Anybody out there?

Just curious as to whether or not I actually have any readers here. Do I need to re-think this and go a different direction or if the blog working for updates?

Mixed bag of emotion and a oh what a day!

I have already noticed that I have felt much more emotional with this pregnancy than I did when I was pregnant with Connor. I have had periodic meltdowns among other things. I mean, I have had a couple of times where I have just bawled my eyes out and the triggers were what others might consider to be minor things. As if it's not enough that I'm apparently super emotional now naturally, I had one heck of an emotional roller coaster ride today.

I have thought a lot about this. I have shared this with a few people and, frankly, I don't think I can recount it all again, so I'm going to just share the bottom line information.

My dear, sweet nana suffered a stroke sometime within the past few days. They learned this from an MRI taken today. She is spending night #2 in the hospital and will probably be moved into a nursing home this week. This, of course, has been difficult for me to deal with for a lot of reasons, in a lot of ways. I am hoping to get down to see her and get some time in with family and friends next weekend. Please keep her, and our family, in your prayers.

But, the highs of the day were awesome! My mom and I took Connor to the park because we once again got a nice, sunny afternoon. He had so much fun. We also celebrated my birthday with a delicious dinner -- a Santa Maria barbecue -- prepared by my dad. The dinner was great, the Cold Stone cake we yummy. And, I got some great gifts....a coll vacuum type thing designed specifically for hardwood floors, a maternity top, a maternity dress and a great maternity coat and a couple of other things. Darrel and Connor gave me my gift early...a new phone. I had damaged my cell a couple of months ago and desperately needed to replace it. I really like the one I was able to choose. Darrel's recon helped. =) My mother-in-law also gave me my gift a little early. I got a KitchenAid stand mixer. I am SO excited and can't wait to start using it. Of course, my birthday isn't until Thursday, but I have enjoyed celebrating early. I have an amazing family, I must say. =)

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. I'll try to update sooner rather than later.

Did you notice?

I don't know how many people are actually reading or checking back on any sort of regular basis, but if you are reading, then perhaps you noticed that it's been awhile since my last update.

We've been getting the journalism program going and I'd say it's pretty close to being in full swing. We're still waiting on a few things to fall into place so that we can do all of the things we hope to do with the program, but students are getting involved, writing stories, taking photographs and sharing some great ideas. Our February edition of the paper featured some of their stories and we hope to feature even more plus photos in the next edition. Connor has had the chance to go with us a couple of times when we're teaching and the students all seem to like him. He, of course, loves being around people.

Speaking of Connor, he had a wonderful visit with his great grandparents toward the end of February. He spent one day with nana, papa, Great Nana and Great Granddad and then we had another family visit before they left. He even got to play with cousin Emily which was great fun for both of them.

We are rapidly approaching two and the word terrible seems to naturally flow before one can say two. Whew! Some days he is just ON! It's hard to keep up and "no" is becoming a favorite word. We had a really rough start to the morning. I think perhaps he woke up earlier than he wanted/needed which was a factor, but we have not had a morning like today ever before. I hope we have a long time before we have another like it.

On a very positive note: he loves giving hugs and blowing kisses. In one of the happy moments of the morning, he looked at me, said "hi" and blew me LOTS of kisses. It was great. He also enjoys acting out one of his favorite stories as we read it. And he seems to have it very nearly completely memorized. He reads books every day. And we read together each night before bed. Our nighttime reading also includes reading from a couple of books of prayers. He can point to pictures of Jesus and say, "Jesus," and he seems very proud of this fact. He is also saying, "Amen" at the end of prayers now. I love it! No matter what, he brings me such joy.

He's been giving hugs and kisses to the new baby. He also plays peek-a-boo with my tummy which is rather funny. He says hi to the baby in my tummy also. It's so cute and I love sharing these more tender moments with him.

The pregnancy seems to still be going ok. I don't have another appointment until March 17, but I haven't had to make any unscheduled trips to the doctor's office in a month now which is nice. I'd say it's safe to call that improvement. =) I will be sure to update after my next appointment, of course. I think part of the reason there can be such a lapse between posts is that I'm only being seen every four to five weeks right now. I hope the doctor's schedule will actually allow for more frequent visits when the time comes.

I think I'll go ahead and end for now. I may come back later and add something. You never know. I may find that I've forgotten something worth mentioning.

What a weekend!

We set aside the holiday weekend for some projects around the house. We also invited my mother-in-law to spend the weekend with us. It made for a very eventful weekend. Connor loved waking up every morning and seeing his grandma. I hope he'll be ok waking up alone in his room again tomorrow morning. He also had great fun helping us with some of the household projects. We re-organized and did a major cleaning in his room. Darrel worked on the re-organization of the office. We did a major cleaning on the bathroom and started our living room/dining room project. This included getting Connor's toys more organized, doing some major cleaning and re-organizing the photos in the living room. The ultimate goal is to re-arrange the furniture in such a way that the living room and dining room become to distinct rooms. The past couple of days, though, Darrel has been quite sick, so the furniture arranging will have to wait until he's feeling better. In the meantime, Joanie and I got a good portion of the living room ready to go for the furniture shift.

Some friends of ours have a bedrail that we will be able to borrow for the daybed in Connor's room, so we can begin the transition into the "big boy" bed soon. I hope it goes well. I think he'll be excited about it. But, we'll see.

Today, Connor finished off the weekend by spending the day with his Nana, Papa, Great Granddad and Great Nana. Papa came and picked him up this morning. Before leaving, Connor gave a LOT of love to his Grandma. He was very excited to be heading on his way with Papa, though, too. Joanie and I went to pick him up and have dinner this evening. When we arrived, Connor came running up and gave Grandma a huge hug! He was happy to see me, too, but it was I think a bit unexpected to see his Grandma walk through the door with me. We had a nice dinner. Connor enjoyed spending time with everyone. I dropped the ball and although I had specifically taken the camera so that I could get a photo of Connor with all of his living grandparents, I didn't get the photographic documentation. I think, though, that just seeing him enjoy having them all together with him was awesome. He was so happy. And then, when he was ready to go, he was ready to GO! So, we gathered up our things and headed home. It would seem that it was a perfect end to a perfect weekend for our little guy. He seemed to have a great time the entire weekend. He's still working on those canines. We can see two tips now. Friday night was a little rough. But that's when the second upper tip started poking through. Overall, he's doing well. He's learning new things every day. One of the things he did while we were working in his room the other day was he gave me the ok to set aside a rattle blanket for the new baby. It's identical to one he has. So, I asked him if we could keep it for the new baby and he was agreeable to that. So, he definitely is helping get ready for Baby #2, too.

We are so blessed.

It's cold and rainy here in the Valley. We've had a lot of rain the past few days. I hope it makes at least some sort of small dent in the drought. Hopefully there is plenty of snow falling in the mountains. Earlier this evening, there was a MAJOR downpour. It caused some pretty serious street flooding near my parents' house. Here's the funny thing, though...as it was happening, it sounded to me like a broken sprinkler. It took me a few minutes to realize that it was pouring rain. I felt like such a goofball. Ah well...

Time for an update

I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. I've been enjoying my new daytime adult school class and we've been getting the high school journalism program going. Ultimately, I'll have more time for things...time at home, time taking care of advertisers. We're still settling in to the new schedule and, of course, I've been working on lesson planning and making sure I have things set up for the semester. It's been so wonderful to be happy about getting up and going to work in the mornings. I've been leaving a little on the early side so that I can send out copies, pick up things, drop things off and squeeze in an ad visit here and there. As always, I'm taking things one day at a time.

The journalism program is great. The students have some really good ideas and we expect to see some new features added to the newspaper over time. We have high hopes for what is yet to come.

I haven't had any significant bleeding episodes since last Monday and the doctor's appointment I went to yesterday was one I scheduled WEEKS ago! It was so nice to go to a regular appointment for a change. The baby's heartbeat was good and things seem to be going well all things considered, so that was a plus. Keep those prayers coming because they sure seem to be working.

We have a few looming things that need taking care of, but I know with time and patience we will be ok. Again your continued prayers are welcome and appreciated.

Connor's had a rough few days. He's working on getting his canine teeth and has not been feeling 100%. He had a fever Saturday night then woke up twice during the early morning hours that night. Yesterday was his worst day overall. He just seemed so miserable and there wasn't much we could do. We finally were able to soothe him so he could get to sleep. He seemed better today overall. And, we had one of his favorites for dinner: stuffed shells and bread. So, he was sure to eat some.

I am apparently quite tired and ready for bed, so I think I'll call this update good for now. I will finish off by sharing a couple of good songs for your listening pleasure. =) Enjoy!

How could I have forgotten?

I can't believe I forgot this little update in my post last night. I am pretty sure that I felt some baby movement for the first time last night. It was just once and just a little bit, but I felt a little flutter and it was so cool!

Just another Manic Monday?

It was actually a bit of a roller coaster Monday. The day had its highs and lows. I am hoping that I can focus on the good and just move beyond the less-than-good.

I got up and got the day started right on time. I had a little difficulty picking out my clothes for the day because nothing seemed to be just right, but I eventually got dressed and felt really good about heading into my first day. I headed into Delhi to check in with the adult school principal and clerk so I could have an idea of how many students to expect for my new class. As I drove into Delhi, I focused on God and on all of the things for which I am thankful. I prayed out loud and gave thanks the entire drive. I entered the day feeling pretty good. I got a class roster and gathered up the books I would need then headed to the district office to get my new keys. It was all pretty smooth sailing and for that I was thankful. I stopped to get a cup of coffee and use the restroom. That was interesting. I discovered that I was having a little bleeding again. It wasn't much so I decided to wait and call the doctor's office at break from my class.

I got all set up and ready to go. I had ten students, five of whom added the class just this morning which puts my enrollment above 15 and means that things are looking like they're off to a good start. I experienced some more bleeding and called the doctor's office. They could take me in just before lunch. Whew! The first day of class went well all things considered and I just ended things a little early so I could get to the doctor's on time. The baby's heartbeat was still good and so I just keep doing what I'm doing and resting when I can. My next scheduled appointment is next Tuesday. It would be AWESOME to not have to go in before then.

I had my exit interview for my instructional aide job that I left at the end of last week and I think that went well. Originally I was going to write notes, but I didn't. I think, though, that I touched on the big points that I needed to touch on in that interview. I checked the PO Box (no mail today) and headed home where I was able to rest for a bit. Then we ran some errands as a family which was nice. I always enjoy it when we do little things that need doing, but have fun doing them as a family. When we got home, it was time to get ready for my citizenship class. So, I got ready and headed on my way. I had six students tonight, one absence. I think this class could end up being pretty strong and I am looking forward to a good semester. Things were again going seemingly well. We did the things I had hoped to do and things were again looking positive. We ended pretty much on time and I headed out to the car.

Then, the car wouldn't start. I was pretty sure it was the starter, but not positive. My mother-in-law came and we called AAA. The tow truck driver tried to jump start my car, but that didn't work at all. He, too, suspects it's the starter. So, we had it towed to a local mechanic. We'll work on getting it operational again tomorrow.

After dinner Connor counted all the way to 10! He was repeating numbers that my mother-in-law was saying as he counted the number of things he was putting "away." It was pretty cool..

Oh! One more cool thing for the day....I received my "unofficial" test scores via e-mail today and I passed all three. I should get a hard copy pretty much any day now. Regardless.....I PASSED! YAY!

Have a good week everyone! I know I will be focusing on having a good week.