A very wonderful friend of mine sent this to me. I thought it was fabulous so I'm posting it for all of you.
Different Trips to the Same Place
Deciding to have a baby is like planning a trip to Australia. You’ve heard it’s a wonderful place. You’ve read many guidebooks and feel certain you’re ready to go. Everyone you know has traveled there by plane. They say it can be a turbulent flight with occasional rough landings, but you can look forward to being pampered on the trip. So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you, excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there is no seat for you; you’ll have to wait for the next flight. Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait-and wait- and wait. Flights to Australia continue to come and go. People say silly things like, “Relax. You’ll get on a flight soon.” Other people actually get on a plane and then cancel their trip, to which you cry, “It’s not fair”. After a long time the ticket agent tells you, “I’m sorry, we’re not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat.” “By Boat!” you say, “Going by boat will take a very long time and costs a great deal of money. I really had my heart set on going by plane.” So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. You wonder if Australia will be as beautiful if you approach it by sea rather than air. But you have long dreamed of this wonderful place, and finally you decide to travel by boat.It is a long trip, many months over many rough seas. No one pampers you. You wonder if you will ever see Australia. Meanwhile, your friends have flown back and forth to Australia two or three times, marveling about each trip.Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. It is more exquisite that you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnified by your long days at sea. You have made many wonderful friends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with others who also traveled by sea rather than by air.People continue to fly to Australia as often as they like, but you are able to travel only once, perhaps twice. Some say things like, “Oh be glad you didn’t fly. My flight was horrible, traveling by sea is so easy.”You will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia. Still, you know God blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not in the way you get there, but in the place itself.-Author Unknown
Monday, July 20, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
June 2009
It's already mid-June!! I can't believe how time is flying. We have a very busy summer this year. P is currently in 4H Horsemanship Camp. She left last Saturday and she'll be home tomorrow. I haven't talked to my little girl in 6 days!! But no news is good news, right? I bet she's having a great time.
Next week I fly to San Antonio to see my friend S. The day after I get there we're taking a road trip back to my house. Her girls are here in NC with their Dad so she'll be taking them back home with her.
The week after San Antonio we're going up to OH for the 4th of July. We're bringing our friend S with us. She's never been to such a small town so it'll be fun to show her around. Two days after we get back from OH we're going to VA to camp with some very wonderful friends. Tents, campfires, fishing poles, bugs, dirt... the whole sha-bang!!
After we get home from VA, P goes to horsemanship camp at the place where she takes lessons. That's always a fun camp for her. Her teacher is a very fun and patient person. P has a lot of respect for her and feels very comfortable in her care.
The little girl who used to live next door to us is coming to stay with us for 2-3 weeks after horse camp. She's the sweetest little girl and we're very excited to have her. After she leaves P will be starting 5th grade. WHEW!!! That's a busy summer!!
On top of all that J and I signed with an adoption agency. We have a mountain of paperwork to fill out, meetings to attend and people to meet. It's a little daunting at times but we're very excited. After all of the fertility treatments that didn't work we're hoping with every fiber of our beings that we end up with a baby within the next 12-18 months. Luckily for us the Chaplain in J's unit, and his wife have adopted two children and are in the process of adopting another little one. They are wonderful people and a wealth of information. We can really count on them to help us through this process. So JS, if you're reading this, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
J will be deploying around mid-Aug. for 12 months. It's amazing how much life changes in 12 months! I will (hopefully) be bringing home a new baby during the deployment. I can't even imagine how hard it will be for J to be so far away during this time. We're thankful that his LTC is an understanding individual and works with his soldiers in a variety of situations. And I'm not just saying that because his wife reads my blog :) Hi Sherri :) So possibly we could schedule J's R&R around the time of our new arrival. We'll just have to wait and see.
I think it's safe to say D officially has a boyfriend. He's a very funny man who likes to take her out and do things. I don't know if they use the term boyfriend/girlfriend but they talk on the phone at least 10 times a day and see each other at least 4 times a week. It's like having a teenager in my house.
D recently had to put her dog Callie down. She was 12 years old and in a lot of pain. Her hips bothered her, she had severe arthritis in her spine and an enlarged heart. She was D's last tie to her old life in OH. We will all miss Callie very much. Oz and Dorothy sometime roam around where Callie's bed was. I know they miss her too.
I'm off to eat my lunch now. Has anyone else discovered the delicious chicken ceasar salad from Quizno's? I have a healthy little addiction.
Next week I fly to San Antonio to see my friend S. The day after I get there we're taking a road trip back to my house. Her girls are here in NC with their Dad so she'll be taking them back home with her.
The week after San Antonio we're going up to OH for the 4th of July. We're bringing our friend S with us. She's never been to such a small town so it'll be fun to show her around. Two days after we get back from OH we're going to VA to camp with some very wonderful friends. Tents, campfires, fishing poles, bugs, dirt... the whole sha-bang!!
After we get home from VA, P goes to horsemanship camp at the place where she takes lessons. That's always a fun camp for her. Her teacher is a very fun and patient person. P has a lot of respect for her and feels very comfortable in her care.
The little girl who used to live next door to us is coming to stay with us for 2-3 weeks after horse camp. She's the sweetest little girl and we're very excited to have her. After she leaves P will be starting 5th grade. WHEW!!! That's a busy summer!!
On top of all that J and I signed with an adoption agency. We have a mountain of paperwork to fill out, meetings to attend and people to meet. It's a little daunting at times but we're very excited. After all of the fertility treatments that didn't work we're hoping with every fiber of our beings that we end up with a baby within the next 12-18 months. Luckily for us the Chaplain in J's unit, and his wife have adopted two children and are in the process of adopting another little one. They are wonderful people and a wealth of information. We can really count on them to help us through this process. So JS, if you're reading this, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
J will be deploying around mid-Aug. for 12 months. It's amazing how much life changes in 12 months! I will (hopefully) be bringing home a new baby during the deployment. I can't even imagine how hard it will be for J to be so far away during this time. We're thankful that his LTC is an understanding individual and works with his soldiers in a variety of situations. And I'm not just saying that because his wife reads my blog :) Hi Sherri :) So possibly we could schedule J's R&R around the time of our new arrival. We'll just have to wait and see.
I think it's safe to say D officially has a boyfriend. He's a very funny man who likes to take her out and do things. I don't know if they use the term boyfriend/girlfriend but they talk on the phone at least 10 times a day and see each other at least 4 times a week. It's like having a teenager in my house.
D recently had to put her dog Callie down. She was 12 years old and in a lot of pain. Her hips bothered her, she had severe arthritis in her spine and an enlarged heart. She was D's last tie to her old life in OH. We will all miss Callie very much. Oz and Dorothy sometime roam around where Callie's bed was. I know they miss her too.
I'm off to eat my lunch now. Has anyone else discovered the delicious chicken ceasar salad from Quizno's? I have a healthy little addiction.
Monday, May 11, 2009
May update
Running is hard! I can now run around the track two whole times without stopping. I was able to go to the track for two straight weeks but then I had to take two weeks off because of a shin splint. Wow, that hurts!! Anyway, I started back to the track when J got home from JRTC. He doesn't push me but he motivates me to keep going. Of course while I'm sweating my butt off he hasn't even started to mist. Stupid Army guys!
He's still busy as usual at work but he's taking 4 days off to go to his cousins wedding in Ohio this week. It'll be a quick trip but at least I get to eat at Rockne's once or twice while we're there.
P is also busy with school, horseback riding and sewing class. She'll be done with sewing this month and out of school next month. She got her report card for the 3rd quarter and got all A's and B's. I guess her tutor is really paying off. After this month we're taking a break with the tutor until mid-August. She's going to come back to get P in the learning mood for when she starts 5th grade. I can't believe my little girl is going to be in 5th grade!!
D worked at a vet clinic for a week before being let go. Apparently, she was replacing a girl who was moving to Ft. Gordon. That move fell through, as they sometimes do in the Army so the clinic no longer needed D to work for them. Hopefully she'll start her pharmacy program online soon so she can look for a job in that field.
The hockey playoffs are on so it's a busy time for us. We try to watch as much as we can during the regular season but have to keep up with the Washington Capitals online since they're not local.. Now they're in the playoffs and we can watch every game. The Canes are also in it so there is a game on everyday. P is not thrilled about it but J and I are in heaven :) Go Caps! Go Canes!
The good times keep rolling!!
He's still busy as usual at work but he's taking 4 days off to go to his cousins wedding in Ohio this week. It'll be a quick trip but at least I get to eat at Rockne's once or twice while we're there.
P is also busy with school, horseback riding and sewing class. She'll be done with sewing this month and out of school next month. She got her report card for the 3rd quarter and got all A's and B's. I guess her tutor is really paying off. After this month we're taking a break with the tutor until mid-August. She's going to come back to get P in the learning mood for when she starts 5th grade. I can't believe my little girl is going to be in 5th grade!!
D worked at a vet clinic for a week before being let go. Apparently, she was replacing a girl who was moving to Ft. Gordon. That move fell through, as they sometimes do in the Army so the clinic no longer needed D to work for them. Hopefully she'll start her pharmacy program online soon so she can look for a job in that field.
The hockey playoffs are on so it's a busy time for us. We try to watch as much as we can during the regular season but have to keep up with the Washington Capitals online since they're not local.. Now they're in the playoffs and we can watch every game. The Canes are also in it so there is a game on everyday. P is not thrilled about it but J and I are in heaven :) Go Caps! Go Canes!
The good times keep rolling!!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
March update
Ahh, it's Springtime! I love Spring. Not as much as summer but it's the first indication that winter is over, and I loath winter!
Last months fertility treatments were a bust. I did 12 days of injections only to find out that I had 1 follicle and my hormone levels were going down instead of up. So no IUI for us. Jeremy and I decided to take 6-8 months off. I talked to the fertility Dr. today and he agreed that would probably be best. After 9 months of meds and 3 IUI's my body could use a break. Besides that, I'm getting fatter and fatter so I need to work on myself a little bit. At 33 years old I can't plan on getting into shape after a pregnancy if I don't start out in shape. So my goal is to be able to run 5 miles before we start back with the treatments. J said he would be more than willing to help me reach my goal but he's leaving soon for a month or so. I guess I'll just have to get started on my own.
J has been working crazy hours. If he's home by 8pm I'm shocked. As of right now he'll get some leave in June. We're planning a 4 day camping trip with hiking and fishing and sleeping in a tent :) P has never done anything like that before and we really think she'll love it! We're also planning a trip to Ohio for the 4th of July. We'll see about that though.
P is doing well in school and a little bit nervous about middle school next year. She's going to 4-H horsemanship camp in June. It's a week long overnight camp where she'll sleep in a cabin with other girls and ride her horse all day long. Then in July she's going to another week long camp at the barn where she takes lessons. In between camps, our camping trip and possible trip to Ohio we're looking forward to spending a lot of time at the neighborhood pool and relaxing for the summer.
D just finished a pharmacy assistant program at the local technical college. She's getting ready to start a pharmacy tech program online. This will allow her to work at any one of the pharmacies on post. She can take this job with her whenever we PCS. She just spent 2 weeks in Canada visiting friends and family and a week in Ohio doing the same. She had to come home to relax which I've found happens often when one goes on vacation. She continues to date but hasn't fallen in love yet. I think she's waiting until we go to Europe so she can fall in love with a European and live there forever.
Last months fertility treatments were a bust. I did 12 days of injections only to find out that I had 1 follicle and my hormone levels were going down instead of up. So no IUI for us. Jeremy and I decided to take 6-8 months off. I talked to the fertility Dr. today and he agreed that would probably be best. After 9 months of meds and 3 IUI's my body could use a break. Besides that, I'm getting fatter and fatter so I need to work on myself a little bit. At 33 years old I can't plan on getting into shape after a pregnancy if I don't start out in shape. So my goal is to be able to run 5 miles before we start back with the treatments. J said he would be more than willing to help me reach my goal but he's leaving soon for a month or so. I guess I'll just have to get started on my own.
J has been working crazy hours. If he's home by 8pm I'm shocked. As of right now he'll get some leave in June. We're planning a 4 day camping trip with hiking and fishing and sleeping in a tent :) P has never done anything like that before and we really think she'll love it! We're also planning a trip to Ohio for the 4th of July. We'll see about that though.
P is doing well in school and a little bit nervous about middle school next year. She's going to 4-H horsemanship camp in June. It's a week long overnight camp where she'll sleep in a cabin with other girls and ride her horse all day long. Then in July she's going to another week long camp at the barn where she takes lessons. In between camps, our camping trip and possible trip to Ohio we're looking forward to spending a lot of time at the neighborhood pool and relaxing for the summer.
D just finished a pharmacy assistant program at the local technical college. She's getting ready to start a pharmacy tech program online. This will allow her to work at any one of the pharmacies on post. She can take this job with her whenever we PCS. She just spent 2 weeks in Canada visiting friends and family and a week in Ohio doing the same. She had to come home to relax which I've found happens often when one goes on vacation. She continues to date but hasn't fallen in love yet. I think she's waiting until we go to Europe so she can fall in love with a European and live there forever.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
March update
We had baby guinea pigs 5 days after we found out Coco was a girl. They are all male and adorable. They went to their new homes yesterday. That's 3 less animals to feed and one less cage to clean :)
We started back on the fertility meds this month. I had an ultrasound yesterday and only had one lonely little follicle on the right side. I have to continue with the injections for a few more days and have another ultrasound on Friday. If all goes well we should be able to go forward with the IUI on Monday. I should be done expanding my family by now and running 5 miles a day so it's a little frustrating that I have to go through all of this at 33 years old. Not only that but there are about million people around me that are having their 3rd and 4th child (and don't even get me started on octo-mom!) Grrr...
J is super busy at work as usual. The intensive training cycle is just about over so his field time should be done too. Now we're just getting ready for his next deployment. I'm also planning my post deployment vacations. I'm thinking San Antonio in Aug. for the PBR and then Columbus, OH in Oct. for the PBR.
P is getting ready for her busy summer. She's going to be in about 5 horse shows plus 2 sleep over horsemanship camps. YEAH SUMMER!!!
D is currently in Canada where it is below zero with way too many feet of snow. She hasn't been there since before she left Ohio to move to NC so there is a lot of visiting to be done.
Sooo...I'm sure you'll all sleep better tonight knowing what you now know about our family :)
We started back on the fertility meds this month. I had an ultrasound yesterday and only had one lonely little follicle on the right side. I have to continue with the injections for a few more days and have another ultrasound on Friday. If all goes well we should be able to go forward with the IUI on Monday. I should be done expanding my family by now and running 5 miles a day so it's a little frustrating that I have to go through all of this at 33 years old. Not only that but there are about million people around me that are having their 3rd and 4th child (and don't even get me started on octo-mom!) Grrr...
J is super busy at work as usual. The intensive training cycle is just about over so his field time should be done too. Now we're just getting ready for his next deployment. I'm also planning my post deployment vacations. I'm thinking San Antonio in Aug. for the PBR and then Columbus, OH in Oct. for the PBR.
P is getting ready for her busy summer. She's going to be in about 5 horse shows plus 2 sleep over horsemanship camps. YEAH SUMMER!!!
D is currently in Canada where it is below zero with way too many feet of snow. She hasn't been there since before she left Ohio to move to NC so there is a lot of visiting to be done.
Sooo...I'm sure you'll all sleep better tonight knowing what you now know about our family :)
Friday, January 30, 2009
Our guinea pig is...
Let's see if everyone can keep up... Last summer we had 4 guinea pigs. Two boys, Patch and Snickers, and two girls, Olive and Chloe. We decided to breed 2 of our little piggies, Patch and Olive. From that we had 3 very cute little boy piggies. Pumpkin and Mouse went to the neighbor boy and we kept Spike. Our 2 males passed away shortly after the babies were born so we decided to keep Spike just to keep a little bit of Patch with us. So now it's fall and we have Chloe, Olive and Spike. Spike was a bit lonely after his brothers left so we got him a little companion and named him Coco. He's the sweetest little piggy! Last week while cleaning the cages P decided that Coco was getting fat. I didn't pay much attention and told her he was just maturing and filling out. Yesterday she brought him downstairs to play with and I noticed that not only is he getting fat but his fat is moving! Then I compared "his" parts with Spike's parts and noticed they look different (guinea pig parts look very much alike until the pigs are about 4-5 months old). I'm sure it wasn't like finding out that your teenage daughter is pregnant but it was pretty shocking. First, to find out that Coco is a girl and then to find out he's...she's pregnant! I have a pretty good idea that the babies will be born in the next 2 weeks and there is probably 3 of them in there. Coco is very young and his...her prenatal care started a bit late but hopefully things will go smoothly for him...her. I'll keep you all posted.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Update
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We've had a busy month or so with the holidays and all that comes with it. We had to make a quick trip up to Ohio for a funeral on the first day of J's block leave. It was FREEZING up there so after 4 days I was more than ready to come home. When we got home we had a house full! Family and neighbors spent Christmas with us and we had a great time with everyone. New Year's brought more friends and family. Shortly after Christmas my parents came down to celebrate late. It's always sad to see them leave but they miss their 5 dogs at home and mom has to work.
As far as the baby thing...I'm off of the meds for this cycle. I would have needed an ultrasound the day after Christmas and the clinic was closed. My body is freaking out trying to produce all of these hormones on its own. I'm pretty sure I'm more psycho off the meds then I am when I'm on them, but you'll have to ask J to be sure!
I am obsessed, yes...obsessed! with the Twilight Series. If any of you haven't read this series you're missing out on a GREAT story. I was happy to get my Texas buddy obsessed too. I could make this whole blog about Twilight but that would bore everyone (as if my life isn't boring enough) so I'll move on...
P is riding 4 times per week getting ready for the spring shows. It's going to be an expensive summer!!
J works and works and works. LONG HOURS!!!
D is still dating, nothing serious.
My Kent State friend just had a beautiful baby boy and I really can't wait to see him up close and personal.
My Texas friend is coming to my house in March and I'm so excited I could do cart-wheels.
My grandfather has lung cancer and just started chemo and radiation. Positive energy, thoughts and prayers would be much appreciated :)
My VA friend is ready to start trying for a baby and I hope she has a healthy pregnancy this time.
Hmm...I think that's all I have for now.
As far as the baby thing...I'm off of the meds for this cycle. I would have needed an ultrasound the day after Christmas and the clinic was closed. My body is freaking out trying to produce all of these hormones on its own. I'm pretty sure I'm more psycho off the meds then I am when I'm on them, but you'll have to ask J to be sure!
I am obsessed, yes...obsessed! with the Twilight Series. If any of you haven't read this series you're missing out on a GREAT story. I was happy to get my Texas buddy obsessed too. I could make this whole blog about Twilight but that would bore everyone (as if my life isn't boring enough) so I'll move on...
P is riding 4 times per week getting ready for the spring shows. It's going to be an expensive summer!!
J works and works and works. LONG HOURS!!!
D is still dating, nothing serious.
My Kent State friend just had a beautiful baby boy and I really can't wait to see him up close and personal.
My Texas friend is coming to my house in March and I'm so excited I could do cart-wheels.
My grandfather has lung cancer and just started chemo and radiation. Positive energy, thoughts and prayers would be much appreciated :)
My VA friend is ready to start trying for a baby and I hope she has a healthy pregnancy this time.
Hmm...I think that's all I have for now.
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