2009 Year in Review

Wow, I can't believe this year is almost over already. Only a few hours to go!!!

Let's see...what has happened this year? The first few months are mostly a blur. In January, some good friends got married...



I was so focused on wedding planning that the rest just kind of flew past...

On May 16th, I married the only man that was ever truly meant for me. What a great day that was!!! We had so much fun...it's a day we for sure will never forget!



On our honeymoon, the highlight was the free upgrade on the car to a convertible, then having it rain every day! LOL We did get to drive with the top down quite a bit though. :-)



Another event in May, May 17th...I lost a very dear friend of mine to Cancer. His name is Adam...



Only a couple of months after the wedding (on July 22nd to be exact...), we got some pretty exciting news!!! We would be having a little one of our own to teach, mold, and care for.



My brother got a new job in August, and has been away from home for quite some time.

In October, another very good friend got married too!



There were many girls nights to be had this year, and many more to come. I love my girls, and wouldn't trade them for the world! Some struggles were had by a few of us, but we are all muddling through. Faith and prayer has become a staple in many households also because of some of the events of the past year.

Christmas parties abounded this year!!! We had 2 on the hubby's side, 1 on my side (well, kind of 2), one with great friends, and one impromptu meeting with my brother - including my sisters, mom, brother-in-law, and the nieces and nephews - since he was in the state...that was a good night, and hopefully a good surprise for him! Now, we sit here waiting to ring in the new year when Michael and I will be bringing home our new baby, and hopefully will hear many more happy announcements from others!

Love you all!!!
God bless :-)

I LOVE THIS!!!

This was posted on BabyCenter the other day by a fellow March mommy-to-be. It seriously brought tears to my eyes... I love it. I hope you enjoy it also!

A Newborns Conversation with God

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to Earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?

God said "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in Heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy..."

God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the small child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"

God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"

God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."

God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."

God said, "You will simply call her, "Mom".




Merry Christmas!!!

A bit of a vent...

I don't know which end of the spectrum I would want to be stuck on...some women keep hearing "Wow, you're due in March? You're HUGE! Do you think you'll make it that long?" Then there's other women that keep hearing "Wow, you're still so small!" Right now, I'd rather be hearing the happy medium of, "You look great!" and "Keep up the good work!" But instead, I'm one of the women that keeps hearing "You're still so tiny! Are you even wearing maternity clothes yet?" Yes. Thank you. I am. I was a size 4/6 before I got pregnant, so my clothes didn't really fit at all right away. I was wearing my pants with a belly band because I couldn't button them by the time I was 11 or 12 weeks. I didn't buy any new maternity clothes (well, pants anyways) until I was about 20 weeks or so. I had gotten a few items at the Salvation Army, and then bought a few more pairs of pants new because I couldn't find my size in dress pants at S.A. Granted, I'm pretty sure I could get away with just buying much larger jeans and such than I normally wear, and size large shirts and things, but I like the way maternity clothes actually make me look pregnant, and not just fat. Yes, I can still fit into about half of my pre-pregnancy things (mostly shirts...). I just wish people would stop and think about how their words may affect the person hearing them

That's all. :-) I feel better!

The damage...

So, here's a picture of the 'aftermath' from last nights incident. It's kind of blurry, but you get the idea... It doesn't hurt that bad anymore...only when I let it get too dry, and it stings every once in a while...

OWIE!!!!

So, I'm making little cheesecake bites for tomorrow night, and my hand just got introduced to a 300* oven rack :-(

Besides...if a cheesecake in a 9" baking pan takes an hour, why do mini cupcake sized cheesecakes take 40 minutes???

I'll be nursing my hand for a couple of days now...

Oh...to relax...

Would be so nice, but it's not going to happen for me for a while now! Work is on overload right now, which is why I'll be doing at least 6 hours worth of work from home this weekend. Add to that: girls night tonight (YAY!!! I get to see my girls again!), a b-ball game tomorrow, and Church on Sunday...long...weekend. Oh, and grocery shopping some time too. Whew! I'm getting worn out just thinking about it!

This morning, our street was pretty much a solid sheet of ice. It was fun! I kind of slid down the driveway until I stopped, and spun my tires pulling out of the driveway too. Hey, cut me some slack...I'm still getting used to a V6! 4wd doesn't kick in right away, so I have to make a mental note to put it in 4 before I leave the garage so that maybe, just maybe, it will be engaged by the time I get to the stop sign at the corner. :-)

Anyways...I'm off...

SNOW!!!

I'm so stinking excited that there's still snow on the ground this morning!!! Granted...it's been sleeting and raining, too, so it's only a matter of time before it's gone...but there's SNOW on the ground!!! Yay!!!

That is all :-)

Lazy Sunday...Wonderful Weekend!!!

This weekend has been wonderful. Busy...but wonderful.

Friday night, we finally got our OnDemand to work, and ordered Angels and Demons. What a GREAT movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it. We didn't start it until about 7:30, and I figured I would be passed out by 9...as usual. But, I wasn't. That's partially how I gauge if a movie is good or not. If it's close to time for me to go to bed, and it keeps my attention, and keeps me up later than normal...it's a good movie! I had heard reviews before, and thought about renting it, but never did. It's well worth it though! So good...

Yesterday, I had the wonderful opportunity of watching my absolutely adorable 7 year old blond, curly haired niece!!! We had her here for about 4 1/2 hours. It was so much fun!!! We went to Subway for lunch, and when we came home and were done eating, she helped me wrap the grab bag gift that we were taking to a Christmas party that night. She's such a good kid, and so fun to have around! Once we were done with the presents, we worked on the cake I was taking that night as well! It turned out WONDERFUL, and everyone liked it. There's only one piece left now...but not for much longer! LOL After dinner was done (which...was delicious mind you..), we had our gift exchange, and decided to play a game of Scene It. We played guys vs. girls, and the girls won! (woohoo!!!) It was a very, very late night though. We didn't get home until about 11:15-11:30ish. I haven't been up that late since the wedding I stood up in back in October. I wouldn't have changed it for the world though. :-)

Now that leads me to this morning...I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a train. I had a stuffy nose, and my throat felt kind of funny. Not really sore, just funny. I wound up not going to mass (shame on me...I know) because I knew I wouldn't have made it through. I wound up falling asleep at about 10:30 or so on the couch, and slept until Michael got home around 12:15. I didn't do much of anything today. I don't think I've left the couch for more than 30 minutes at a time. Once to shower, and the other to finish dinner. Now, we're watching The Green Mile, my lil bean is kicking me, and I feel like I could fall asleep again...I feel so incredibly lazy, but I also still feel pretty crappy. I think tonight will be an early-to-bed night for me.

Anyhoo...24 weeks today! :-)

Miscellaneous

Yeah, you'll see very soon why this is titled the way it is...

Haven't had an update in just over a week, and quite a bit has happened! Hopefully I can keep it all straight enough to actually type it...

Last week was wonderful. 3 days of work, and we got to leave 2 hours early on the third day. :-) That was also the day that I finally realized that I can't see my feet anymore when I stand normally. When I got home, I got to baking! I had a cheesecake, chocolate chip cookies, and no bake cookies to make for the family Thanksmas gathering on Thanksgiving day. I managed to get all of them done at a relatively decent hour too. I made blueberry topping for the cheesecake this time instead of the usual strawberry, and it turned out pretty good! My aunt was pleased, and very grateful!

It was nice to see everyone at grandma and grandpas house too. We ate lots of good food, and hung out for a few hours...6 to be exact. While we were there, we did our Christmas grab bag gift exchange, then headed out to the in-laws place! 2 hours on the road in the morning, and 2 hours on the road later in the afternoon...I had to sneak a nap in on the road...I was exhausted! We were only there for a couple of hours when I decided to hit the hay. I think I slept for 10 or 11 hours that night! Friday, we had Thanksgiving with the hubby's family. It was fun! And of course...lots more YUMMY food, and good company! If I haven't gained 15 lbs from my starting pregnancy weight from that week by next Monday....I will be shocked!

Saturday brought a whole new adventure. We had lunch, and headed back home. 2 stops on the way, and another 2 hours on the road. I was sleepy, but didn't sleep in the truck. I really don't like sleeping in a moving vehicle...but sometimes I can't help it. Michael and I were supposed to go to a costume party that night, but I would have had to start getting ready about 30 minutes after we walked in the door. I was really not feeling it at that point. I was pooped from the weekend, and really needed some rest. I decided not to go but told Michael he could have a "free pass". I would take him to the party, and go pick him up. He was free to have all the fun he wanted to!!! LOL After I dropped him off, I made some popcorn and plopped my butt down on the couch to watch a movie and play on my computer. I finally fell asleep about an hour, maybe hour and a half after I normally do...on the couch. Had my phone handy for when he called me to be picked up. Well...after a little more than 3 hours I woke up having not really heard from him. Sent him a text, and he called to let me know he was ready to go. It was 1...20...am... HA! Dragged my butt off the bed, and headed out. I had a really hard time falling back to sleep when we got home though. I was wide awake for some reason...not cool! I had to get up to go to church Sunday!!! The baby was kicking like crazy (love that part), and kept me awake for another 30 minutes.

Sunday morning, I got up, got ready for bed and headed to church. Michael stayed home :-) That day, we had the Rite of Acceptance for all of the Candidates and Catechumens in the RCIA program. It was so neat to be involved in that part again. I wasn't there last year, and the year before, I was a Catechumen. At this ceremony, all of the RCIA 'students' receive the sign of the cross on their forehead, ears, eyes, mouth, heart and feet. They are officially accepted into the program, and receive a blessing from the whole congregation. It was such an amazing experience once again. Tears were shed, and lots of smiles were apparent! I'm so glad to be a part of this program again. Sunday night, we got the Christmas tree all set up and decorated. This year, we used multi-colored lights instead of all white...and, they blink! There are 7 strands of 100 bulbs, and 50 bulbs blink at a time. It's taking some getting used to for me, but I like it. I think next year we might go for steady on lights though.

And now, for a baby update...as stated above, my next appointment is on Monday, and I'm excited about it, but dreading it at the same time. I can't wait to hear the lil beans heart pumping away again. And the activity has been CRAZY!!! Sometimes this kid goes for 30-45 minutes at a time! I LOVE feeling all of the kicks and punches. It's crazy to watch my bump jump with each kick and punch. My tummy is getting a lot more visible now too. I might actually be to the point of people noticing that I'm pregnant, and not just "plump"! The baby should now be about 12" long, and should be weighing just over a pound! It's hard to believe that in 3 1/2 months, there will be a little one in this house... :-)

Anyhoo...maybe I'll add some pics later on. But right now...I'm going to get back to surfing.