quickly realized it was impossible. Two christian guys continued to befriend her, and finally confronted her about her problem. She broke down and knew she had allow God to come back into her heart and heal her from the inside out.

Katie made the decision to spend her first part of her summer at Washington Family Ranch since she gave her heart to Christ at this camp only a few years earlier. Katie came as a new creation in Christ and said, "My life has taken full circle, and my focus has been on Christ and his power to heal and love. I feel that is is my calling to do the same unto others." She came in June and I was able to get to know her. She had such a great experience that she came back in August to be on the Zip/Swing team. Katie is full of energy and love.

It became clear that Katie had a lot of areas in her life that God needed to heal. She decided to get baptized and wanted me to be a part of it. This was my first time baptizing anyone and it was an incredible thing to be a part of!

The question for Katie was, "What do you want to leave under the water?"

Her response: "The hurt that others have done to me and the hurt that I have done to myself. The fact that I felt raped and used by too many guys and that I found my value in others. I want to leave those things under the water so that I can restore my virginity and help others find the love that Christ has.

What could be greater?

2009-08-12T15:39:00.006-04:00

What kind of job will I find that will have this much fulfillment spiritually? The Lord has worked in my life so much this summer through the friends that I have met and served with. 3 weeks doesn't seem like a lot of time to spend with people but I know more about these people in a few days than some of my life long friends.

I have learned to love deeply this summer.

I have learned to set priorities with my husband.

God is teaching us some incredible things and I am blessed.

Here a few 2nd session re-caps in the form of pictures.

For those of you who didn't know, we had a wildfire on the property that was a threat to camp. The camp was saved due to the fire team making backburns and redirecting the fires. Bryan fought the fire on the frontlines and did an amazing job! The fire team was exhausted because the fire covered about 20,000 acres of land. Here are some pictures that I got from the outside looking in.
This is the start of the fire.

The fire at night. It looked like a small city instead of a fire.
Christian patrolled the fire line and put out any flare ups.

Prayers would be appreciated!

2009-07-25T19:51:00.002-04:00

Session 3 Wyld Life Camp 1 has been cancelled.
Summer staff would have been here and middle schoolers would have arrived for the best week of their life tomorrow, but we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that camp is the best experience ever.
This past week we had a flu outbreak around camp and we have to be flu free for 5 days before camp can open. Bryan and I will be doing some major deep cleaning over the next few days to make sure everything is disinfected and ready for campers on wednesday.
Pray for those campers that got sick and that we would remain healthy.

You know you work a Young Life camp if...

2009-07-23T00:12:00.006-04:00

1. Your place of work is not just that but it is also your playground.

2. You can't leave the house without your keys attached to your belt loop, your radio on your hip, and your name tag around your neck.

3. You eat dessert at every meal. Yes it is true and sickening! Bryan and I keep each other accountable to the amount of desserts we consume!

4. You have a Chaco tanline and it is actually cool!

5. You drink more water than you ever have in your entire life.

6. You go to bed before 9:30 on most nights.

7. This is a normal day.

8. Dressing up in costumes is required.

9. You get paid to train, disciple, and lead a great group of people.

*side note: it isn't exactly easy but very rewarding :) These are my 1st session zip/swing friends.

10. You spend your 3 year anniversary night eating dinner at a table with 6 other interns and it doesn't bother you at all. True story!

I disappeared!

2009-07-04T17:32:00.003-04:00

Well I more than survived first session! I conquered it!!!!!
I am loving what I do right now! I was created to share God's Word and that is very evident this summer. I had five college aged friends on my team - Phil, Jacob, Jimmy, Natalie, and Tana. I love them! Each of them are unique. Each of them have their own "stuff" yet each of them have their own gifts. By the end of the session my nickname was lovingly "Mom". No, not because I am pregnant but because they said I cared for them like a mom. Jacob went from calling me Ma'am to Momma and I loved it!
We studied Philippians this month and they said they learned so much. We learned through Paul that God is working on us daily and that we are to desire and allow Him to change us.

Part of me was wishing I had an all girls group this summer because I can't talk about the things I am passionate about - purity, true beauty, etc. But the intern girls thought it would be a great idea to invite all the summer staff to have a bonfire and camp-out at Wilderness and I had the opportunity to talk to a group of girls about those "girl issues". It was incredible! I just love allowing God to speak through me and minister to others. It has been a long 8 months of anticipating the arrival of Summer Staff and it is so much sweeter when you have preparation time and then when it finally comes! It is like your wedding day!

Speaking of wedding days- Bryan and celebrated 3 years on July 8th! We celebrated on the day by going to the dining hall and eating dinner with our intern family. Then for our weekend we went off-roading to the John Day River, camped out, and floated the river. What a glorious way to celebrate!