Loss

It's been quite a while since I last updated this - sorry!  Every time I would think about writing a new post I found myself unable to stop long enough.  I re-read the last post and wish I had better news.  While our uncle came through his surgery and is doing well, our Granny did not have the same result.  The radiation seemed to help Gran and make it easier for her to breathe (although wearing her out and making her weak).  However, the cancer was just too aggressive.  Shortly after my cousin's wedding in October we discovered the cancer had spread to Gran's bones and there wasn't anything more they could do.  In-home hospice care began in December, then Granny was transferred to a hospice facility on December 15th. On the morning of December 26, 2010 our wonderful grandmother passed away.  Tomorrow morning we are heading down to Houston for the services; the viewing will be Wednesday evening and the funeral will be held on Thursday morning.  I know she's in a better place, loving her Heavenly Home, being with Papaw and free of pain, but the selfish side of me just wants my smiling Granny back.  The Granny who always made us Chocolate Chip cookies and covered us up with her crocheted afghans.  It's a shame if you didn't meet her - her smile was contagious.

 Take care and God Bless.

Prayers...

Well, where do I begin? We've been in the house for nearly 3 months now.  We are still loving it!  Still hard to believe this is our home.  Two weeks ago we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary; I'm more in love with Scott now than the day we got married - I didn't think I could love him more.  For our anniversary Scott surprised me with a night at the Gaylord Hotel - it was wonderful!  We went on July 4th, had a room on the 7th floor overlooking the lake, and were able to watch the fireworks from our room!  We had a great anniversary weekend.  He's too good to me!


Scott found a new rheumatologist for me; we went Friday morning.  So far, we have a great feeling about him.  He's been written up as one of the best in the country.  I told him that I would like to no longer be on pain meds and he said he'll help me get there.  (I have been on pain meds of some kind for 9 years - this guy may be an answer to our prayers!)


This past Saturday, Scott competed in the Cooper Sprint Triathlon (350 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run); his finishing time was 1 hour 8 minutes.  He did so well!  

I wish I had only good things to report this time around.  Last week, my uncle (up in Connecticut) had a triple bypass.  He was doing well up until last night; around 1:30 am he started going backwards.  They have figured out what is causing the decline in his progress.  For now, they have restrained him, sedated him, and returned him to the ICU.  My Granny (in Houston) was diagnosed with lung cancer this year; it has spread to her lymph nodes and may have spread to her brain (we're still waiting on her CT results).  The doctors don't think her body is strong enough to withstand chemo so they are starting with radiation tomorrow morning.  Please pray this course keeps her with us.


Hopefully, the next time I update this I have great news about our family.  In the mean time, take care, God Bless, and don't take your life or your loved ones for granted. 

Home Sweet Home

Just when I thought "Moving Day" would never get here, it seemed like it came up so suddenly!  Still can't believe we started this whole process in October.  We are now settled - completely unpacked, might I add - in our very own home.  It is surreal, to say the least.  When did we grow up?  Also, I have a new-found respect for anyone who has gone through the home-building process.  So stressful.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade this for anything.  That said, I have been a wreck!  Trying to pick out colors, cabinets, wood, paint; then there's the fear that your house won't be finished before your apartment lease is up... We closed on the house April 28th, moved in April 29th, and turned in the apartment keys April 30th - the last possible day.  Needless to say, I was really excited about sleeping in this morning!  It helped to have a really great team of people working with us every step of the way, completely on our side for all of this.

But enough griping - this place is wonderful!  Living here is a dream.  Who knew we would get to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary in our own house?  We are so incredibly blessed!  Scott and I are so grateful for all we have.  Harley is finally getting comfortable here.  She was a little weird at first.  She couldn't stop walking over every inch of the place and sniffing every piece of floor.  She also wouldn't go out in the backyard without us.  We figured she'd be ready to take off, but it was the opposite.  She's getting there - just taking a little longer than we expected.

As for pictures, I will try to add them to Flickr tonight.  For now, I'll just add one of the front I took last night.  To me, pictures just don't do it justice.  More landscaping will be added later... Still can't believe it's ours.  Take care and God Bless!

Changes

Well - it's about time I updated this thing!  There have been so many changes in the last 2 months.  It's been a little difficult to update the blog since we've been adjusting to new work schedules and trying to balance all the changes and our life.  First of all, our family welcomed a new little one into the world.  On March 11th at about 6:30 PM Madelyn Leigh was born.  My sister, Shannon, went into labor while at work then had Maddie a few hours later.  She's such a sweet little baby and so calm.  We adore her!

Also, we are now one month away from moving into our house!  I can't believe its almost here.  We got all of our empty boxes out of the storage unit last night and will probably start packing soon.  We close on April 26th, and the movers come the morning of the 29th.  We have brick on the outside, walls, tile, cabinets, and kitchen countertops.  We have been going out there to check on progress a lot lately; neither one of can stand staying away for more than a day or two.  Everything should be completed within the next 2 weeks or so. 

Given my track record lately, its likely that I won't update this until after we move into the house.  We have something going on every weekend from now until a week after we move, with both of us working full-time and trying to pack somewhere in there.... Plenty of pictures will be posted once boxes have all been unpacked. Hope everyone is doing well!

New jobs, new homes, new lives.

Well, this week has been absolutely insane!  On January 20th (Wednesday) I applied for a full-time job with the school district's Human Resources department; by January 22nd, I had scheduled the first interview.  On January 25th I had interview number one, followed by interview number two on the 28th.  Friday morning (January 29th), at about 11:00AM I had been offered the job!  By 2:00 PM that day I had spoken to my current bosses and we had agreed that it would be my last day; by 3:15 I had told my staff and kids at work that I wouldn't be returning on Monday since I start my new job Monday morning... Understand the insane part now?!  My life changed in a big way in a matter of a week...really, a day!  My head is still spinning! 

This same week, a good friend of mine found out she passed her boards and is now a Registered Nurse!  She has her first day of work on Monday, too.  We both married our high school sweethearts (from the SAME high school) and now we get to start a new chapter of our lives on the same day! Congratulations Jessica!  I'm really happy for you!

Scott had to move out of his office this past week.  Don't worry - he didn't lose his job (thank goodness).  His office is starting this thing they refer to as "hotel cubicles"; basically, if they end up working in the office they will pick a random cube.  Otherwise, looks like he's working from home more often than not.  Maybe he'll be making dinner more now...hmmm...  Since all this had been going on, Scott was working from home on Friday and was able to wrap things up by 4:00 with work.  He wanted to get out of the apartment so he went to see the house.  Turns out, we have foundation!  With the rain that started Thursday and freezing weather that hit Thursday night, I guess they wanted to get it poured.  Now the rest of the house should come together - finally.  I feel like it took forever to get to this point.

On a parting note, I want to wish the Segner family a safe and easy arrival of their daughter on Monday.  My friend of 14 (almost 15) years is being induced on Monday morning.  It is their first child (of many, I'm sure) and they have been anxiously awaiting her arrival, while we anxiously await to find out her NAME!  Can't wait to see pictures and hear all about her.  Congratulations, Ashley and Jack!

Still here

I know, I know - it's been a long time since I've posted.  With the craziness of the holidays and then me getting sick I just completely fell behind.  Scott and I are doing well.  On January 1st we gave up drinking soft drinks. It is surprisingly difficult but we've stayed strong. :-) Scott has been doing p90x (workout DVDs) - it looks so difficult!  He is working out a lot now, doing the DVDs and still managing to stay on track for his IronMan training.  I don't know how he does it!  (I think he's crazy but he loves it.)  He starts his competition schedule this spring (can't remember all the dates at the moment) and then he'll do the half-Iron Man in Austin in late October.  I'll be sure to post dates in case anyone wants to come with me to cheer him on.  These races mean so much to him.  He's even managing to fit training time in even though work has been busy for him.  I couldn't admire him more.

As for me, I'm doing yoga now.  It seems to be great pain management, which is such a relief.  I think not having a Dr. Pepper everyday helps too.  Last week I had strep and a severe head cold...that was fun... All better now.  So relieved!  We get to meet our new little niece, Maddie, on March 26 (or sooner).  My sister has scheduled the c-section.  We can't wait!

Progress on the house is coming along - slowly.  They broke ground the first week in January.  We now have trenches and pipes!  They will (hopefully) be pouring the foundation by next Monday or Tuesday.  After that, things should move much faster.  The weather has been too difficult to work with.  First it was freezing, then snowing, now it's raining... Ya gotta love Texas!

Hope everyone is doing well.  I'll try to be better about updating this when there's news.