Christmas

I can't believe Christmas is already here again. We did christmas with Dave's brother's family and his parents the Sunday before Christmas and it was great. We finally got to meet our sweet niece! We also got to see the kids open their gifts and the pure excitement you see on kids faces during this time of the year, it was just perfect. Christmas day started out just like any normal day. It was hard this year because we were away from my family. I love my husbands job but this is just part of it...not getting to have the busy family holidays I grew up with and so loved. I had Mac-n-cheese on Christmas Eve.....it should have been tamales and cookies! It's funny how what seems so small, is huge when you don't have it!

It was great to be with my husband Christmas afternoon (once he woke up). His parents and younger brother's family came by to visit and do Christmas with us. We got to see our other niece and have her open our gifts with us. We really appreciated them coming up to see us since we were not able to go to the big family gathering due to time conflict with Dave's sleep schedule. It's hard to do activities with people that work a normal 9-5 job with typical weekends off, when your husband works a 10-6am job, sleeps until 4pm and his weekends are Wed/Thurs. His job isn't like most of ours, where we can go with little sleep and be fine. Lack of sleep means lack of attention which could be life or death in his field. I'm not willing to take that chance. This is part of being in a family with a cop though and it's great when family and friends make the effort to include us and work around his schedule. It means the world to us and we are truly blessed.

We got some great gifts this year. My favorite would have to be the new formal coat my wonderful husband got me. Dave's favorite was his new Nook Color.

We are looking forward to this next week with my family coming in for a late christmas and to be with us for the New Years!

Ankle, Friends Thanksgiving, and Christmas Break!

Ankle:
Well for the first time ever I have severly sprained my ankle! It hurt like hell. Dave had me wait for a week before going to a doctor because he didn't think it was to bad. But when I went to my Podiatrist he said that luckily nothing was torn or fractured however 2 of the 3 muscles that connect to my ankle were hurt. So he put me in a oh so fun boot for the next month to two months. It's been no fun walking in this thing and I'm thinking it will be closer to the 2 month mark since I kinda have to walk for my job. I've been hobbling around lately.


Friends Thanksgiving:
We had our 4th Annual Thanksgiving Party. It was a hit! We had the traditional Cajun Fried Turkey which was just delicious! We had old friends that have been to the past few thanksgivings and we had many new friends! It was a great time had by all! We stuffed ourselves silly and had some great times.

Christmas Break!!!
Today brings in the start of my 2 week Christmas Break!!!!!! I'm so excited and in much need of this break. Hopefully this helps my ankle heal. I'm looking forward to making my family tradition homemade cookies for all my neighbors and friends. I'm looking forward to seeing my nieces and nephews and giving them their gifts. It's nice to have little one's around because they are the ones I truly love to shop for. It's also time to look forward to our New Year's Party! This year we'll have my family in town and friends to bring in the New Year together.

Thanksgiving

This thanksgiving break was busy but great!! My family (brother, mom, dad, cousin, aunt, and grandparents) all came into town on Wednesday for Thanksgiving at our house. Dave was off from work since Thursday is his normal day off, so that was great!! I love my family, they are just so much fun and I honestly can't remember the last time I laughed as much as I did this past week. It was probably the last time my family was all together. :) We cooked all day Thursday, had such a yummy Thanksgiving dinner.



















Throughout their stay here we went to the movies, went to ICE at The Gaylord in Grapeveine, main street in Grapevine, and just hung out with one another. It was a lot of fun. I miss them so much and I miss having them so close. I am truly blessed to have them in my life.






























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This year my parents brought down our family tree and ornaments and passed them down to me. I was so excited. This was a family tradition growing up to work on that massive tree and put all the ornaments on the tree. My brother and I each had our favorite ornaments. Most of the ornaments are from Germany where my parents lived prior to me being born, so they are extra special to me. On Sunday David and I put that tree up and decorated it. I added some of my touches with the ribbon, santa, and trees skirt. I LOVE the tree!! We have a second smaller tree for the front room that will be going up later this week as well as many more decorations. I love this time of the year. I have so many things to be thankful for...I am truly blessed!

Hospitals

Well November has been a busy month. I've been in more hospitals this month than I did I think last year.

Earlier this month Dave's grandmother fell and ended up in ICU. It was a stressful time with lots of questions and prayers. Luckily she did not need surgery. After several days in the hospital they moved her to a rehab facility. So thank you to everyone that kept her in your prayers during that time. We greatly appreciate it!

Then the week after Dave's grandmother fell my coworker was admitted into the hospital. She had been experiencing horrible back pain. After several doctors appointments they finally recommended an MRI which lead to a CAT scan. They found a mass. They recommended she go see a specialist but by Tuesday (before the week of Thanksgiving) she was in so much pain that they told her to go to the ER. They had to do surgery and the mass ended up being the size of a grapefruit!!!

she also lost so much blood that they had to give her 6 units of blood. They are thinking she had a heart attack on the table. The doctor said that they almost lost her. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS!! God is GREAT!!! There were many bumps along the road the remainder of that week and a few very hard days but by Sunday she was doing better. Then on Tuesday (the week of Thanksgiving - 1 week after she was admitted to the hospital) they came back with what we were fearing...it was cancer. It is a very rare form of Sarcoma. This type of cancer is resistant to chemotherapy and radiation so surgery may be the only option. She goes to see a cardiologist and oncologist this week. She is resting at home nowPlease continue to pray for her, she is going to need all she can get. She's staying positive though and today was her old self on the phone. I miss talking to her. It was always the two of us in the office so we chatted a lot. We are lost without her in the office because she knew how everything ran. It's been strange without her. She was hoping to come back to work next Monday, however one of her doctors told her he was excusing her through May....which would mean she'd be out the rest of the year. We are worried and just waiting to hear what the doctors have to say. Pray Pray Pray!!!

Happy October!

Well this past month has been busy but quick!!!

Adoption update: there is no update! :) We won't find out about the waiting list until January so until then we are just gathering paperwork and reading 2 books a piece that are a requirement.

House Projects: I've almost finished our laundry room!!! Shelving has been painted and wall touch-ups done. Now I just have to do the darn ceiling. We've ordered several pictures from canvas on demand and shutterfly and been updating our walls with my own photography from our honeymoon. Things are looking great!!! I also planted some new Nandina and mums in our front bed...it's starting to look so good!!! I've also mulched the entire front bed and dang is that a workout but it looks great!

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure: Courtney, Lindsay and myself walked the 5k in the Dallas Race for the Cure! It was an amazing experience to be apart of. You always know there are a lot of people but you don't really get it until you are there and see it. Court and I commented that the 5k we walked with MADD (Mother's Against Drunk Driving) last spring was so not a 5k because this 5k kicked our butts!! Of course the MADD walk was all flat and this one consisted of numerous hills, but I seriously think the MADD walk wasn't a 5k. I had a great time fundraising and thank you to each and every person that helped me reach and exceed my goal!!! I had a $570 grand total!!!! How awesome! You all are amazing and it feels good to know we all helped fight the fight against breast cancer!



Dave's Birthday and Happy Halloween: Halloween was fun and busy at the same time. I made my husband a wonderful delicious chocolate cake...first cake in 5 years!! Then we went out to dinner and then came back and handed out candy to all the little goblins.

Texas Rangers: Well I went to my first Rangers game on Sep 30th and been hooked since. Would have been hooked sooner had I gone to a game sooner but I'm not pointing fingers!!! :) I've learned a lot in the past few weeks and am glad to finally have a local team to keep up with! Can't do the Mavs...my loyalty is to the Spurs always! GO SPURS GO!!! We also have the Cowboys and I follow them and love watching football but haven't found "the" team yet. I just cheer for whomever I feel like on that particular day. I know bad but tough, that's me! However, I have enjoyed watching more sports lately...kinda miss it. Strange I know, but it gives me peace. Maybe because it was a past time I grew up with. Back then it just annoyed me because I was your typical girl who didn't care for sports. Now it's grown on me though! Go Rangers Go!!! Go Spurs Go!!!












Hochmuth Visit!: At the end of the month our close friends Tunisha and Gabe came to visit with their sweet daughter (our Goddaughter) Molly!! It was so great to see them! She's 10 months now!! Growing so fast!! It was nice to have a baby in the house. Love love love her!!! Missing her already. It was also so nice to catch up with old friends. If only I could pick up San Antonio and and move it closer.

Orientation and CPR

Latest Update:

Well the past several weeks have been busy and I've forgotten to update the blog so here goes.

We went to Orientation and it was so informative! We got a list of books we have to read prior to placement...we have to each read 2 books. They gave us a list of paperwork for us to start gathering. We discussed the option of closed vs semi-open vs open adoptions. They also confirmed that a group of us would be moved up in November and another in January. They never have more than 12-15 families at one time in "active" mode. Once we are moved up it could take months or it could take up to 2 years. 2 years is the average wait time. When we are moved up into "active" mode then we start the formal application, the home study, and start creating our family books and writing our birth mother letter. If you know me well you know this family book is something I'm super excited about!! Once we are matched the baby could be born within weeks so we have to start getting an idea of the items/bedding that we want.

We also got CPR certified for adults, kids, and babies. It was a very interesting course. Dave was laughing because I was taking notes, underlining things....but he knows that's just me. :)

I have been at so much peace lately because I honestly feel that we are walking in the right direction. I feel like I may have found my purpose...to provide a loving, safe home for a child that otherwise may not have had one. I've learned over time that not everybody feels like they can adopt, that they could love another person's child as their own. At first I didn't fully understand but I totally get it and it really helped me to see that maybe that's why I was lead in this direction. David and I have enough love in us, that blood relation doesn't matter. I get attached so quickly and am very protective instantly. My husband has such a kind, caring heart and to see him around babies/children...he doesn't even know them or their families. He will wave and smile and play with them, what an amazing man I have!!

We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for us! We appreciate all your prayers and support throughout this process. We have some amazing family and friends!

Adoption Update!

Well a few days ago our adoption leader called us to introduce herself and give us a brief preview to the adoption process. We have some great news!

She stated that there is a waiting list but it is small....we were expecting a waiting list so that was fine. From what I grasp she has put our name on the waiting list and we are in the next group to move up. She is hoping that the group that is currently being placed with mothers will all be placed or moved to another area so that she can push our group up by as early as November but for sure by January. At this point is when we get 1 full day of training on a Sat, an afternoon training, read 2 books (which we can do prior to moving up), do our formal application, turn in all types of paperwork, our home study will be done and they will start showing our information to mothers!! :)

We go to orientation on Thursday Sep 16 and CPR class on Sat Sep 18, and then we just wait until we are moved up!

Please keep us all in your prayers throughout all this process. We are so excited and could potentially have a baby within the next year!

New Plans!

About a month ago, after several tests by both my OBGYN and infertility specialist we were given 2 options. Our first option was to go on birth control for 3 months and increase my intake of Metformin. This was because my LSH Levels were way to high. I was told my FSH was approx. 5.0 and your LSH should be under your FSH, well my LSH was a 29.9 (obviously not under). So long story short my body thinks that I am pregnant thus why I am not ovulating. My OB felt that by going on birth control, which would lower my LSH over time, that after 3 months she could pull me off of it and we could try again. Sounded good but I really didnt' want to go back on birth control. My infertility specialist said that he didn't fully agree with the OB. He said that the birth control would lower my LSH level however as soon as I went off the birth control for good my level would immediately spike back up to where it was because all this happens due to my PCOS. So here we were with 2 options and I really had no idea what to do. We had already started the birth control but I had planned to get off the pill over our honeymoon. So I decided to pray about it and see where the Lord was leading us. I prayed about the two options we were given and all I heard was Adoption. I have been hearing this for over a year now and so Dave and I sat down one night and discussed it. He stated that he was also feeling that adoption was what we needed to do. He was completely open to it. I immediately got online that next day and started looking at various agencies all over the north Texas and Oklahoma areas. I looked at domestic vs. international, foster to adopt vs domestic adoption, big and small agencies. Then I turned to a lady at our church who was going through the foster care system training and she recommended her agency. I looked them up and instantly felt that I found our agency. Dave read over their information and we decided to adopt through this agency in Arlington, TX. It is a christian organization and is a smaller agency; which we both liked. We went on the honeymoon and figured we'd decide the "for sure" once we got back. So the Saturday after we returned we turned in our first application and just the other day we got the class training schedule. We are very excited to start this journey and to see where the Lord leads us. We should be done with our classes by mid-October.

Please pray for us as we venture on this journey. I appreciate everyone's support up to this point and we are blessed to have each of you as our family and friends.

Honeymoon!

The first week of August David and I went on our Honeymoon (2 years late)!!!!! We were so excited and it was something we've been looking forward to for a long time! We stayed in Sonoma Valley at a rental home and it was fabulous!! Very secluded and private. The views were just breathtaking! We arrived on Monday and stayed until Sunday, visiting wineries Tues-Sat. We went through a company called "Small Lot's Big Wines" who created our itinerary and made all our reservations at the wineries. We had an amazing itinerary and I highly recommend their services if you plan to visit the Sonoma/Napa area. You will not be disappointed! Here are a few pictures of the house we stayed in.
























On Tuesday we went to Healdsburg where we fell in love with Acorn Winery. We learned all about the vineyard part of wine and how each grape has a difference in their leaves which identifies them.













On Wednesday we went to Napa and Angwin. We fell in love with Larkmead and White Cottage Learned a lot about the taste of wine and how even though both locations were only about 15 minutes apart that elevation and sun can create such a different taste/smell to the exact same wine.
























On Thursday we went back to Napa and fell in love with both Gamble Family and Black Cat Vineyards. This was a much more relaxed day and we got to really enjoy the yummy wine and great company!!
















On Friday we went to Sonoma Valley/Kenwood and fell in love with Petroni Vineyards where we also met some amazing people from New York.












On Saturday we stayed in Sonoma Valley/Kenwood and this was our free day to plan what we wanted. We fell in love with Ledson and Paradise Ridge!! Some fabulous wines and great service!!





















We enjoyed sipping wine at our house looking out onto various vineyards. So relaxing and truly romantic! At the begining of the week Dave was mentioning going back there on our 5 year anniversary but by the end of the week we decided to go back next summer with Dave's cousin Ryan and Courtney. Something to look forward to! ;) We ended up coming home with 12 bottles of wine and joined 2 wine clubs...now our bar is full!!!

Surgery

Well some of you know but I had Strabismus Surgery last Wednesday. This was the 5th surgery I have had since I was 4 or 5 years old. It's one of those things that they just have to keep doing the surgery until one day it works. Everybody is different so they can't say how many times it will take. So here I was on surgery #5. I had been noticing changes in my vision and my night vision was getting REALLY bad. I was getting to the point that driving at night made me nervous. If I was close to home I was normally ok but venturing out was not something I preferred. I went to the optometrist at the end of last year (2009) and they noticed that I wasn't using my eyes together so that was a concern so she recommended I go see an opthamologist. I have an amazing opthamologist and he recommended surgery. So we did the surgery last Wednesday. It was day surgery and luckily fell on Wednesday which was Dave's day off. His mom and his Aunt both came to the surgery center with us which was very nice. After the surgery I basically passed out. Dave took amazing care of me, making sure I was taking my meds and eye drops when I was suppose to. He is such a good caretaker of me!! My eyes were REALLY red and swollen and I had a bruise under my right eye. My eyes have gotten better and the pain is gone. I'm finally getting out of the dry, scratchy stage but still doing eye drops. I have an amazing support group which I am so thankful for. Both Dave's aunt and my mentor at church provided Dave and I with casseroles for lunch/dinner. His Aunt also brought us some very yummy brownies!!! The food was great and much appreciated! My mom and aunt came in town on Friday and drove me around, cooked us some meals and kept me company. I was beginning to go stir crazy being in this house non stop. Most people know I am normally all over the place and doing all types of stuff, so when I have to stay still it kinda drives me nuts. I was and still am light sensitive but this is improving so going out in the day is kinda hard. Luckily sunglasses seem to help but not 100%. My Aunt left on Sunday and mom left on Monday. I went back to work on Tuesday but driving was kinda interesting. Let's just say not the safest driver that day. Dave's been driving me around since. He's such an amazing husband!! So now I am still healing, still not driving, but trying to keep myself busy around the house. Picked out some paint colors for a couple rooms in the house. I hope to start painting in the next couple weeks.

Other than that Life is good!! I'm officially done with work until mid August and plan to just relax, travel, and enjoy July! :)

Good and Bad

Well these past 3 weeks of June have been very busy.

Week 1: Was our last week of school/work!!! We were busy packing up our office because we are being moved to another school next year. Had to work on Saturday which was a bummer but it's finally over!! I finally get to enjoy my first summer off with a paycheck!

Week 2: I am currently working every Tuesday the month of June with our babies within our district. They have to be served year round. I met with a new fertility doctor this week who gave us encouraging news. He was shocked and disgusted that our prior fertility doctor had recommended IVF. He said that that should not be an option and he had 3 other options we could consider. He was a straight to the point, not sugar coating kind of person....which is my kind of person!!! His wife and himself have gone through infertility issues and so he knows first hand what we are going through. I'm looking forward to working more with him. I ended the week at a work conference (Texas Focus) which ended up being a good conference with some very interesting sessions. Plus I got to see some great friends that I haven't seen in several years.

Week 3: I've started a women's study with my Mentor from church. This past week has truly been an eye opener and has given me much more strength and confidence in what we have been going through within various areas of our lives. I praise God for this opportunity to grow!!! I went to my OBGYN today to go over all the test results that were done in May. Here is what she told me:

Test Results
FSH: (egg quality) I was at 5.4 which is good!
Estrogen: 70 which was good
Thyroid: Good/Normal
LH (Luteinizing Hormone) which is produced by ovaries was 21.9 (VERY BAD!!) it should be lower than my FSH which was 5.4 so yea very very bad.
Progesterone was tested twice to see if I ovulated on time or late. Both tests showed 0.9 and 0.8 and for ovulation it should be at least 4.0, thus not ovulating.

The Sonogram they did showed that the size of the uterus was normal, the lining (endometrium) was normal but my ovaries were showing on each 25+ cysts. This is how I was originally diagnosed with PCOS.

PCOS also is what causes the high level in my LH level. But with a high LH level, cysts, and progesterone issues she believes my body is going through a "Pseudopregnancy" state. What this is is that due to the LH level being so high my body believes it's pregnant when we all know I'm not. But I suppose when you are pregnant your LH level does go up. So because mine is up my body thinks it's pregnant and thus doesn't allow my body to ovulate because it doesn't feel it has to. When you are pregnant you don't ovulate so my body is just doing what it thinks it's suppose to.

So what now???
Well my doctor recommends they increase my Metformin intake to 1500-2000mg per day. She also recommends I get on birth control again for 3 months. Supposedly birth control helps kill all the dead eggs that are just hanging out in my system. These dead eggs are what's causing my LH level to be so high. If they can kill these eggs, my level will go down, and they will retest in 3 months. If the LH level has gone down to be under the 5.4 then they will take me off the birth control and we'll see what the next step is.

So we've got nothing until September. I have mix feelings of emotions right now but am going to stay strong in the Lord because I know he will get me through this. He has a plan and I just need to be patient.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11

Tornado's

Well on May 10th my family in Norman, Oklahoma came VERY VERY close to a tornado. I talked to my mom on my way home around 4:45pm and she was highly concerned about bad weather in Moore (North of Norman) because my brother works North of Oklahoma City and has to drive through Moore. So she was trying to get a hold of him. Then all of a sudden the line went dead. I figured my phone just dropped the call since I was driving so I called her back. It went straight to voice mail. I thought nothing of it and figured I'd talk to her later. Probably about 15-20 minutes later my brother calls panicked. Asking had I heard from mom or dad in the last 10 minutes. I told him I had not and then he tells me he is at work and the maps on the news are showing the storm directly over where my parents live. So of course he gets me worried, I immediately call the house...it's dead, I call mom's cell and she answers. Their lights are out and they were in the garage listening to the radio on their car. Probably about 15 minutes later I hear from her that they are now in their storm shelter and both dogs are in my dad's closet in their bedroom. She says they hear the hail but are not sure what is going on of course. Probably 20 minutes later I had not heard anything and the news starts reporting how Norman was hit. I start to hear Highway 9 being mentioned (my parents neighborhood is off hwy 9) and then I hear Lake Thunderbird was hit (my parents live only minutes from the lake) so of course now I'm panicked. Trying to get a hold of my parents and my brother. I finally hear from mom and they were fine (Thank God!!) but many houses just minutes away were destroyed or damaged. There was one tornado but it split into 2 F4 tornado's as you can see from the picture above. Had it not split...It's scary to imagine what the size would have been. My parents house is within the bottom tornado's path, which shows that the tornado DID go directly over my parents but by the grace of God the funnel had gone back up before going over my parents. It then came back down once it got to the lake.

These pictures were of Little Axe (the next town east of my parents) where a grocery store (Country Boys IGA) was completely destroyed. You can see the entrance sliding doors left. In one of the pictures you can see a white room which I am assuming is the freezer where all the customers and staff had to go when the tornado hit.



























These are pictures of the tornado that went north of my parents house. This is 4.5 minutes North West of my parents. Their was literally a wide path where the trees were just tore up or gone as you can see in the pictures below from where the F4 tornado went through. Several houses were destroyed in this area.































I went down to visit this past weekend and got to see a lot of the damage. It was very sad. My parents only had a couple shingles come off and several branches down. However, a few days later Norman had another high wind storm come through which caused a huge tree to the side of their house to fall on their back fence and porch. My dad is in the process of clearing that away as much as he can while they wait on their insurance. I've posted several pictures.

These pictures are of the tree that fell on my parent's fence and porch. Plus their storm shelter which I am so glad they had put in when they bought the house. It's surprising how many houses do NOT have storm shelters!!
























These pics are of my drive to my parents house off Highway 9. The little white house got the most damage. It lost it's entire barn.