Barber Bustlings

We are having a little girl! Bailey is beside herself; I love seeing how excited she is. Landon is okay with it and Myles is sad. He wanted another "bro" but I think he'll come around. Scott and I are still holding back a little, keeping in reserve all the "what if's" that accompany loss and a not-so-stellar pregnancy history. Even though I can feel her move I still have to take this pregnancy one day at a time. As too many know, there is no guarantee, no truly "safe" point in any pregnancy. But, we move forward with faith. The ultrasound looked good; the high risk doctor said she looked, "perfect" and so we take that to heart. Now begins the deliberations over names. Not only do I have Scott weighing in (we NEVER agree!) but my children think they get a say, too. Who is the one doing all the work here? I think I should get 10 votes to each of theirs but I don't take it for granted, either, that we are so lucky to be in this pos

Several people have recently asked me about a post I wrote in September regarding a blood disorder that was thought to cause my recurrent miscarriages. I have slight Factor VIII deficiency but it does not affect pregnancy or miscarriage risk. That myth has since been dispelled. I was really hoping for a magic pill or even a shot that would guarantee a healthy, viable pregnancy but that is not what we got. The high risk specialist explained that about 12% of women miscarry easily, regularly and for no known reason. After doing lots of testing we discovered that unfortunately I fall into that category. We just have to go by faith. I never would have agreed to this one last pregnancy if I didn't feel that God was directing us to do so. Every day I struggle with the fear that the baby has died or that the end is coming but then I remind myself that we are taking this one day at a time. I choose hope, which is not the norm for me but I am hoping to make it so! Another reassuring gif

(not our ultrasound, ours was garbage - thanks internet) We are expecting a baby in August of this year. Wow, I never thought I would type those words again but here we are, on a journey that is both difficult and joyous. I am taking it one day at a time; today I am pregnant so that is a good day. I am starting to feel the baby move once in awhile and am excited to feel more movement as we get further along. The short version of the story is this: we met with adoption agencies. We met with someone about foster care. We both knew we wanted to have another child but we certainly didn't want to get pregnant or try this route ever again. However, the Lord had a different plan. As we would pray about it I could feel Him nudging me, as if saying, "You don't have to do this, but if you want another baby this is how it needs to happen." How we fought that, me especially! How much I would have preferred to take out a loan and adopt a baby, not that there isn't pa

Elliot's day came amidst great trials this year. September is a hard month for us because it hosts the anniversaries of losing Scott's father and Elliot. Scott's sister placed her daughter for adoption in September, as well. This year brought other trials. Scott lost a coworker to a car accident; he was 32. The next week he also lost his boss to colon cancer; his boss was 33 and left behind a young family. The emotional stress has been tough on Scott and it brings up a lot of mourning in us both. The week leading up to Elliot's day both our cars ended up in the shop. Scott's car needed a new head gasket and mine needed a new computer. Both were expensive fixes and the parts for the van were 4 days away. A friend let us use her son's boat   hooptie  grand marquis. I am so thankful for that; she saved us renting a car for a week. We sold Scott's car and fixed the van, though I would have loved to replace my vehicle, too. I will have to wait on that. :(

August 17, 2013 I competed in my first triathlon a few weeks ago. It was amazing! I loved every minute of it. I felt so strong the entire race. As soon as I finished I wanted to start over and do it again. I did two run-throughs the two Saturdays before the race. Both times I encountered many problems: flat tire, ripped swim cap, low energy, dehydration, heat, forgotten water bottle and gum, and slow times. I am glad now that I went through those things because I was prepared for all of it race day, which was perfectly smooth. I even shave 17 minutes off my practice times! I was nervous before the swim, though it went well. The bike portion was fun. I passed a lot of people on the uphill parts but when it came time to shift back for the downhill parts, my bike wouldn't cooperate so I coasted most of the way. The run was mostly uphill but I took it slow and steady. Again I passed people on the uphill but they passed me on the down; my knees don't like when I run

Dishwasher is missing the bottom piece but still works.  Well, "works" means I basically rinse every dish  before loading the dishwasher and run it, just so my  kids will have the chore of unloading it.  I had to take pics the morning after book club because my kitchen was finally finished and still clean! For those of you who know how long this process took (6 months, 3 weeks - but who was counting but me?) you can understand how good this feels. I got a little emotional last week when I finished the glaze on the cabinets. What started out as a kitchen remodel quickly turned into a long process of fighting emotional demons and facing many setbacks as far as time, cost, health, energy and willpower go. We are finally making this house a home and for those who know how hard this move has been on me, this is saying something HUGE. We started the bathroom remodel in February, as well. (Don't ask - we're crazy.) When we finish that up I will