Sunday, June 19, 2011

Fathers Day and Blessings

    This Fathers day is a little extra special this year. Though our little bouncing bundle of joy won't be here for another 5 months, it's nice knowing that we will be parents THIS YEAR! Michael is especially excited to be a daddy. He is constantly telling me that whether we have a little boy that he teaches to throw a ball or a little girl that he has tea parties with every day, he doesn't care. He looks forward to spending precious moments with our little one and teaching them the things that he or she needs to know. He will be an incredible daddy at that. He loves children and is very good with them. He is patient, kind, fun, loving, and very child like himself! He talks about cuddling with the little one on his chest. He likes that we can go to a restaurant and we will be able to say Browns party of 3! We are constantly thinking of the every day errands and chores that we will have to do with baby B in our mists. Most of all I can not wait to see our first born in my husbands arms for the first time. That is the moment I am waiting for the very most.
     My dad actually talks a lot about what it was like when I was born and how he felt. He has shard his thoughts and feelings about the day he became a dad and I cherish each and every word. He is an incredibly sensitive, loving, and incredible man. He has taught me more than I could spend in a lifetime explaining. He is that daddy that my Father in Heaven knew that I needed. I hope that Michael writes down how he felt and his experiences of that day for when our first born is older. These little talks I had with my dad is what I cherished the most. 
   On this note, my heart it full today. I can not but help and think about all the little but significant blessings that are in my life. I love the beauty of the earth and the way that the Colorado scenery makes me feel. The colors and the majesties of the mountains takes my breath away each day. How thankful I am for the relationships in my life. From those who simply put a smile on my face, to my best friends who are always there for me in good times and in bad. Those friends who let me vent and then find ways to life me back up when I am down is what makes a difference in my every day life; I often think of them all as my sisters. Then to my family who cares to love me in the simple ways by service and simple acts of love. Ending with my sweet husband who loves me unconditionally, forever, and always. He is my best friend, my confidant, my comic relief, the love of my life, and the father of baby B that is growing inside of me. How lucky I am for the little things in my life!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO ALL THOSE FATHER FIGURES IN MY LIFE!
Today was a great day!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Our new adventures!

I have to say that many MANY prayers have been answered over the past few months and we have been blessed TRAMENDOUSLY! Here is what has been going on in our fun little lives…. sorry in advance for such a long post!
             Well we have been trying to get into our own place for QUITE some time now. We started looking back in the first part of May all over the Springs. We looked around quite a bit at MANY apartment complexes and well…. I forgot how expensive it is! We would really LOVE to get into a house; unfortunately we are not sure what lies ahead of us in life so we decided that renting an apartment would be our best option!
It is funny how when we found the right complex, everything fell right into place! The apartment was available at any time, it was on the second floor (first floor apartments have garages and are more expensive) and we got lucky because it is a corner apartment and no one is above us so our ceilings are vaulted! Then our building is in a perfect spot in the complex, we have a great view and lots of parking by our building. Sorry If I am bugging you with some of the details but I am always interested in hearing the specks on my friends place! Our place is a 2 bed 2 bath, just over 1250 square feet, wood/tile floors, nice carpet, large deck (we got a FREE grill from a neighbor that was giving it away!), large bathrooms with archways above the shower, grand windows, large walk in closets, washer and dryer, and all the every days amenities that come with a nice place like this. The club house is AMAZING and they have a grand pool area and work out facility! We moved in over Memorial Day weekend and we LOVE IT! It honestly feels and looks more like a condo than an apartment, it is just so well kept and pretty!
Our move in day went extremely smooth. We were moved out of my parents place, had the storage unit packed up (that is where all our stuff has been for the past year) and had moved EVERYTHING into our new place in 2 hours! We had just the right amount of people come and help so it went fast and smooth. My family was nice to stay and help us unpack so we had my kitchen and bedroom set up and unpacked in about an hours and a half! Well by the end of the weekend I was pretty much unpacked and had decorated the place. I just couldn’t help getting everything out and unpacked because it had been so long since I had seen all my stuff! It was almost like Christmas!   
We are so thankful and excited to have our own little place again. Those blessings that we sometimes want or need can come at very unexpecting times! I am sorry I don’t have pictures yet, I have been at girls camp over the last week and will take some this week for those friends and family who are far away and can’t come visit!
Okay this is a much longer post then I expected! I guess I have lots going on finally!
The best news that I could possibly tell anyone right now though is that I AM EXPECTING!!!!!!! We found out a few months ago and after MANY doctors’ visits and some stressful weeks, we are doing great and all is well! I am 4 months along, we find out Jusy 6th what the gender is and I am due November 26th which is Thanksgiving weekend! Not many people understand this. The fact that I am due during Thanksgiving means the world to us. We have been trying for so long and have been through a lot emotionally, physically, and mentally that being due around the holidays, especially THANKSGIVING, is a little tender mercy that we have been given.
We did have an ultrasound early on when I found out that I was expecting and there was only one baby which I was a little sad for lol. Yes I am one of those crazy people that would love twins! The sadness only lasted but a second because I JUST FOUND OUT THAT I WAS FOR SURE PREGNANT! Here is the crazy thing. I had gone off all fertility meds the month before and we were saving up for artificial incemination. Well naturally that next month we VERY unexpectantly got pregnant. The specialist was laughing when he came into the room. He was a little perplexed but said that he “jump started” my body somehow!
It has been an interesting ride. I was very emotional and confused at first. I wanted a baby for so long. I had literally dreamt of taking a test and seeing the word PREGNANT on the test. I can’t tell how bad I wanted to have morning sickness not just nausea from my meds. Well I realized once I found out that I was expecting, I was very much stressed. I realized that I had come to accept that it was not our time. I had accepted that the Lord had a different plan in store for us. We were still in my parents place and we were trying to get financially ready for whatever was set in our path. Well I was flustered that I had come to these terms and not everything changed and I was not ready for it. I was not ONCE angry or upset, I was overcome with gratitude, thankfulness, happiness, and love from my Father in Heaven. I just had to aligne my plan once again with my Father in Heavens. Once we changed our 9 month plan and saw where our future was going, we have been living on cloud 9 just knowing that we are going to be blessed with a little one!
I did have some nausea in the beginning, I never threw up but I was VERY sensitive to smells and textures and my gag reflex was unreal! Then about a month ago I caught a cold that kicked my trash and once I got better, EVERYTHING got better and I have felt pretty good ever sense! Naturally, nothing is ever simple for me. About a month ago, my grandma on my mom’s side tested positive for Factor 5 (a blood disorder) and her doctor told her that all her daughters and granddaughters should be tested for it as well. As far as I understand it and what my grandma was told by her nurse, it is a blood clotting disorder where the blood clots too easily and can cause massive blood clots, miscarriages, problems getting pregnant and more. So I was tested and I am positive as well! When we talked to my doctor about this he said that usually he does not have problems with patients that have factor 5 and have NOT had any problems with clots. Those who have factor 5 run the risk of placenta previa, blood clots in the mother as well as in the umbilical cord. Luckily my doctor is not very worried about me and these injections are more preventive than necessary. He would feel better doing this because of my history and we would rather be safe than sorry. He also said that it would help him feel better and he knows that I would sleep better at night knowing that we are taking all precautions possible. Therefore he has placed me on Lovenox injections every day for the rest of my pregnancy! This is not really a problem, just another thing to worry about. I am so thankful for my awesome doctor and for his awareness of how I fell! He is truly the best. He told me at my first appointment that If I was ever worried and needed to hear the baby’s heartbeat that I could come in in-between my appointments and he would let me hear it!
So at this point we are going out of our minds waiting for our ultrasound appointment in July and are checking and looking for movement of the baby daily (I know it is a little early but we are just so excited)! Mike is so excited and that brings so much joy to me. He cares so much and is very brave giving me my injections every night. In the beginning he was so good to help find what I could eat and he was honestly excited that I was so nauseous because he felt that meant that the pregnancy was going well! He constantly talks to the baby, rubs and kisses my belly daily, and talks about what he will do when he is a daddy. Mike would love a baby boy and I would love a baby girl but really and truly we could care less what the gender is as long as we are having a healthy baby! We have had 2 names picked out for each gender and we will not decide what he or she will be named until they are born.
These were taken on mothers day!

 


So now I should have lots to blog about and our computer is back so it will be easy for me to blog! We wanted to take a moment and thank all those who have had us in their thoughts and prayers. I know it is something small and simple, but because of the small and simple things, great things are brought to pass! Life is not quite perfect, Michael is still looking for full time work with benefits so your prayers in that area is appreciated but it is because of faith that we have been given the blessings of having our own place and expecting our first little one! Thank you to all our friends and family for your excitement in our behalf. We are thrilled to share these special times with you ALL so please, those of you who are far away, we invite you to come visit us this summer/fall or early next year once baby B is here!

As always, lots of love to all!