Summer Time

I'm now in my second week of summer and it's already flying by. I have definitely stayed busy, but have been able to get some things accomplished. Rest is the main priority right now since I know that will soon come to an end. Since I'm not sleeping so great these days, I usually have to have a "little" nap during the day to make it. We had a wonderful shower with our church friends last weekend. I was VERY nice and we got lots of great stuff. With the gifts from our great friends and family and very generous gift cards, I think we are just about ready for little Emory to arrive.

Mom came yesterday to help finish the nursery. She did an amazing job on the border in the room to match the bedding and Sherla (Aaron's mom) made a valance to add to the finishing touches. The last thing we're working on is the changing table and some shelves. Aaron is refinishing a vanity given to us by Aunt Martha for the changing table and then we will hang the shelves and add the love of reading to the room. (You'll have to wait and see for those pictures.)

I'm taking one class this summer, but it is going well and going fast. I am tutoring an 8th boy which is definitely a new experience for me, but I really am enjoying it. We're just crossing our fingers that a biology lesson doesn't come into play during this time. I finish with this class July 2 so anytime after that I'll be all set for the big day! Til next time, I will be enjoying my summer and continue the whole nesting phase. :)

A Month in Review

Ok to catch up I'm giving quick snip-its of what's been going on this month. We spend Mother's Day weekend with the whole family. Grandmommie turned 80 that weekend so we all met together to help her celebrate. She is doing very well in her new unit and it was so good to have everyone together with her not at the nursing home.

I also had a wonderful shower at school this month. We got lots of goodies. So much fun!!

This is my grade level (minus one). They are WONDERFUL and I am going to miss working so close to them next year, but luckily we will all still be working together.

Our Ackerly shower was great as well. We were overwhemed with the amount of gifts we received and couldn't be more appreciative. Ackerly is definitely blooming with grandbabies on their way. All these girls will have (or have had) babies this summer and all the grandparents are part of Mom and Dad's church. It's so much fun. Hollie had precious Cy 9 days after this picture.

The lovely ladies that hosted the shower. These ladies have all known me since birth and have been there for me through every part of life. I love each of them dearly.
Finally the nursery. Aaron was hard at work with the painting and putting the crib together this past weekend. It turned out wonderful, but Mom and I will be putting our special touches on the room soon. It will all start to come together before we know it.
As for me, I'm feeling great. I'm just trying to make it through the next 4 days. I have NO idea how you women that work up until the day of delivery do it. I am becoming pretty miserable after work and relieved I have the summer to rest. We're on the countdown now...only 8 more weeks.

lost blog

Just so you know I had a blog all written up about last weekend. Pictures included, perfect length, video...yep that's when it all went away. So until I have time to rewrite the post or until something better comes along, you'll just have to wait.

We're headed to Ackerly this weekend for our shower at my home town church. There will be lots to post from that.

Let's catch up!

Alright where to begin? I guess Easter was the last post I was able to post so...

We spent Easter weekend with Aaron's family at Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas. We all had a wonderful time and it was so great to see everyone. This was especially good for me since I hadn't spent time with most of them other than busy times at weddings. So it was very nice to get to know everyone a little better. They were very sweet and gave us a surprise baby shower. We received many great gifts including a Japanese lunchbox set Aunt Martha and a beautiful afghan made by cousin Natalie. Thank you all for the gifts. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

We've also been busy with doctor appointments. My appointments have been fine. Everything is still going well and there has not been any change with my kidneys. My dr is not too concerned about it and neither am I since I haven't had any more pain. I am continuing to drink plenty of water and unless the pain comes back I will continue to plug along.

Aaron has finally gotten to the bottom of all of his back problems. He has a bulging disk and is getting injections for treatment. He had his first injection a couple of weeks ago and has not received much relief from that. He is scheduled for another injection May 28 and hopefully after that one he will be able to see some improvements. The injections come in rounds of three so he's still got two more to go before we can tell if they are going to work.

Another busy aspect of our lives have been showers. In April I went home for one of my best friends baby showers. They are taking her precious little boy on the 28th of this month and it was so good to help her celebrate. Ackerly CoC is staying hopping with baby showers and two weeks after Hollie's we celebrated her sweet sister-in-law's shower. Davida is due June 7. Here's a pic of the three of our big bellies at Hollie's shower. With these showers and Lindsey's shower, spring has been very fun!!

As for me...I'm continuing to grow and grow. Last weekend I had to have Mom paint my toenails because I couldn't bend over for that long. I am feeling pretty good and just trying to make it through the year. I come home with throbbing, swollen feet and an aching back, but only 4 more weeks and then I'm home free. Oh yes, I haven't been able to mention that I will no longer be teaching 2nd grade next year. I am going to be the RTI specialist on our campus. For those that don't speak the school language, that means I will be helping teachers with their reading assessments, interpretting data, and helping plan interventions. So basically using my master's properly!! I am thrilled for this opportunity and looking forward to not having a classroom.

I will leave you with a picture of me with only 81 days to go! WOW...it's flying by!!

A Short Leave of Absence

I know I haven't posted in a while, but my life is a bit crazy these days. I still need to be spending my time getting some more assignments finished before I post anymore. I have 5 more projects due in the next two weeks. So until then you will have to wait to hear about Easter in Arkansas, doctor appointments, and baby showers. There will be lots to catch up on, I just don't have the time at the moment. See you in a couple of weeks when I will be in much better spirits!! :)

Oh What a Week

Well it has definitely been an interesting week. We spent Saturday night in Ackerly visiting my parents and getting some much needed maternity clothes from my cousin's gracious wife. We came home Sunday and went about business as usual with a trip to Wal-Mart and a couple of hours of ironing my new wardrobe. We were fairly early to bed and things took a turn for the worse. (caution: things get a little personal from here on out...I will keep it tactful) I had the urge to go to the bathroom, but was unable to do so. I was up around 11 that night with a horrible back pain and still needing to go to the bathroom. I never went to sleep that night and could not find a comfortable position...sitting, standing, laying, nothing was working. I was miserable and called my OB and regular dr ASAP. My regular dr opened sooner and I was just needing to get somewhere. So as I was on my way to my appointment my OB nurse called me and told my Dr. Kroeger already ordered a urinalysis for me and he would see me that afternoon. So Monday we found out it was a UTI, but was not severe.

I slept fine that night and went to school Tuesday morning. I was in a lot of pain throughout the day Tuesday, but managed to make it through the day. The pain came back with a vengeance. I woke Aaron up and told him we had to do something. So off to the ER we went. Once they found out I was pregnant they took me straight upstairs to Labor and Delivery. They took another unrinalysis that night and gave me some pain pills and sent me home. The pain pill worked for a few hours and then I was back in the same pain.

So after I woke up yesterday I took my UTI pills and ate, but was unable to keep anything down since the pain in my back was so bad. I called my dr again (Mom's advice) and he told me to go back to the hospital because my UTI was all cleared up. So basically there was no reason for me to be having that kind of pain. They started an IV to give me some fluids pretty soon after getting there. After several more hours of pain I finally saw my dr and he scheduled a sonogram to view my kidneys and some pain meds. They came in with the meds and I was OUT! That stuff is great!! The only bad thing was when I having my sonogram on my kidneys they checked out Emory too and I was too groggy to see much. Aaron was able to see her sucking her thumb. The sonogram showed there was some obtrusion in my right kidney, but Dr. K wanted to get another look at it so I stayed overnight. After 2 more bags of liquids and 2 doses of "the good stuff" I woke up feeling pretty good this morning. The sonogram this morning showed the same thing and did not show any stones. So that means I have an obtrusion of my ureter, which technically speaking means my uterus is pushing on my ureter and making it too narrow. This causes my kidney to not be able to empty completely and everything just backs up. Emory is just making herself comfy in there and moving anything around she wants until she gets in just the right position. :)

So long story even longer...I'm supposed to drink plenty of fluids and I now have pain pills for when it gets bad. Dr. K said that it could happen again, but it could be 2 days, 2 weeks, or 2 months...you just don't know. He's going to keep an eye on me and if it continues to happen or gets worse then I will have to get a stint put it to open things back up.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. I'm thankful for feeling good at the moment and praying things stay this way.

Growing Like a Weed

Growing like a weed is very cute for babies and kids, but referring to myself...its necessary I guess. I don't mind putting on the extra pounds because I know that little Emory is healthy and hopefully happy. I know she's getting a good taste for chocolate. :) Just wanted to share another photo. More to come later.