Christmas Events

You don't have to read all this.. It is more for me to remember what we did! :)

Well our Christmas came and went VERY fast!!!!!

Christmas Eve I went home to the birthday party of Jesus at Kelly's house. You can check out pictures here! It was so much fun! You have never experienced Christmas until you experience it through a child's eyes. Caroline and Eli were so excited about the party and making the cake! We even had party hats.

After that Patrick got home in time to go to his families church Christmas Eve Service. It was a very nice service and it was nice to be with family. After the service we went to communion at my dad's church. Usually we are the last people there but this time we were early. My dad had a prayer with us and it was so sweet. Of course everyone cried!

After communion we went over to Patrick's Grandad's house for dinner and to spend time with the family. While we were there we decided to sort the presents under the tree. HOLY MOLY There were TONS!!! Not to mention Mary Alice had so many.

After that we went home to sleep and get ready for SANTA!!!!

On Christmas day Patrick and I had about 30 minutes by ourselves at my parents house to do presents. I had already opened up my presents, a computer and a cross necklace. Patrick was very surprised by his big gift, a GPS. He was in Heaven!

When then headed to the Graham's house to do presents. To say that they spoiled Mary Alice and us was an understatement. I was very surprised to get a digital picture frame! Mary Alice also got the most beautiful dress!

For lunch we headed to Grandad's and we all go spoiled AGAIN!

Next it was on to my parents house. Caroline and Eli were so excited! Caroline really enjoyed opening all presents and really enjoyed her baby alive that actually poops and peed! Eli loved all his toys as well. The best part of opening the gifts was when Eli was opening a big bag of just clothes, he threw all of them on Granddad and kept looking for candy or a toy. It was hilarious! Of course Mary Alice and we were spoiled again! I finally got a pair of DANSKOS! :)

My aunt and cousin came over dinner. It was sad without my Poppa and Grandma but we enjoyed each other company.

After dinner we went to Patrick's aunt house for the last event of the day. We had a great time and found out great news! We are going to have a new cousin in August! :) Patrick's aunt and uncle are expecting their 5 baby!

So our Christmas was very hectic but we had a great time! Thank you everyone for the gifts. It was so hard to get everything in our cars to come home (I can only imagine what next year will be like).

Today is time to get to take down the decorations and put away all presents! :)

The Calm Before The Storm!!!!!

This is the title that I always give Christmas Eve!! Our Christmas Day is always so crazy, but we are also so thankful to have such a wonderful family!

So what did we do during the calm......

Nana and Granddad came down yesterday to paint the nursery! It is so beautiful. We chose a light green color to match the bedding! It looks perfect!

We also put the crib together. Lexy was alittle confused about this, but I am hoping she will be ok with the whole baby thing!

Thank you Nana and Granddad for painting.. Thank you Kelly and Andy for saving us TONS of money with a crib.. Thank you Alice and John for buying our bedding for us! Patrick and I are really blessed with great families!

Today Patrick is working, but Nana stayed last night so she could drive me home. (I don't really do well in the car anymore).

We are going to a Birthday party for Jesus at my sister's house for lunch and then tonight I will go to the Christmas Eve service with Patrick's family and then my dad's church for communion.

Hopefully Patrick will be home when I get home from church!

Then we go to sleep to get ready for the storm! :)

This Christmas will be alittle different because it is the last one that we will spend the night on Christmas Eve at my parent's house. Next year we have decided to spend Christmas morning at our house for Mary Alice to open her presents!

Our Christmas Day consists of seeing Patrick's family, seeing Patrick's mom family, seeing my family, seeing my Dad's family, and seeing Patrick's dad family. We usually do my mom's family after Christmas. So as you can see we go many places in one day. Although by the end of the day we are exhausted we really do enjoy seeing all of the family! Patrick and I have been very blessed with great families that love to spoil us and now they are going way overboard with Mary Alice.

So even though this is the calm before the storm, we wouldn't change it for the world! :)

I hope everyone has a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! :)

Christmas Procrastination

Well I have officially procrastinated this year. I also say I AM GOING TO BE DONE WITH EVERYTHING BY THE END OF SCHOOL, but that never happens!

There is not one present under the Christmas Tree.

I still have to buy about 5 presents.

I need to finish laundry.

I need to pack for the weekend.

I also still need to buy stocking stuffers.

So today my goal is to complete almost all of these! :) Unfortunately it is 10:30 and I am still sitting on the couch enjoying my day off! Let's hope I get some motivation to get everything done!

Did anyone else procrastinate?

Weekend of Movies and Fun!!

This weekend has been so relaxing for us! :) Friday night we went to dinner and we were going to go see a movie, but my back started hurting and we didn't want to pay all the money and then have to leave the movie.
We decided to rent the movie Hancock. It was very good and I would recommend it to anyone! :)

Saturday we went to Emma's first birthday party! It was great to celebrate her birthday with family! :) Check out JuJu's blog for pictures. After the party, Alice, Sally, Ben, Patrick and I went to buy Mary Alice's bedding. It is actually a shower gift for us, but Nana and Grandad are coming to paint on Tuesday so we have to go pick out the color! Thank you Alice and John! :)
After that we came back and went to dinner! :)

Saturday night Patrick and I watched the annual Christmas movie, Christmas Vacation! We both LOVE this movie! :)

Today we have been very lazy and ordered a pizza for dinner. We knew we wanted to watch a movie but could not decide which one to watch, so I gave Patrick a early Christmas present and we watched The Dark Knight. THIS IS THE LONGEST MOVIE! I am so glad I did not go to see it in the theater because we had to stop it about 5 times so I could go to the bathroom. Even though it was long it was VERY GOOD!!! :)

So we had a great weekend of fun and especially enjoyed watching good movies! :) This week we are going to be very busy with great Christmas fun! :) Hope everyone has a great week!

13 Weeks

WOW.. I cannot believe there are only 13 more weeks left until we will have a little girl with us. This morning Patrick and I were laying in bed talking about how things are going to change. It is hard to believe that in March we will be holding a precious little girl.
All morning Patrick kept saying how he can't wait to wake up with his little baby and spoil her. It makes me feel so good inside that he is SO excited. I mean don't get my wrong I am very excited as well, but I love hearing Patrick talk about how he can't wait!

This morning I began thinking about what I thought she would look like. Will she have really black hair like I did, or no hair at all? (Although I am pretty sure she has some hair because my heartburn has been TERRIBLE). Will she have bunions on her toes like me or good feet like her daddy? Will her fingers be long or short? I honestly cannot wait to just hold her in my arms!

Is this normal to think this much about this? I honestly think about how our life is going to change and be different everyday! I just really hope these 13 weeks go by fast because I am so ready to have a little girl!!!! :)

Graduation Weekend

This past weekend I graduated from my Masters program! It was a very nice service. I attended a Christian college and the ceremony was amazing! It was so neat to attend a graduation where they prayed and read scripture. They also had the university singers sing great praise songs!

I cannot believe that I finally completed the program. The 15 months really did go by fast! It was also very nice to get the great pay increase! :)

I want to thank Alice and Sally for coming to the ceremony! Also I want to thank my parents without them I would have never been able to get my degree!!! :) Also to Patrick for putting up with me for 15 months and being behind me every step of the way!

Now I need to start working for my +30! :)

Here are some pictures!

Here is a picture of my belly! It is really getting bigger:)

Update

Well there is good and bad news...

The good news I do not have a kidney infection and Mary Alice is fine. She is so fine that she kept kicking the doppler and moving around!

The bad news is that my muscles in my back are contracting on my nerves causing terrible pain in my back. The doctor gave me muscle relaxers but I can only take them at night because I have to be able to teach. She also said that if it gets worse and I can't work because of the pain then they can give me a shot of steriods in that one spot. Since I hate needles, lets pray it gets better!!!

Today also did not turn out to bad. I went back to sleep at 10:00 and did not wake up until 12:30. I did not know how tired I was! Also after my appointment I did more Christmas shopping and I am almost finished with Patrick! :)

Thanks for the prayers!

Gotta Love Doctors! :):):)

Well last night I decided I would just take a half day off work and hopefully be able to go to the doctor by 12:00. This morning I called and the doctor on call was in the OR until 11:30 so my appointment is not until 11:40. UPDATE: THE DOCTOR JUST CALLED AND CHANGED MY APPOINTMENT TO 2:30 WHICH MEANS I COULD HAVE GONE IN FOR THE WHOLE DAY AND THEN LEFT AT 2:00 WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE TIME OFF!!!! This means that I have to take a whole day! This would not be a big problem if I had TONS of days saved up for maternity leave, but I don't so I feel like I am wasting a day.

Patrick is off as well because of the rain and he is enjoying his day because he knows he can't work in the rain, while I am feeling guilty for not being at work. All I want to do is go to work! :) I am also very bored. I guess I am going to stay home and rest and get things done. After lunch if I feel like it I will venture out to finish Christmas shopping.


So I hope everyone has a great day!

Help Update

So I decided to call the doctor about the pain in my back...

She wants me to come in first thing in the morning to check things out but she thinks it is just my pelvic bone moving.

I will update when I get a chance.. Say alittle prayer tonight please that everything is ok!

Help Please!!!!

I need some advice.....

Every time I sleep I wake up with TERRIBLE back pain. It doesn't matter if I sleep on my left or right side, I still wake up with the WORST pain. Anyone have any suggestions on how to help relieve this?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Thanks! :)

It's Beginning to Feel Alot Like Christmas

This weekend Patrick and I are now in the full Christmas swing! Last night we went to my department Christmas party. It was really nice to be able to talk to people I work with outside of school. We both had a good time and enjoyed talking to everyone.

Every year I try to get all my Christmas shopping done in one day, except for Patrick's gift. Well today was the day! I left at 10:00 this morning and was home by lunch! I am also proud to say that I have bought all gift but our dad's and Patrick's. Why are guys so hard to buy for?!?!?!?

Tonight we are having some friends over for dinner to use our Christmas china! Thanks to my mom and Alice for buying me our china!

We are also going to get our friends to take our Christmas picture tonight, so we are finally getting in the Christmas spirit at the Graham house! :)

24 Week Update

Today I went for my 24 week update. The doctor's decided to do another ultrasound today. Patrick couldn't get off work so my mom came down for the afternoon to go with me. Mary Alice was very active and stubborn!

They did a 3D ultrasound and it was so neat! She was laying on her arm and was as cute as could be. We have decided that her nose looks like Patrick's! There is also one picture that looks just like Patrick. I am going to scan the pictures next weekend and put them in a post.

Everything was fine and she weighs 1lb. 5 oz. I have gained weight, which I guess is good, but hard for me to accept!

I go back at the end of December for my diabetes test and then after that I will start the every two week visits. It is hard to believe that March is getting closer and closer!

Thanksgiving Update

Our Thanksgiving was very busy but fun!!! We started on Wednesday night by eating at my uncle's house. Patrick had to work on Wednesday so he did not get to come to this dinner because he did not get home until 9:00. It was a great dinner and a great way to start the holiday. Click here to see pictures!
On Thursday we started by watching the parade at my parents house and then headed to Patrick's grandparents for lunch! This year I ate TONS of food!! After lunch we had a family picture made! It was great to finally get a picture with all the wives and new cousins!

After lunch we came back to my parent's house to have dinner with my dad's side of the family. My cousin was home from Alaska so it was nice to see him as well. My family attempted to take a Christmas card picture. Check it out here!

On Thanksgiving our cousin, Anna Camille, turned one and her birthday party was yesterday. It was so much fun!! She got many cute things and we had so much fun! After the party we went back to Patrick's parents house and he helped around the house. We then went to Cracker Barrel for dinner! IT WAS SOO GOOD!! My father-in-law was very surprised that I cleaned my plate. (Before I got pregnant I NEVER cleaned my plate) After dinner we had fun just hanging out at their house and of course Mary Alice got some BEAUTIFUL outfits!!! :) Thank you so much Pam, JuJu, and Alice for the wonderful gifts for Mary Alice this weekend!

Today, I am getting ready to go pick up the two cutest kids in the world(of course until I get to see Mary Alice) and take them to Target and Chick Fil A with my mom. After that is it time to watch the greatest game of the season! CLEMSON VS. SOUTH CAROLINA!! Last night my team won, GO BYRNES, so I am hoping this will continue today!! GO GAMECOCKS! :)

I hope everyone has a great day! We are going back home SOON to get start putting up Christmas decorations!

Thank You!!!

On this Thanksgiving Day, I want to say Thank You to God. He has blessed me so many things and I don't think I say thank you enough.

Some great blessings in my life from God are:

My husband - I know I get on his nerves, especially these last 6 months but he still comes home everyday with a smile on his face and loves me!

My mom and dad - Wow.. they do so much for me. Words cannot express how much they mean to me!

My sister and Andy - I am very lucky to have a great relationship with my sister. She is my best friend. I also have a great relationship with Andy. I know I can talk to him about anything!

Caroline and Eli - I love these two kids more than I can imagine. They can put the biggest smile on your face!

Alice and John - I have really been blessed with great in laws who will do anything for me! They are the best!

Sally and Ben - I love it when all four of us get together. We never stop laughing! :)

Patrick's extended family - They are so wonderful to me! They welcomed me as one of their own and they do so much for us!

My extended family - I cherish all of our memories together and love that when we get together for the holidays we get to catch up!

Our church family - Patrick and I have been blessed with a great church family. They have helped make our home an actual home! :)

Last but not least, Mary Alice, I am so excited about meeting this little girl and God has really blessed us with a wonderful daughter. It is hard to believe that in 4 months I am going to have someone in my arms that will call me Mommy. I am very lucky to have so many wonderful moms that are great role models for me!

So, Thank you God for all your blessings. Also Thank you everyone for everything you have done for Patrick and I.

WE LOVE YOU!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thanks Summer!!!

Thank you so much Summer for my blog award!!!

*****This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."*******

1. Kelly
2. JuJu
3.Katie
4.Stacey
5.Corrie
6.Amanda
7.Natalie
8.Amber

Sunday Six

Six things going on at the Graham household...

1. This weekend I went home for a baby shower for a good friend from high school. In high school I was part of a group of four friends. Every weekend we usually spent the night with someone. We were all at the baby shower! It was so great to see each other again! It is hard to believe we are all grown up!

2. Patrick and I had a great date night on Friday at Yamato's and then to finish our registry at Babies R US!

3. You can now see Mary Alice kick me if I am laying down. She is also becoming a great soccer player! I don't think she ever sleeps!

4. I am trying to convince Patrick to put the Christmas tree up before we leave for Thanksgiving so all we have to do is decorate it when we get home.

5. We are both VERY excited about eating Thanksgiving dinner and need some prayer that we don't get sick! Everyone in my family has had the stomach virus for 24 hours during the past two weeks and I pray we don't get it as well! :)

6. We are both very excited for the two big games this weekend as well!! Byrnes/Dorman and Carolina/Clemson. :)

Have a great week!!!

Random Things

Saturday afternoon the Laney's came to stay with us. It was so nice to be able to catch up with them. We took the girls to the park near our house and they had a great time swinging and sliding. Although I think Brandon and Patrick had just as much fun swinging!

We also went to our favorite restaurant, Hudson's, for dinner. It was great!

Today we heard a great sermon at church on stewardship. Our minister compared stewardship to the good Samaritan parable. He explained that there are three attitudes of stewardship and there were three attitudes in the parable. The first is what yours is mine. This was the attitude of the robbers and how we do not need to have this attitude with stewardship. The second attitude was what's mine is mine and I don't want to share. This was the attitude of the priest in the parable. This is also the attitude of many people in the church when they hear the word stewardship. The third attitude is the one of the good Samaritan where she was willing to give up all she had to help anyone. This should be the one for us when it comes to stewardship.
He also explained that even if we give alittle God will bless us with so many blessings. He explained that stewardship is not just about money but about time and services.

After church we headed to the Carolina basketball game with Katie and Justin. It was a great time of fellowship and fun. It was also great because Carolina won! If you know me well then you know I LOVE BASKETBALL SEASON! I am so excited that it is starting!

This weekend we also bought the new Josh Turner cd, which I highly recommend. This is a video of one of my favorite songs on the cd. Hope you enjoy and have a great week!

My How My Belly Has Grown

19 weeks

22 Weeks

Wow what 3 weeks will do! :)

I have to Brag...

Ok I know I brag on my husband ALOT but yesterday he really did well! :)

Today the Laney's are coming to stay with us so we knew we needed to clean and get everything ready. While I was at work yesterday my husband CLEANED our house. I mean he did everything! He cleaned out the kitchen cabinets, refrigerator, closets, laundry room, dusted EVERY inch of house and then made it smell well.

I felt so bad because when I got home he wouldn't let me help him and told me to take a nap. Throughout the whole 5 months of being pregnant I have only had to clean my house 1 time. My husband is the BEST! He is the best cleaner in the WORLD! :)

Thanks honey.. I love you!

Things are finally looking up!!!

Well after almost a week of going crazy with my cold, I am starting to feel better. I called the doctor and told them that Tylenol was not working so they told me to try Dimetapp and a humidifier at night. IT WORKED!! Who would have know that my favorite medicine from when I was little would work now! :)

I am going to keep taking the medicine but I think things are starting to look up! Thank you to everyone who prayed for me and for the advice! Mary Alice and I appreciate it!

This is for my Mom! :)

HELP???!!!?!?

Does anyone have any advice on how to get rid of a cold and get their voice back without taking medicine?
I am willing to try ANYTHING!

Thanks! :)

Prayer Request

Please say an extra prayer for me tonight. I have had a terrible cold since Saturday. I have tried not to take too much medicine because I know it can't be good for Mary Alice, so I am just trying to ride this one out. They only problem is that I cannot afford to take days off work, so I don't have time to rest.

Please pray for me and for Patrick's sanity! :) I am not a very good sick person!

A fast weekend!

This weekend feels like it has flown by for us!

Friday night we went to the mall to meet my brother in law, and Corrie with our friend Katie(who started a new blog for her little roo) for dinner and shopping.

Yesterday we tackled the big Babies R US to register for Mary Alice. I was overwhelmed. I am just glad my sister was sitting by her phone for the million of times I called her. We didn't find everything we needed but we got a good start!

Last night we went out with Matt, Crystal, and Emma. It has been forever since we have had dinner with them and we enjoyed catching up with them!

Today we went to church and then came home and have done nothing! I have a head cold so I am trying to not do too much and I slept all day! I am hoping it will go away soon because I feel like I am blowing my brains out. :)

Even though we didn't do too much we had a great weekend! :) Hope everyone else did as well and have a great week!

How am I going to Survive!!?!?

Today on my way to work I started thinking about how great it would be to be home to play with my computer all day and I started thinking about how when we get something new at our house it is so hard to go to work because I want to stay home and either play the new game or enjoy the new item that we have bought.

Well this got me thinking about next August and how in world am I going to leave my little girl to go to work. I have a feeling it is going to be really hard to get through the day. If I am that excited and ready to get home to play a crazy playstation game, how will I be to come home and play with my precious child. I really had a different view of a working moms and how they have to have a strength to make it through the day.

So how am I going to survive!?!?!? I hope that I can find an answer next year but until then I am going to enjoy every moment I can with Mary Alice, even the wonderful moments of her kicking me everyday! I still enjoy feeling the little movements all the time! We definitely have a child that loves to move because she never stops!

WE FINALLY DID IT!!!

Since I started teaching at my school last year I had a laptop that I could bring home and use. It was not the best laptop by any means. Some of the many things wrong with it were: we could not get on many webpages, if your blog had a great design our school blocked it, also it was VERY SLOW!!! Well this week it decided it did not want to corporate with our internet so I decided to start researching different laptops.

I found a great deal at BEST BUY so I am now typing on my new computer!!! I am so excited because now I can actually see every website that I try to find! The only problem is that I am having to get use to Vista and that I need to buy Word and Powerpoint, but oh well! :)

I promise to update more now that I have a great laptop to work with! I will even try to post more pictures. My belly is getting bigger! :)

Pictures of Mary Alice!

Here are pictures of Mary Alice!

Here is her profile!

She kept looking at us so we call this her "alien" picture.

Here is the great picture! It's a girl! She kept her legs over her head for most of the ultrasound!

Update

I just wanted to post a quick update about the baby.

We found out yesterday that we are going to be the proud parents to a little baby girl!!!

Her name will be Mary Alice Graham and we will use the double name. My Mimi's name was Mary Alice and I always loved that name when I was younger. Patrick's grandmother's name is Mary and his mother's name is Alice, so she will have a great family name.

We got really good pictures during the ultrasound because she kept showing us her face. She would not stay still during the whole ultrasound. It was so neat to see her face and body! She already has long legs and her profile looks like Patrick's face (from what we can see).

Please continue to pray for a healthy baby girl!

A Great Fall Weekend!

This weekend was the first in about a month that we have not had something planned. It was so nice to be at our house and do whatever we wanted to do!

Friday we went to dinner and then came back to watch Made of Honor! It was actually a great movie, even Patrick liked it! :)

Saturday, we both slept late and then decided to go run errands. I believe EVERYONE in our town had the same idea! It was so crowded outside. That night we went to a couple in our Sunday School class to watch the Carolina game. It was fun to be with friends even if we lost the game.

This morning we went to a great service at our church. We decided to go to the Traditional service and it was so nice! It reminded me alot of the church I grew up in. It was so refreshing to hear a great sermon in a great service! After the service I met the lady that I WOULD LOVE to keep our child next year. She said she wasn't sure she had any openings but I was first on the list! (WE ARE PRAYING SHE GETS AN OPENING)

Today we have done much of nothing, but I LOVE THAT! :) I actually feel refreshed for work this week (although I did not grade one paper all weekend).

I hope everyone had a great fall weekend as well! The weather is just perfect! :)

Game DAY!

GO COCKS!!!

13 Different Things

This post is really for me to read after I have had the baby!

13 Different things that I feel/deal with since I have been pregnant...

1. Feeling nauseated 5 days of the week (Thank goodness this is over)
2. Only being able to be up for 3 hours at a time (Praise the Lord this happened in the summer as well)
3. Getting up EVERY hour to go to the bathroom
4. Getting use to having a big belly (I know it might not look big to ya'll, but it is alot bigger to me)
5. Eating EVERY hour (I use to never eat)
6. Having CRAZY dreams .. Last night the cat and this weird animal with big teeth attacked me
7. Not being able to get comfortable when I sleep!
8. Not having to clean the house for about 3 months (THANKS PATRICK.. I LOVE YOU)
9. Craving food and having to have it immediately
10. listening to people tell me how much I don't look pregnant
11. having to buy a whole new wardrobe.. (I still don't understand how a black maternity shirt can be 30, when a normal black shirt can be 10. They are just trying to get my money)
12. enjoying looking at our little peanut every time I go to the refrigerator
13. Enjoying feeling our little peanut move around and flutter in my stomach! That is really the best part!

There are many more things I have to deal with.. This week the newest ones are the fact that my leg will just give out for no reason and will feel like I pulled a muscle (This is because of my wonderful peanut laying on my nerve) and the fact that my seatbelt is NOT comfortable anymore!.. Also I am sure my mom and Patrick could tell you many other things! They have really been great during this pregnancy!

All the bad things are definitely worth the good! Every time I feel it flutter it is AMAZING! :) I can't wait to find out what it is! :)

Our Makeover

Since we found out we were having a baby we have been planning what to do with the two extra bedrooms in our house. When we first moved in, we made one a guest bedroom and the other a study/junk room. We knew that we needed a place for at least one person to sleep so we needed to at least keep a bed, but we wanted to have a nursery and a "man" room. I actually told Patrick that he could do whatever he wanted in this room as long as we have a bed for our family to come down.

We are both very excited about the man room because it will get the Playstation, Wii, and DVDs out of the living room to help make room for a swing and toys!

This weekend we decided to start tackling this project! We started by cleaning out the study/junk room and making piles for keep, donate, storage, and trash. Patrick learned that I am pack rat and I hate to throw away ANYTHING! He had to compromise with me many times! We also needed to clean out the two closets because we needed to make the nursery closet empty!

After we finished going through everything and putting things in their place, I decided that we(or Patrick) should just go ahead and paint the room since we had time this weekend. We went to Home Depot at 7:00 and bought a paint color that Patrick wanted. We came home and Patrick painted until 12:30 Sat. night.>

Sunday, Patrick painted all day as well after church and we finally finished around 9:00 that night!

Monday night after Patrick got home from work (I had the day off). We put everything back to normal in the man room! Now, we just have to find out what we are having and do the nursery. We have decided though that Nana and Granddad are going to paint that room! :):)

Here are the pictures!

Study/Junk room Before

Study/Junk Room closet Before

Nursery Closet Before

Here I am taking down the last of the border

Patrick taping while taking a break from painting!

Nursery Closet After

This is the bed that we got for 15.00! We just have to buy a mattress! :)

Pictures! :)

I have finally found my camera so I thought I would post some pictures!!

Here is a picture of what I gave Patrick for his birthday. (This is really for his family to see because I forgot to show them, but you can enjoy)

Here is a preview of what we have been doing all weekend! I will post before, middle, and after pictures when we finish, which I hope is VERY SOON!!!

The first picture is not then nursery, it is Patrick's new "MAN Room"

A Great Sermon

Today we had a great sermon at church. I wanted to share some highlights.

* Our friend's baby was Christened and our preacher gave some insights of parenting at the beginning of the sermon that really made me think.
He talked about how his children were into sports and how he could count on one hand how many games he had to miss. He explained that he LOVED to watch his children play sports and he was known as the "Loud" parent. It embarrassed his children when they were little but now that are very thankful that their parents supported them.

This made me think about how when I was growing up I was involved with EVERYTHING.. Band, dance, piano, basketball, softball, etc. and my parents very RARELY missed anything where I was playing the piano or dancing, even if it was just a fall festival. When I was little I didn't really understand how important this was, but now looking back I am very thankful that my parents supported me in everything I did and they were there to see me participate in all activities. Patrick and I hope to do the same with our children because we really believe it is important to put your children FIRST and support them in everything they do!

* Our preacher also made a good point that we need to be like Paul and put the past behind us, even past accomplishments. We must always look towards the future.

*We must also try to be as POSITIVE as possible. This does not always mean we HAVE to surround ourselves with positive people because we can bring positive to negative people. We must always though look towards the positive of every situation.

*Lastly, we must have attitudes like Christ and put other's before ourselves. We must always think others are better than ourselves and never think we are better than anyone. This was the hardest challenge of the day for me because I do have trouble with this the most.

This week I am going to try and work on all of this challenges from the sermon and I hope you will do the same!

Have a great week! :)

*Stay tuned for pictures our eventful weekend getting ready for a baby! *

16 Week Update!

I went back to the doctor today for a quick (I mean very quick checkup). I was only in the office for 25 minutes! Our doctor is VERY fast!!! :)

The heartbeat was strong at about 150 beats per minute. All of my tests came back negative so I am clear of all things! I have also gained 8 pounds which is good considering it is hard for me to gain weight. I was actually very surprised my blood pressure was normal because my student's were TERRIBLE today!

We go back on the 27th to find out the sex of the baby! :) I don't think it could get here fast enough!

On another note, I was logging in to Yahoo today and I always enjoy looking at the news. Every week they have the new high school standings and the picture beside the heading for the standings was of Byrnes running into the game! I was so surprised to see that! It was neat to see my high school on a very well known website! GO REBELS! :)

Happy Birthday 2 (Alittle Late)

Ok so I am alittle late with this post. There is only 2 more hours in the day ....

Today Patrick and I celebrate two special birthdays.

The first is Patrick's mom, Alice. Patrick was born the day before her birthday! I am sure she had a great birthday present in 1983!

Alice, We hope you had a great day! We can't wait to have your first grandchild!

The second birthday we celebrate is Caroline's!

The night Caroline was born was very special. It was so neat to be at the hospital. I will never forget holding her the first time. I cannot believe that has been three years ago. She really has grown up! I love to watch her take care of Eli! I can't wait to introduce her to our child and see all the love she has for him/her. We love you Caroline and hope you had a great day! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :)

Today is my WONDERFUL husband's 25th birthday! We had TONS of celebrations this past weekend and tonight we are going out to eat and to shopping to spend some of his birthday money!!!

I gave him his presents last night, well two of them. He really wanted a Metallica shirt that I ordered off the Internet and it hasn't come in yet!

He did get to open two things though! One was the Willow Tree angel, New Dad. He saw it the other night and really liked it. Another was a present from EBAY. I got him a onesie that says, I rock out to Metallica with my Daddy! Patrick really LOVES Metallica and we hope to get the baby lullabies that are Metallica songs so our child can listen to them.. The lullabies are actually really good! :)

Happy Birthday Honey!
I LOVE YOU! :)

Dentist, Birthday's, and Belly!

I am sorry I haven't been updated lately. Nothing new is going on! I still feel alittle sick at least once a week but I think it is beginning to get better!

Today I had to go get two cavities filled. I was so nervous because I knew I was not suppose to get laughing gas. When I was in first- fourth grade I had about 12 teeth pulled by the dentist so I am very scared of getting anything done to my mouth. I always cried the whole time Neil was pulling my teeth and I HATED the shots. All day today I just kept thinking about how bad the shots were going to hurt without the laughing gas. Well I DIDN'T FEEL A THINK!! I was so happy! It was really not all that bad! I guess I am getting older! The only problem right now is that the feeling is coming back and my teeth are alittle sore!

Tomorrow we are heading up to see our family! This is the BUSY birthday weekend of the year! We celebrate Caroline's birthday, Patrick's birthday, Alice's (my mother-in-law) birthday, Patrick's cousin birthday, and Patrick three aunts birthday! By Sunday we are VERY TIRED! :)

I have ordered Patrick two things on the internet for his birthday (which is Monday) and none of them have come yet. I told him he wasn't going to get anything because I am scared nothing will be here! Pray they come this weekend! :)

I am starting to get a little belly now. If you don't know I am pregnant you can't really tell, but those people that see me everyday and know me very well can tell! I will get my mom to take pictures this weekend and upload them! :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Teaching Feelings

I know it has been awhile since I have blogged but work has really been busy this year.

This year I am teaching a special education Physical Science class, a honors class, and a repeater class. Needless to say, my day is crazy and when I get home I exhausted.

Today was a terrible day actually. I am the type of teacher that tries to reach every student and honestly believes that student's have a good side to them and they can all learn physical science. Well today they all tested my patience. I feel so bad after I yell at them, but today there was no choice. I have never had such disrespectful students. I came home and felt terrible because I was so mean. After much thought I have decided that I need to get over the fact that I can reach EVERY student and try to teach most of the how to have respect.

As a teacher your goal is to make good relationships with your students and help them get through your class. Since I teach high school I try really hard to teach students that they are all capable of going to college and getting a good job. The hardest part of my job is to see so much potential in certain students, but watching them not use their potential. I feel like a failure because I don't know how to reach these students because I was never like this. It is hard for me to realize that students do not want to work up to their potential.

So.. I am writing this more for me to get my feelings from the day on paper (or computer) but if anyone has any suggestions for how to reach difficult students PLEASE let me know!

Happy "Early" Birthday!!

Friday is my dad's birthday. We are going home this weekend to see our family so I am posting early.

As many of you know I am true daddy's girl. When I was little I always wanted to do EVERYTHING with my dad. He was and still is my hero.

Here are a few neat things about my dad!

* He is a GREAT minister. I love coming home to hear him preach.
* Whenever a boy broke up with me he was always there to make me smile
* When I was little we use to always eat waffles together EVERY morning!
* He taught me how to throw a basketball and baseball ( I was never good)
* He never missed a dance recital, basketball game, softball game, band competition, or piano recital.
* He taught me how to put others first but that you always need to make alittle time for yourself
* He taught me the importance of family and I hope to teach my children the same thing
* He taught me to always try to find the positive in every situation
* Most importantly he taught me how to love and raise my children. My dad is the greatest! :)

I LOVE YOU DAD! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

LOVE,

YOUR LITTLE GIRL

Little Tidbits

* Friday I came home to a clean house! :) Patrick had cleaned the house all day while I was at work! :)

*Friday night Patrick and I went out on a date! We went to eat Yamato's and then to walk around Babies R Us. When we got home we watched the movie 21. I would recommend this to anyone! It was a great movie :)

*I am starting to eat ALOT. I get hungry every hour. It is crazy how much food I ate this weekend.

*Saturday morning I woke up with TONS of energy. I went to the grocery store, did all of our laundry, clean the kitchen, organized my closet, paid bills, and sorted our mail for the last 3 months, all before lunch!

*We went to watch the Carolina game at our friends Katie and Justin's house. It was a great time of fellowship, but not that great of a game.

*Today we didn't get up in time for Sunday School but did make it to preaching and then enjoyed a great lunch with a couple from our Sunday School class. After church we just RELAXED!!

*Please say an extra prayer for my school tonight. I got a phone call this afternoon that one of our teachers passed away this weekend. I do not know the details, but I am sure school is going to be tough tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I am starting to feel better (sometimes). I still have my moments. My test results for my thyroid test have not come back so I am still waiting to find out that.

12 Week Update!

Patrick and I went for the 12 week ultrasound today. I have to admit before we got there I was very nervous. This is the crucial ultrasound in my mind. Until this day I knew I was pregnant but I would not let myself buy anything or really BELIEVE it yet.

When the ultrasound popped up the baby was not moving. My heart dropped, I was so nervous because the technician was not talking. She then let us hear the heartbeat and I was so happy! It was perfect at 162 bpm. Patrick said he wanted to tape it and hear it EVERYDAY!

The baby was still not moving so I was still alittle nervous so I asked if it should be moving. She told me that if I am around loud children all day that it was probably sleeping because it was quiet. Well my classes are terrible this year, so I am sure it was just as happy as I was to hear quiet! She tried her hardest to get the peanut to move but it only moved it's head. It looked like it was saying, " STOP MESSING WITH ME". The technician joked and said it was stubborn. I said " Yea, Just like it's dad"! :)

The whole time the baby was holding it's hands like it was praying! HOW SWEET!! The picture looks like it is making a "C". Patrick said this was for CAROLINA! :)

The only bad thing was they had to draw blood again because my thyroid level is low and they want to test this again. If it comes back low again they will give me some medicine and the doctor said that this could be one reason I have been so nauseated.

We find out the sex of the baby on October 27th and we are so happy!

It has finally hit me that we are having a baby in 6 months! WOW!! I am so excited and can't wait to start looking pregnant!

Thank you for all your prayers!

Things are Looking Up...

Well today I woke up and could not move I was so nauseated, so I thought I would be ok if I could just sleep for alittle while longer, so I called a sub for the first half of the day. I then decided it was time to call the doctor for some medicine.

I went back to sleep until around 9:30 and woke up and did not feel any better. I decided that I should just take a whole day so I didn't go back to work. I did go pick up my medicine and I could not believe how much better I felt.

I am still have some nauseated moments, but it is not as bad. I can take the pills every 8 hours and I plan to do that to make sure that I am not sick.

Things are beginning to look up! :) Another good thing is our next ultrasound is on Wed. I am so excited and trying to not get nervous like last time, but then it is always in my head! :)

Thank you so much for your prayers! They are working!

My Mom is the Greatest

Yesterday my mom arrived around 5:00 and immediately started cleaning my house! HOW WONDERFUL!! She cleaned and did all of our laundry.

Not only did she take care of the house, but she took care of me! Anything I needed she got for me! It was so great to have my mom here to help make me feel better. There is something about wanting your mom when you are sick.

THANKS MOM FOR EVERYTHING!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

* I am feeling alittle better but still have a bad stomachache and am VERY weak. I think the baby is taking all the energy I have. Please pray that I can make it through the day tomorrow.*

PLEASE PRAY!!!

Please say an extra prayer for me. I usually don't ask people to do this but I am still sick like a dog. I called the doctor last night and she said I the 36 hour stomach bug, but this has lasted longer that 36 hours.

I am very worried because I cannot keep any liquids or food down so I have lost ALOT of weight. Besides being worried about the baby, I am worried I will never get better.

Also please pray for Patrick. He has been wonderful,but I know he wanted to spend the weekend together. My mom is coming down to give him a break. I am sure he needs it!

Thanks so much!

The Joys of Teaching.....

The joys of teaching are that if your students are sick you are probably going to get sick as well. This past week I have had many students out sick and my assistant has been out for 3 days.
Yesterday I woke up not feeling well but just figured it was the normal pregnancy sickness. Last night I felt like I had the flu and was so achy and cold. I took my temperature and had a slight fever and my stomach hurt so bad.
This morning I woke up and did not feel any better so I decided to stay home. I called the nurse and she said that I could only take tylonol and drink TONS of water. So I am laying in the bed, BORED TO DEATH, trying to feel better.

I am going to go buy Lysol for my classroom this weekend :)

Thursday Thirteen

Here are thirteen reasons it has been a week since I posted:

1. Our friends, Adam and Heather, had a beautiful girl last Tuesday. I was so excited to finally meet her! Here are pictures of beautiful Madeline.

2. Patrick and I went home this past weekend to visit my Poppa. Please pray for him and my family. He is still in the hospital and my dad and mom are very tired and stressed.

3. Saturday we went to the park with my family. You can see pictures on my sister's blog.

4. We had the Laney's over to Patrick's parents house to swim this past weekend.

5. Sunday my mom cooked a great lunch for us. She made a whole crockpot of macaroni and cheese! :)

6. Monday night we enjoyed a great dinner with Patrick's parents! Thanks Alice for the great food!

7. I have woken up every day feeling terrible and have come home everyday feeling terrible! I am so happy that I will be 12 weeks on Sat. and hope that the sickness goes away SOON! I have another doctor's appointment this week so I hope to get some medicine.

8. Tuesday night Patrick and I both did not feel well so we both went to bed at 8:30.

9. I am teaching a Special Ed. Physical Science class and a repeater Physical class this year so I have been at school everyday until 5:00 to try and prepare. I have only been teaching 3 years but this is so far the toughest year I have had. The classes are not great and the students are mean and not motivated. Please pray that things get better!

10. Last Thursday we watched Carolina beat NC State and tonight we are watching and praying that Carolina beats Vanderbilt!

11. I have been trying to find a futon for sale that is not too expensive on craiglist. If anyone knows anyone who is selling a futon PLEASE let me know! We need one! :)

12. Wednesday night when I usually get home class, there are youth at our house to talk to Patrick and I. We have really enjoyed getting to know the youth better! As much as I talk about how I hate work, I really do enjoy being around teenagers all day! They are so unique and interesting!

13. Last but not least, I FINALLY COMPLETED MY MASTERS! Wednesday night was my last night so I have been getting all the final projects completed and trying not stress over my big thesis! It feels so good to finally be done after 15 months of hard work! It feels weird to say that I have a Master's degree! I can't wait to walk in December at graduation!

I spoke too soon!!!

I knew after I posted on my blog last night that I was going to regret saying I felt better. I woke up this morning feeling TERRIBLE! It was by far the worst I felt the whole 10 weeks. Usually I can get up and take a shower and I start to feel better, I didn't feel good until 2:30 today and then started feeling bad again after dinner.

I am so tired of feeling bad. I get really upset because I am ready to feel like myself again. Oh well.. Everyone keeps saying it gets better.

Please say a prayer for me and Patrick. He is being a great husband but I know he is tired of hearing my gag and get sick!

I survived!!!

I survived my first three days of classes! :) My classes are really big, but I am hoping that they will not be that bad.

I am starting to feel alot better and I have alittle bit more energy during the day now! I am scared to tell everyone that because I don't want to jinx my sickness! I am hoping that things are starting to look up!

Another thing I survived was that I finished my presentation for my Masters program, my electronic portfolio, and my THESIS! Yes I finished all 38 pages of my thesis. I am presenting my thesis presentation and portfolio on Wednesday and then will have one more class where we turn in our big paper and then I will have my Masters. I don't really know what I am going to do on Wednesday nights when it is all over. I am so use to going to class. It will be nice to be able to go home! :)

I hope to survive another week! :) This weekend we are going "home" to see my family and my papa. He is in the hospital and has had good and bad days, so Patrick and I are going to see him on Sat. to hopefully make him smile!

Great Snail Mail

Tomorrow my students come back and I am very nervous and excited. I am scared that I am going to be too tired or feel sick during class but I know that I can make it!

Today I ended up staying at work until 5:30 to make sure everything was done! I was very tired when I left and not feeling very well. I got our mail and saw that Caroline had sent me some mail! Before I even opened it I was so happy!!

She sent us four letters!
One said Happy Birthday Ali!
One said Happy Birthday Ryan Patrick! (This is the name we are going to use if it is a boy)
One said Happy Birthday Mary Alice! (This is the name we are going to use if it is a girl)
One said Patrick Dear!

I was so happy!! I called her to thank her and Kelly told me the story behind the mail. Caroline said she wanted to write letters and Kelly asked what to say. She said Happy Birthday Ali! then Happy Birthday Mary Alice! then Happy Birthday Ryan Patrick, Kelly said What about Patrick and she responded Patrick Dear!

Then she told Kelly she wanted to put them in the mail for the mail lady to take, so they did! :)

Thanks Caroline for such a great surprised today! We love you!!!

Cute Conversation

My mom called me today and told me Caroline had something to tell me she handed Caroline the phone and Caroline told me that Baby Ryan was coming, well I at first thought she was talking about Baby Ryan at her church, but she told me that I was going to have a baby boy today and it was going to be named Ryan.

Mom told me that she told her that she thought I was going to have a girl but couldn't remember the name so she said that I was going to have a Baby Ryan and she needed to tell Sheldon (my sister's friend).

It was a very cute conversation! Kids say the cutest things!

Kelly's Meme

I am waiting on Patrick to get up to go get us some breakfast so I thought I would play along!

A. Attached or single? Married
B. Best friend? that is hard.. I don't really have one, I guess the one that has been with me through everything would be my sister, Kelly
C. Cake or pie? cake
D. Day of choice? Saturday
E. Essential item? contacts like Kelly , I'm blind as a bat as well!
F. Favorite color? Pink
G. Gummy bears or worms? bears, after reading this I want some now! :)
H. Hometown? Spart., SC
I. Indulgence? coming home and laying on the couch, pink lemondade
J. January or July? July.. I am not at work!
K. Kids? one in the making!!! I am finally 9 weeks today! :)
L. Life isn’t complete without? my family and my faith
M. Marriage date? June 19th
N. Number of brothers & sisters? 1 sister
O. Oranges or apples? Apples
P. Phobias? spiders, roaches, and sometimes the dark, if it is VERY dark!
Q. Quotes? "Do not worrry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own. " Matthew 6:34.
R. Reasons to smile? seeing Patrick come home, when someone cleans my house, seeing my peanut on the ultrasound machine and seeing the heartbeat, getting a hug from Caroline and Eli
S. Season of choice? spring
T. Tag seven others to play! Whoever wants to participate!
U. Unknown fact about me? I have had two bunion surgeries on my feet. One was in 9th grade and the other was in 10th grade. I will NEVER forget the pain from the surgery.
V. Vegetable? macaroni (I know it is not a real vegatable but it is at Wade's)
Worst habits? biting my fingernails
X. X-ray or ultrasound? ultrasound,
Y. Your favorite food? right now macaroni
Z. Zodiac sign? Gemini

The Exhaustion has started.....

Yesterday was my first day back to work and I can honestly say I have never been that tired in my life!!!

I got home around 5:00 and thought I was going to die! I ended up getting in the bed at 8:30 but didn't fall asleep until 9:45.

At work my department had to move many boxes and I felt so bad because I was not allowed to help and I had to get people to help me do EVERYTHING. Since I am in a new room I had many things that needed to be moved, so I had to ask people all day long.

Usually I am a very independent person and it is hard for me to ask people for help because I feel bad, but I guess I don't have a choice anymore. I just hope they don't mind helping me!

Today when I got home around 4:00 I took a long nap and now I am back in the bed at 8:15 watching the Olympics. I really don't know how I am going to handle next week, so if you please say a prayer that I will have the energy to teach that would be great!

This weekend we have NOTHING planned so I am hoping to finish my PowerPoint's for my Masters program. I present my thesis in two weeks and need to make sure everything is together! We also hope to sleep! :)
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Happy Anniversary!!!

Today our my in laws 30th Wedding Anniversary!!

We had a little get together for them this past weekend, but I was too sick to make it. I hate I missed the party!

I hope you have a great day Alice and John! We love you!

Great Sister(s)!!

I have the best sister and sister-in-law!

Last Thursday Sally came down to visit us and she went with me to my school to help me unpack my stuff. SHE WAS WONDERFUL!!! We stayed for about 4 hours and she emptied all my boxes for me! I was very lucky to have her help because I really don't know how I would have done this by myself.

Yesterday my sister came down here for a short vacation and while we were at our doctors appointment she cleaned my house!!!! I was so happy! :) She even started a load of laundry. After that we went to my school and she put the border and paper on my bulletin board!! I was so happy again because I am not good at this and was very tired!

I am very lucky to have such a great family! Thank you Sally and Kelly for all your help!
I love you both!

God is GOOD!!

Just a quick update...

Patrick and I had our first ultrasound today and the baby is doing great. It has a great strong heartbeat. I am actually only 8 weeks so our due date is March 21st. I am hoping that I will not have to go back to work after the baby is born until August!

Please continue to pray for us! We are very excited!

Finally got around to this....

Directions: Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not. Answer the 30 questions at the end and tag 3 (or more) of your friends to play too!(This is for your entire life.)
(x ) Gone on a blind date - it's kinda how I met Patrick
() Skipped school
( x) Watched someone die
( ) Gone to Canada
( ) Gone to Mexico
(x) Gone on a plane
( ) Jumped out of a plane
( ) Been on a Helicopter
(x) Gotten lost
(x)Gone on the opposite side of the country
( x) Gone to Washington , DC
(x) Swam in the ocean
(x) Cried your self to sleep
( ) Played cops and robbers
( ) Recently colored with crayons
( x) Sang Karaoke
(x)Paid for a meal with coins only?
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?
(x) Made prank phone calls
( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
() Gotten kissed under the mistletoe
( ) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
(X) Blown bubbles
( x) Gone ice-skating
(x) Gone Skiing (water & snow)...tried.. but I really didn't like either!
(x ) Gone skinny dipping outdoors
(X) Gone to the movies…
(x ) Gone to a drive-in movie…
1Any nickname? Ali or AliGraham, my dad called me that when I was younger because Graham was my middle name. Now he can stay call me that!
2. Mother's name? Cindy
3. Favorite drink? sweet tea
4. Tattoo? nope
5. Body piercings? my ears
6. How much do you love your job? I love it!
7. Birthplace? Spartanburg, SC
8. Favorite vacation spot? beach in the summer, mountains in the winter
9. Ever been to Africa ? no
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? no
11. Ever been on TV? yes - our church children's choir sang on WSPA
12. Ever steal any traffic sign? unlike my sister, I was the good teenager!
13. Ever been in a car accident? yes
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? 4 door
15. Favorite salad dressing? honey mustard
16. Favorite pie? key lime
17. Favorite number? 19
18. Favorite movie? You've Got Mail
19. Favorite holiday? Christmas
20. Favorite dessert? oreo freeze
21. Favorite food? right now nothing, but normally macaroni and cheese
22. Favorite day of the week? Sat.
23. What do you do to relax? take a bath
24. Favorite toothpaste? Crest
25. Favorite smell? A clean house
26. What month were you born in? June
27. Favorite Candle Scent? I love the pumpkin vanilla ones in the fall
28. How do you see yourself in 10 years? Teaching and raising kids
29. What 3 people do you tag to do this meme? Summer, JuJu, and Haley
30. Who will be the first to respond? I have no clue

Wonderful Wisdom on Worrying

90% of all worrying are worries that don't happen or are nothing.

This is what my professor started our devotion out last night. For those of you that know me you know that I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE worrier. I worry about EVERYTHING. After he said this sentence I thought about how many times I was worried about something and then it didn't even happen or turned out fine.

Patrick and I have our first "real" doctor's appointment on Monday. To say I am worried is an understatement. I have been worried since I found out I was pregnant. As much as I hate being sick I keep thinking that this must be a good sign , right???

Well last night I was talking to my professor and he made me feel very better. He said that I have done all I can. I try to eat as healthy as possible, I get rest, and drink water. The rest is up to nature and God controls our nature. He said that why worry about something you have NO control over. God has control over the baby and if it is right time for us to have a child then we will have a healthy baby. Everything is done in God's timing. He ended by telling me that I needed to listen to God and give all my fears to Him because he is not too big for my fears or worries.

All I could say after I left was WOW. I have been blessed with great professors during my Master's program. Who would take time out of their schedule to make me feel better about something probably really silly? He was so right though. I needed to just give the fear to God and not worry. If there is something wrong on Monday I will know that I did everything I could to make a healthy baby, and if there is nothing wrong on Monday I will still know that I did everything I could to make a healthy baby. That is how GREAT OUR GOD IS!! He will take our fears and help us not to worry! For once in my life I can say that I am not AS WORRIED as I was before. I am still alittle worried, but I think that is normal!?!

So if you could please say a little extra prayer for us on Sunday night for our appointment on Monday. Pray that we have peace no matter what the situation! Thank you and as my mom always told me, TRY NOT TO WORRY SO MUCH!

Lexy Update

This past weekend Lexy was acting very weird and would not walk on her paws. She just laid around and then would stand on her back legs and look like a kangaroo. I called the vet and got her an appointment for today.

We went and she has an infection in one of her paws. She was given an antibiotic and we have to watch her to make sure she walks on the paw.

The vet also said that she learned in vet school that sometimes cats get so mad about being declawed that every once in a while they will lift their paws as to say WHY DID YOU DO THIS???

She thinks that Lexy might also just be mad at us and trying to get more attention because we got her declawed.

So.. hopefully Lexy will be back to normal soon! :)

Alitte Bragging and Alittle Fun

This past weekend Patrick and I finally stayed home and try to get things done around the house! :) Friday we woke up and Patrick was going to cut the grass and I planned on cleaning the house. Well I got sick, of course. So Patrick got the grass cut and I laid in the bed.

Saturday I decided I was going to wake up and we were going to clean the house together (it had been about 2 weeks since we cleaned the house). Well I need to brag alittle bit....

My wonderful husband cleaned the whole house while I laid in the bed. I did not feel good and was so exhausted! Never once did he complain and he did a GREAT JOB!! I really do have the best husband in the world! :)

After laying in bed all day I wanted to get out of the house! We met our friends Katie and Justin at Hudson's (a great bbq place) and then came back here to play Rock Band. We had a great time hanging out with friends!

Yesterday there was not much going on... We went to church, went to lunch, and took naps!

On another note.. this is my last full week of not working so I am trying to get up earlier and do things to get energy back, but today did not start to well. I woke up not feeling well so I haven't done much yet! Oh well I guess I need to enjoy my time before school starts back :(

Movie Review

Just a quick note...

Patrick and I just watched Vantage Point and I recommend it to anyone! It is very good and will keep you thinking!

A quick thought

Since I have been in the bed or on the couch for most of this week ( I still do not feel great)... I have noticed something about commercials. I believe Americans are starting to eat unhealthy and eat more fast food because there are commercials for fast food restaurants EVERY minute of the day.

I promise if you are do not feel good you do not want to see food all the time! It is very hard to get away from food on the tv. I wondering if it was like that 20 years ago.

Just a thought!

"Almost" Wordless Wednesday

Every year Patrick and I take a picture with Caroline at the beach to see how much she grows in one year!

Caroline 06

Caroline 07
Caroline 08

Something to Blog about......

When I first started this blog I wasn't exactly sure what to blog about because who really cares about two grownups. Well starting in March I will have something special to blog about...

Patrick and I are expecting our first baby in March of 2009.

In June I was sick everyday and when we went to the beach in July my mom was very surprised I was not pregnant. She decided to buy my a test at the beach and when I took it it was POSITIVE!!

It was so neat to be able to tell my family right when we found out. I believe God did this on purpose because I always told Patrick I wanted to tell my mom in person but if we found out in the middle of the week I wouldn't be able to wait until the weekend to let her know. It was very nice to not have to hide this from her.

Later that week at the beach we also went to see Patrick's parents so we were very happy to be able to tell them.

After we told our family we told them they could not tell a soul. Well of course that was hard for them! I am very happy they did it, because I didn't! I told everyone in Lexington! :)

I did not want to tell anyone until I heard from a doctor that I was actually pregnant. We went for our doctors appointment last Friday and they confirmed it! We go back in two weeks for the first ultrasound.

Please pray for us during this time. I have been very sick and exhausted and not much help to Patrick around the house. Please pray that we have a healthy baby and that I get over this sickness!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things I MUST do before I go to back to work!!

1. Finish my two online classes
2. Finish my THESIS for my Masters
3. Finish my E-Portfolio for my Masters
4. Unload all my boxes in my new classroom
5. Set up my new classroom
6. Organize my closet
7. Organize our study
8. Read about three more books!
9. Organize our kitchen cabinets
10. Hopefully hold a new baby, Madeline Grace Connor. This is our friend's baby that is due REAL soon! We can't wait!!!
11. Hopefully go hang out by the pool with Katie!
12. Hopefully entertain Sally!!! :)
13. Paint our bedroom (This one will have to wait probably til after school starts. We are waiting on Mom and Dad to help).


Looking back over the list I can say that all of this will probably not get done, but oh well! I hope all you teachers out there enjoy your last few weeks of summer!

Happy Birthday

Today is Patrick's Grandad's birthday! We were not able to go home last weekend for his big celebration but we hope to see him this weekend!

We love you GRANDAD and hope you had a great day!!! :)

Lexy Update

I woke up this morning around 6:30 to OMG this is nasty!! Lexy had gone to the bathroom in her room right beside her litter box. I guess the prayers work because she went, but she still won't use the litter box! Oh well at least Patrick got up first and cleaned it up! :)

Dancing the Night Away and Duke the Panthers Lover

Last night Patrick and I went to a wedding reception for a couple in our Sunday School class. They got married a couple weeks ago in Boston so they had a little reception for everyone down here who could not make the wedding. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! They had a DJ and we danced all night long! My mom always wanted us to get a DJ at our wedding but I told her no, and now I kinda regret it because it was so much fun! We actually stayed out until 11:30! (That is really late for me!)


Yesterday Patrick cleaned out our shed and found an old Carolina Panthers sweatshirt. Today I was looking outside and Duke had it in his mouth. He was tugging on it like it was a rope. Patrick decided to put it on him and it was so funny! He tried to so hard to get it off but couldn't. Here are a couple of pictures!

Playing tug of war with the sweatshirt

Lexy watching from inside

Putting the sweatshirt on Trying to get the sweatshirt off!
Holding him so he can walk!
Another wonderful weekend has ended. It is hard to believe I only have about 3 more before I go back to work :(..

Please say an extra prayer for Lexy tonight. She is still not using the bathroom. We get to finally put litter back in her box tomorrow night so I am hoping that will help! She had a couple of times this weekend where she had to go to the bathroom and stay for awhile because she was bleeding. I am hoping she will get better this week! I still feel guilty for taking her to have the surgery so I am hoping she gets better REAL soon!

Book Nerd and Giveway Prize

Yesterday after doing things around the house I went to the library because I had some books on hold. Patrick called me a book nerd but I was excited about reading the new books! I started Mistaken Identity at 5:00 last night and finished it around 11:00. IT WAS SO GOOD! I recommend this book to EVERYONE. It is amazing to read this story of two families and the whole time they are praising God. It is an easy read as well that you will not want to put down.

I also have forgotten to thank Meredith for my prize from her giveaway. It was nice to come from the beach to a package! Thank you so much for the shower gel, lip balm, and loofah. (My camera is dead so I can't take a picture)

Update!!

There is not much going on at our household.

Lexy is recovering well except she is not going to the bathroom. We cannot put litter in her box because it will get in her paws so we have to put shredded paper. Well she doesn't like that AT all! We figure when she has to go back enough she will go!

I start my LAST graduate course next Wed. That means in 7 weeks I will have my Master's completed! I am so excited! The only problem is right now I am taking two classes online, plus this last class is where we make our e portfolio and write our thesis. This is all happening around the first weeks of school.

Speaking of school I keep getting emails from work about IMPORTANT dates not to miss! :( That means the beginning is coming soon.

Patrick was so excited about The Dark Knight coming out today. He had to go to see but we really needed to do yard work and clean the house before dinner so he got up and went to the 9:30 showing. He is still there with our friend Adam. I was suppose to go but woke up at 8:15 and told him I didn't think I would make it! I hope the movie is really good for his sake!

This weekend we are having a low key weekend. We are doing yard work, cleaning the house, and washing the car. Tomorrow we are going to a reception for our friends from church who got married in Boston a couple weeks ago! We are very excited!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

Gulity "Mom"

Today I went to pick up Lexy from having her surgery. I was alittle nervous because I wasn't sure how she would be when I got there.

When we got home I let her out of the crate and the first thing she wanted to do was lick all the dry blood off of her paws. If you don't know cats, they HAVE to be cleaned. Lexy probably cleans herself 15 times a day.

She is not suppose to jump at all because the incisions could open up and bleed so I have been trying to place her on the couch and places she usually likes to lay but she only seems to want to lay in the floor.

She is mad at me obviously because she won't let me pick her up and pet her. She only lets you pet her on the floor and she refuses to be in the same room as me.

Other than being mad, she seems to be doing ok! I still feel guilty for putting her through the pain but I am glad to say that our house will be not scratched to death anymore.

We are Back!!

We are finally back from our vacation! I actually did not take any pictures the whole trip (I know that is crazy). I just figured I would get some from my sister.
We started the trip at the IOP on Sat. with my family. You can read all about the trip on my sister's blog. We had such a great time! It was a great trip even though it seemed like everyone was sick!

We left my family on Thursday and headed to Edisto to spend the weekend with Patrick's family. We got there and went to the serpentarium. I HATE SNAKES!! It was very nice but I couldn't look at any of the snakes. I did enjoy watching the alligators! We had a great time with his family and I enjoyed spending time at another beach!

Sunday when we got home our friends from church called us and asked if we wanted to go out on the lake later that afternoon. So yesterday we spent about 4 hours on the lake! It was so much fun to be able to ride on the boat. Patrick also had a great time skiing. We got home last night after eating at IHOP at 10:00 and we were asleep by 10:30. We were so tired!

All in all I think we had a great vacation week! :) It is hard to believe that school will be starting soon :(

The Dark Night

Last night after dinner Patrick was playing Rock Band and I was reading a book and all of a sudden our power went out (This was at 8:30). Patrick went outside to make sure it wasn't just our house and there were many neighbors outside checking the same thing.

It was a nice night so we went out on the front porch and I continued to read and Patrick was on the phone. The neighbors decided to start shooting fireworks so we watched those for a little wild but we were getting bored FAST!

So what does any couple who have no children do when their power go out....... We went to the movie!!!

We have not been to the movie since Harry Potter last year so I was very excited! We went to see Get Smart and I recommend it to anyone. It was so funny but actually had a good plot. I really enjoyed the movie!

We got home around 12:30(I think) and the power was still out so I was alittle upset! We just went to bed and the power finally came on this morning! We ended up having a great night!

On another note today is very busy for us! We are leaving for the beach tomorrow and I have to get EVERYTHING washed and packed. We are going over to a friend's house tonight for dinner for the 4th so I have to do everything before 6.

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July! I will try to post again but I think I am taking a long week off! We are staying with my parents until Thursday and then Patrick's parents until Sunday! I can't wait! :)