Thanksgiving Dinner at Our House

Today we woke up early and got everything ready for Thanksgiving dinner at our house. I made sweet potatoes, Zach made the turkey and cauliflower casserole. My Grandmother brought the ham, green bean casserole and pecan pie, my Perk brought deviled eggs and banana pudding...and my mom brought stuffing and some good sweets!!! It was amazing, I think we ate till we couldn't eat anymore. I fell almost 100% better than I did the other day so that really helped as well...after dinner we sat around and "rested our turkey off" for a little while, then Zach got up in the attic and started getting our Christmas decoration down....oh we all had so much fun putting it up...I am a little picky with my tree and making sure every ornament is evenly distributed, so they had a good time laughing at me, haha!!! We put our Christmas tree in a different location than we did last year and I love it so much more...it makes our living room more open and seem so much bigger!!!! I was too pooped to wrap the presents we do have, so I will do that later tomrorow night or somtime this week. Tomorrow after church Zach and I are going to put up our outside decorations, I will post pics when everything is done!!! OH HOW, I just LOVE this time of the year, I LOVE family time and well...just everything about it!!!!!!

Prayers

When we were out shopping today, we recieved a phone call that Zach's grandpa "Poppee" fell and went by ambulance to the hospital this morning. They said he wasn't really responding to them, we later got a call that he was just dehydrated, and is doing better. Please keep him in your prayers that he continues to do well and gets to go home soon!!!

Thanksgiving Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

We woke up and spent the morning together, well I should re-word that, Zach spent the morning taking care of me. Wednesday afternoon I started to feel "blah", stuffy/running nose, headache...early Thursday morning it hit me hard....I felt horrible--I was coming down with a really bad head cold!!!! Then around 1ish I started having these horrible pains in my stomach...pains that are not normal, I wasn't dubbled over in pain, but I was hurting pretty bad...we went to my grandfarthers house in Valley Mills around 4ish, I just couldn't get up the energy to "have fun"...with my pains in my stomach and my head cold, I was miserable! I told Zach I thought I needed to go to the ER...after we ate dinner we sat around for about another hour then I decided I would just go home and see how it progressed before we decided if I needed to go to the ER or not. Around 9 it was still there, I got up put my clothes on and said ok lets go....WELL, before Zach could get dressed I changed my mind AGAIN, I said I would just go to sleep, I really didn't want to go to the ER if it was just bad gas pains or something like that, I would be so embarrassed and feel like I was making it more than it was....so I went to bed around 9ish. I wasn't even up for waking up early and going shopping thats how bad I felt.

We woke up around 7ish and my stomach pains were better, still there but def. not as strong; and my head cold was getting better too. We got dressed and headed to the mall to do a little shopping. We did good, we finished up on almost all our family's gifts...I came home, made myself clean and get the house ready for tomorrow, now were just sitting around relaxing!

Tomorrow around noon, my mom-her boyfriend, my grandmother and papa, and my Perk will come over and we will do Thanksgiving with them, then afterwards we will all put up our inside Christmas decorations! So tomorrow I will hopefully feel alot better and actually enjoy my Thanksgiving dinner :o)

Thanksgiving at "The Grave's"

Rosemary and Derek were so kind to invite us to there house this year for "fried" turkey and football....although we are not huge Cowboy fans at all, I couldn't pass up the moment for "MUCH needed friend time". We had a blast, met alot of new people, whom were all really nice and we look forward to many more fun nights with everyone. The turkey was amazing, I've never had a fried turkey before, I can't begin to tell you how awesome it was as well as ALL the yummy sides!!!! mmm...mmm...good!!!! I forgot my camera, but Rosemary took a few pics, so whenever she post them I will add them on here.

Thank you Rosie and Derek for inviting us!! We had alot of fun!!!!

Thankful Thoughts

Everyday I count my blessing and thank God for everything I am thankful for…but during Thanksgiving season it really makes me appreciate everything in life that I am so thankful for and blessed to have. I am thankful for everything I have experienced in this life of mine. I am thankful for all the tears that I have cried for they have taught me to appreciate laughter, and they have given me the ability to see that joy comes shortly after. Through my tears I have come to know and trust in God, how he is always there and comforts you in your sorrows. I am thankful for the storms in life that I have encountered, knowing that the rainbow is at the end. I am thankful for the peace and realization that they are only temporary storms and with time they will end. I am so very thankful for my husband, without him I would be lost. He is my everything, my angle from God!! He picks my head up when it drops...he's my life...Thank you God for blessing me with such an amazing man!!!! I am thankful for our family and for all the memories we share. Our family is our strength and they too know just how to pick our heads up when they fall, they will always be there for us, and we are so thankful to have the relationships we do with them. I am thankful for our friends...there have been many people who have prayed prayers for us within the last 2 years, people who I never thought even cared...it's so nice to know so many people stand behind you and are rooting for you...thank you all!!

Then you have the "little" things...but are they actually little? Not really...actually they are huge, but some people never stop and give thanks for these things...I am thankful for so many things in life…things I never thought to "be thankful for"…such as patience (THANK you God for this!!!), understanding, having faith, high progesterone levels, dr. appts, INSURANCE, My Doctor, my nurse, my whole Dr. office and the sweet ladies who work there, My on-line ttc friends whom I have grown so close to over the years, my boss (she never questions an appt...just supports me and lets me go...you don't find that in most jobs), OUR DOGGIES--OH how I am so thankful for my little 4-legged children…

Zach and I have had a crazy year, but every single thing we have endured has made us even more thankful than the last. God is amazing and everything happens for a reason, and I am THANKFUL that I have accepted things in life and I am THANKFUL that I know to put everything in God’s hands!!! As everyone knows the past couple days weren't the easiest for us, however we are so Thankful that God gave us the patience, understanding, strength to get through it and faith to move forward...God doesn't do things to punish us, and we are thankful we understand that...God does stuff to make us stronger people-->which I am so thankful that I know to trust in him.

Be thankful for everything, I mean EVERYTHING, take this Thanksgiving season as a time to reflect what you are most thankful for but also to acknowledge the "little-big" things that you haven't ever "acknowledged"…and always count your blessings…for without them…life is meaningless!!

Life Goes On

Sometimes certain things in life happen and we don’t understand why…we just have to have faith in God and set all our worries and concerns in his hands! I don’t know reason’s behind certain actions, however I trust in him that his reasons are what’s best for me.

Yesterday we “thought” all of our dreams had been answered. You see my cycle is late, I figured I would be a “cheap” pregnancy test (keep in mind I was told I wouldn’t ovulate, and if I did the chances were slim). Well, I didn’t want to waste money on an expensive pregnancy test for it to just say negative…so my analogy was take the test yesterday morning, see that it’s negative…call my Dr, go in for a beta and then induce my cycle (you have to have a beta before you induce your cycle, and for those who don’t know beta=blood pregnancy test).

OK, so I pee on the stick yesterday morning…set it down, walk away…do some things and then I am staring…”could that be a line”…”no way”…when I held it far away you could see it, when I held it up close you couldn’t…everyone who saw it said it looked to be positive…well I just let it go, I blew it off as – or an “evap” line…went home that afternoon, looked at the test and it was clear as day positive…I wanted to freak out so bad, but to tell you the truth I just knew something wasn’t right about it, I had this gut feeling…well Zach gets home, and I asked him what he saw…his face lit up and he confirmed I wasn’t seeing things…we both agreed not to tell anyone or not to get excited until we took another one tomorrow and a Dr. confirmed it. Well I took another one and it looked the exact same as the nights before…so it really didn’t help confirm anything, I was hoping for darker…Zach held them up for minutes just comparing them…I could see the excitement in his eyes, but I still felt it wasn’t true…something was wrong…I called my Dr. as soon as they opened and they told me to get in ASAP, they were all so excited there…(this is the close I have ever come to a “real” +…) they greeted me at the door, walked me through the back way, and everyone I passed told me they were praying for me and good luck…it made me feel good to know they all cared so much. Well on my way back to work I decided to go to HEB and pick up a “digital” test…heck with the lines, all I want to see are those “WORDS….PREGNANT OR NOT PREGNANT”…so I sneak in work, run to the restroom, and pee on yet another stick…praying for it to pop up pregnant, but just knowing it’s not. AND just like I thought, it popped up NOT pregnant. OK…bummer…but then again, maybe I am not “far enough along” for the digital to pick upà you have to have 50mIU of HCG for the digital but only 25mIU of HCG for the equate test, so I still had a little hope, but still could have bet money I wasn’t pregnant…

WELL, my Dr. called, and confirmed what I have been feeling…my beta was negative. I had absolutely NO HCG in my system at all. I am surprisingly ok over the whole thing, maybe because I expected it…maybe because I truly believe it will be ok and God is watching over us. I don’t know why certain things happen, but I do know life goes on…you can’t dwell on the past, you just have to move forward and pray that God guides you the right way. I really suspected that I would be in tears, but I am very blessed that God had his arms around me when I got that call…it made the world of a difference.

So you might be asking how the other 2 were positive??? They were false positives…it’s very rare that it happens, however it does…and out of the many accurate test, Tiffany some how stumbled across a faulty box…go figure…there isn’t anything you can do, but move forward…

SO note to self:
1) Never buy Equate again
2) Never trust a faint positive
3) Never keep the test, always throw it away 5 minutes after use!

I do want to say THANKS for all my friends who have been there with me through all of this all morning long, without ya’ll I don’t know what I would do! Thanks :o)

Our Bad Restaurant Experience

OK, so I have never had such a bad restaurant experience before and had to share this with ya’ll. After church Sunday, Zach, myself, my mother in law, and my grandparents go to Don Carlos for lunch. We get there and there wasn’t “that” many people there, so we thought we wouldn’t have to wait long at all…I put down my name, and the lady said 15-20 minutes…ok, that works!! We had 5 people, so I knew “most” booths only sit 4, so I could understand why some people with groups of 2-4 were being seated before us…which was completely fine…well after about 40 minutes of waiting patiently I asked when we were going to be seated, the lady told me “next” OK…that works…well then I started thinking we can’t be next there is a group of 6 that still haven’t been seated and they are in front of us??? Well right about that time a person from the group of 6 complains and says, “why did you tell me we were next if were not, you told me we were going to be seated it “that” booth but yet another party that just walked in got seated there”…well shortly after that, they got seated. Well I asked Zach if that booth that the lady told me they were cleaning off for “us” was still there, and he said no, that’s the booth that the party of 6 were complaining about…SO not only did the lady tell me we were next and that was our booth being cleaned off, she told the same thing to the group of 6 right ahead of us. So I went to ask AGAIN when we were going to be seated and talk to her about what just happened, when I looked at the “name list” our name was 15 spaces above 15 MARKED out spaces (meaning that those 15 “parties” came in, after us, but got seated before us)…I asked to talk to the manager, I said look…I am not a big complainer, but this is ridiculous, I pointed and said look where our name is…I said I “might” could understand if these were all small parties, but there has been several parties over 5 that just walked in and were seated, not only that but we were told 15-20 minutes. The manager said I can get you in right now, I said it’s right now or were leaving (Zach was already outside b/c he was ready to leave)…when it was all said and done we were seated an hour after we got there…when we got to our table we were so hungry that scarfed down all our chips and hot sauce…the waitress came and I ordered cheese dip for everyone…the cheese dip came right out, however…now we didn’t have chips and all our drinks were empty and we couldn’t get anyone to come to our table…so here we are staring at this delicious looking cheese dip that we can not eat, and just watching it get colder by the minute, and debating whether to get up and get our own drinks…FINALLY we got our drinks, and chips!!! The food was wonderful, as it always has been when we have been there before, the service was HORRIBLE…I was really disappointed b/c I really liked this place, but now Zach has no desire to ever go back, we were really treated badly there. Our whole meal was free, which it should have been…we left Don Carlos at 2:45…WE GET OUT OF CHURCH AT NOON, we got to Don Carlos around 12:15, so we were there well over 2 hours…ridiculous!! I can’t say we won’t ever go back, b/c if I can convince my husband I would like too b/c I really do like there food, however it will be a long time before we do go back!!!!

TAG

You're it!

Now if you read this & have a blog of your own, you gotta do it too! Go to the picture folder on your computer.Open the 4th folder. Pull up the 4th picture.

Tell us about it...

This was at the Jimmy Buffett concert, this was my 2nd time going. Zach and I had so much fun, his concerts are a blast! Everyone dresses "hawaiian "...I had an amazing time, thank you honey for some wonderful memories!!!!

Blog Award

I got a comment from Lexy that had something "on her blog"...I head over there and notice, I HAVE MYSELF AN AWARD!!!! Thanks sweetie...your amazing!!!!!

So, here are the rules to receiving this award:

1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.

2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.

3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.

Instructions:On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them. When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. To add the award to your post, simply right-click, save image, then "add image" it in your post as a picture so your winners can save it as well. To add it to your sidebar, add the "picture" gidget.Also, don't forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by emailing them or leaving a comment on their blog.



My 5 addictions that keep me going:



1. My husband- YES he is an addictions, and yes he keeps me going...I would be lost without him and there isn't any way I would be able to get through everything I am going through without him, so he is a MUST HAVE ;o)

2. God- AGAIN, YES he is an addictions...he gives me the strength to keep my positive attitude and to keep motivated through all I am dealt! Without him I would also be lost, so he is a MUST HAVE as well!!!

3. The internet- well there are a few "sites" that are must haves, blogspot so I can keep up with all my friends and it's such a wonderful way of keeping a "journal" as well and all my ttc buddies, I don't know what I would do without all of them, I HAVE to be able to check on them and see where they are ;o)

4. Coach- Yes, I am a little obsessed with Coach, I love it!!!! This is my "bad" addiction, haha!!

5. Shoes- OK OK...this is a "bad" addictions too, but I LOVE shoes...I think I could go to Dillards and buy one of everyone, if only my closet was big enough for that...hmmm, something to def. think about when buying a new house, it must have a big enough closet for LOTS of shoes!!!!

I love all the blogs on my friends list, and I go to them religiously to see what is all new, BUT if I can only pick 5 to award, the lucky ladies are...

1)LEXY--Stoopid-Monkies

2)MELODY-- Estes Family of 3

3)APRYLEThe Buechel Family

4)ASHLEE--McCary Memories

5)SHELLY--Princess Kinley

Family Visit

Zach's mother is flying in tomorrow night, she has some personal things she has to take care of down here, and in the mean time she is going to stay with us for a week...Zach and I are so thrilled! We don't have much planned, but we are so happy we get extra time with her...We have gotten to spend quite some time with them this year vs. last...

May/June--we spent a week with them in Williamsburg, VA

Aug--they came here, his mom-sister and neice for 2 weeks, his dad for 1 week

Oct--we went up there for one week

Nov--now his mom is getting to come here for one week

We are so very blessed to have seen them as much as we have this year, we are very thankful for that, although it's still not enough! You never know how much little family moments like this mean to you, until you don't have them anymore. I am very blessed with the inlaws I have, they are all amazing and I love them dearly!!!!

Positive Thinking

In the begining of "our journey" I wasn't always the most positive person. I dwelled on the little things, felt guilty and had piti for myself...I thougt I was being punished....I just didn't understand!

Over the course of 2 1/2 years I have gained a positive attitude, something I am so proud of. Something that I believe is something EVERYONE should have. I know a few people in my situation, and a couple others in different situations but going down a hard "path" in there life...

My advice to you....

It's not always easy to know which path to follow, which decision to make, or what to do. Life is a series of horizons, new hopes, new days and changes that come your way; and we all need some help with these things from time to time.

Remember these things…Have FAITH...DREAM it…DO it!! Be POSITIVE, your attitude will affect the outcome of many things. Ask for help when you need it, seek the wisdom the world holds and hold onto it, PRAY for understanding and patience. You will make progress every single day…just begin, believe and become!!! Give yourself all the credit you're due don't shortchange your qualities, your abilities, or any of the things that are so unique about you. Just b/c something isn't going "right" in your life doesn't make you "different" you are still a child of God, be proud of that...be thankful for the blessings you do have in life...Remember how precious life can be. Imagine and invest the time it takes to reach out for your dreams; it will bring you happiness that no money on earth can buy. Have FAITH that your dreams WILL come true!!! Don't be afraid; I was extremly afraid in the begining....but just remember no mountain is to big to climb if you do it at your own pace and with GOD'S HELP! The BIGGEST piece of advice I can give you, is to find peace in the situation you are in, try to accept it in knowing there isn't anything you can do to change it and set your fears, worries, and sadness in God's hands...let him take control!!!

BE POSITIVE, and everything else will fall into place!!!

Officially Members

WE are officially members of First United Methodist Church as of today. Zach and I have been attending this church for about 5-6 months I would say. My grandparents go there and they invited us and we loved it! The pastor there is amazing, when he saw us walking down to join this morning he threw his arms up in the air and said YEAA...haha...I have talked to him several times regarding my health situation and he has said many prayers for us. This church and the people there are amazing and I am very happy we are actually members to such a wonderful "family"!!!

What a BEAUTIFUL day!

Picnic in the Park

Today we went out to Cameron Park with my mom and our pups to have a picnic and take a few pics in hope some would turn out good enough for our Christmas cards this year.

Our picnic was amazing and it was such a beautiful day to just be outside and walk the dogs around, they loved every bit of it...besides Ginger, she didn't care too much for it, she sat in this little basket on my moms walker the majority of the time...she isn't really big on walking in grass (such a spoiled little girlie girl dog) ;o)

When it came time for the pictures it was "not" as easy as last year...last year Peanut and Ginger were so good and looked at the camera in almost every shot...I don't know if it's because we added a dog to the picture this year or what, but none of them wanted to look at the camera, they were all to distracted by other things. We did get alot of good pics of us though, even if there not all looking...we haven't decided which one we want to use for our Christmas cards though....were still up in the air, I guess yall won't find out until they are sent ;o) it will be a suprise...hee hee!!!

Well I hope you all took advantage of this beautiful day and got outside and enjoyed it, we sure did!!!!

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something, for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations, because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary, because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things. A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks. Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings.