Another Year Gone By: 2011

2011 has not been the best year for me. I am actually looking forward to leaving 2011 in the past and moving on to see what 2012 will bring.

We have had some major changes this year and along with those changes has come some hardships.

I just want to go over the year for my own record and to reflect back on what this year has meant to me.

*The first few months of 2011 were pretty easy going. Just enjoying time as a family. In February for Valentine's Day Garrett and I had a special date at the Melting Pot and were able to splurge on a dinner that we normally would never be able to have! :)

*In March I celebrated my 23rd birthday by shopping and going out to eat at Red Robin.

* In April we celebrated Easter with a great outdoor service with the Trademark body of believers. Then we had Easter dinner at my grandma's house. It was Caden's first Easter.

*May was Caden's 1st birthday! We had family come into town and had a party at my grandma's house. We had yummy bbq, he opened gifts, and we played outside. The weather was perfect that day!

*May was also the month that we found out that I was pregnant again! This was so unexpected and we were honestly in shock for some time after finding out.

*June was the month the morning (aka- all day) sickness kicked in. I suffered with, basically, non stop morning sickness for about 3 months. It was difficult to be the mom and wife I wanted to be with this going on, but we made it through.

*July is when Caden really started walking on his own and all around! It was so fun to see him reach this stage and never look back! Now he basically runs everywhere! Haha.

*At the end of July Garrett got a new job at Anser Charter School as the full time custodian. This was an answer to months and months of prayer! We couldn't be more thankful for this job.

*August Garrett and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. We went to the fair which is starting to be a new anniversary tradition. Haha.

*September we found out that we are having a baby girl this time around! We were so thrilled and decided on the name Avery Renee.

*October is when my health problems started with trips to the ER and Labor and Delivery. Between October and December I had to go in 3 times. Finally in mid-December I had a kidney ultrasound and found out that I have kidney stones.

*In November we took a trip to Oregon to spend Thanksgiving with Garrett's mom's side of the family.

*In Mid-December I needed to have an emergency root canal done on my tooth. The pain came on so suddenly and intensely that when I called at 7pm they had me in the next morning at 11am and in the meantime gave me a prescription for Vicodin.

*In December Caden also faced multiple colds and we took him into the ER one of the times because he had a fever that reached 105! It turned out that he had Roseola. We didn't know this until his fever broke a few days later and he broke out in a rash.

*Also, in December we spent many days packing up our apartment to move into a house rental. We moved the day before Christmas Eve. It was a lot of work and, unfortunately, we are still dealing with the stress. The house was not in the condition that it should have been. So, we have been dealing with people coming over to fix doors, blinds, pick up dog poop in the backyard left from the previous tenants, and now we are waiting for someone to come fix the carpet in the living room. The previous tenants let their dogs pee all over the living room floor right before they moved and did not clean it up. Now after 3 cleanings the floor is still making the whole house smell like urine! It is really unlivable and we have been waiting for days for the property management to fix it. We are still waiting and now with the holidays it won't be fixed until at least this next week. So, this whole ordeal has been very frustrating and stressful...what a way to end the new year. And to top it off Caden and I both have colds!

So, 2012. Please bring me a season of peace and stillness. I pray that we can enjoy time together as a family. I pray that we would all be in good health. And I pray for Avery's safe arrival. I hope that Caden loves her and welcomes her into his life. 2012 please leave the stress back in 2011. Thank you. :)

Angela

Caden's 2nd Christmas!

The Move!

I can not wait until Friday!! I know I still have like 5 days, but I am just so excited to move into our new place! The actual act and process of moving is less than enjoyable, but when you are moving into a place that is much better than where you currently are it is definitely worth it.

Some things that I am looking forward to about living in our new place:

1. Having a garage. Since Garrett and I have been married we have never had a garage. We are always parking our cars on the street or in a parking lot. I am looking forward to the benefit of parking my car in an enclosed structure that will keep my kids safe while trying to load them and keep us warm in the freezing cold.

2. Not having any shared walls or anyone living above us. This is my biggest complaint about apartment living, especially when you have young children. When you share so many walls and live so close together with other people you get to hear a lot of unwanted noises at unwanted times. I don't know how many times Garrett has had to go upstairs or next door and ask them to please be quiet at 2 am because they are keeping us up! I look forward to the peace and quiet that no shared walls will bring.

3. Having a backyard. I have a little boy who LOVES being outside. He would stay out there all day if he could! I am so excited to have a fenced backyard for him to run around and play in. Right now if we want to go outside we have to drive to the park or he plays on the sidewalk by the parking lot...not a good playground. (Bytheway, in our new place we are in walking distance to one of our favorite parks as well).

4. Having a laundry ROOM. Right now my washer and dryer are in a closet in our 1 bathroom. I am looking forward to having a room dedicated to doing laundry and that gives me the space and storage I need.

5. Living in a subdivision. I am happy that we are moving into a quiet neighborhood where I can take my children for peaceful walks. Right now we live off a busy street that doesn't even have a sidewalk. Definitely not the best place to go for bike rides or walks, especially with young kids.

6. Having a master bathroom. Garrett and I have never had more than one bathroom since we have been married. I am excited to have one connected to my bedroom! It means I can blowdry my hair at night without worrying that I will wake up Caden and it means no trips or stumbles down the dark hall in the middle of the night as I make my way to the restroom. :)

7. Having more room for my growing family. There is definitely more space in the new place. Both kids will have their own room and have more room in the living room to run around and spread out their toys. :)

To sum it up, I am so grateful that God has provided such a wonderful place for us to live and I am willing to do all the dirty work of moving in order to get there. :)

Warning: This is a very long documentation of the trials I have been through the last few months...PROCEED WITH CAUTION :)

Talk about "when it rains, it pours!" The last couple months have hit us pretty hard as a family. I am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and I am praying that a season of harvest and rest is coming!

I have had a bit of a rough time this pregnancy. It started out in October when I had to go to Labor and Delivery at the hospital because I thought that I was going into premature labor. I wasn't, however, and they told me they thought I had a UTI. So, I got on antibiotics and went home. Three weeks later I went to the urgent care clinic because I was in pain again and assumed I had another UTI. They said they didn't see any bacteria in my urine sample, but put me on antibiotics anyways. And then just 1 week ago I was back in Labor and Delivery with what I thought was a kidney infection. While I was being monitored in the triage section I started contracting regularly. They had to give me a shot in the back of the arm to stop the contractions and gave me an IV because I was somewhat dehydrated. They also decided to start me on antibiotics while we waited for my sample to be cultured. When I had my regularly scheduled doctor's visit on Monday I discussed everything with my doctor and she said that her records showed that all 3 of those visits I had all came back negative on any bacteria growth...meaning no UTI and no kidney infection. There was, however, both blood and white blood cells in my urine all 3 times, leading us back to my kidney. When my doctor tapped on my back where my kidneys are located I was in a lot of pain on my right side, so she ordered me to have a kidney ultrasound.

Thursday I went in for the ultrasound and found out that I have kidney stones and a "back flow" of urine in my kidney which makes me have a dull pain basically constantly. I still have not discussed what comes next with my doctor, since the ultrasound was just a few days ago. I hope that the stones are small enough to pass on their own! I am grateful, though, that I have an answer as to all the pain and other symptoms I have had the past few months.

That same Thursday that I had the ultrasound I started having a terrible pain in my tooth. It had been bothering me for about a week and a half, but it was never this persistent or painful. As time went on in the day my pain just kept increasing until it was unbearable! So, I had to rush around trying to find a dentist to take me in (I don't have a regular dentist as I haven't been in years due to the cost :) ). Finally, I got in touch with my dad who set me up with his dentist office. When I called I found out that the dentist didn't have an assistant all week and wouldn't be able to treat me, so he referred me to a specialist who does root canals. I would be able to see him the next morning (it was about 6 when I called).so he called me in some pain meds and an antibiotic (Because my tooth was infected.) After I figured all of this out I noticed that Caden was basically acting like a zombie and when I felt him he was super hot. I took his temperature and it was 102. He had been pulling on his ear the day before and that day as well and so I thought I better take him in to see if he has an ear infection. I barely made it in to urgent care before they closed and they told me he didn't have an ear infection. So we went back home.

The next morning I went to my dentist appointment and am so thankful that I was able to get the root canal done, because I feel much better! When I got home Caden was not doing well, however. As the day went on he got worse and worse and by 9 pm I had to call Garrett to come home early from work. Caden wouldn't go to sleep and just kept crying. When I took his temperature it was 104, every time we tried to give him some tylenol he would throw up. This happened 3 times. Finally at about 10:30 his temperature reached 105 and I decided we needed to take him in since he wasn't drinking any liquids and wouldn't keep down his medicine. We went to the ER and were there until midnight. They said he seems to just have a common viral infection and they gave him an anti nausea pill and then tried to give him the tylenol and that worked. So, we went home and Caden slept with me all night, which meant I didn't get hardly any sleep! Since then his temperature has slowly come down and today it was only 100 and he was playing some and acting more normal today. So, I am very grateful that he is recovering and doing better!

I know this is long and it is probably very boring. I just had to get it all out. These health problems have all been happening on top of us preparing for Avery to come in just 7 weeks, preparing to move in just 12 days, and a flea infestation that we are trying to get rid of. Sometimes so many things happen at once that you feel like you will break. That is how I feel at the moment...I can't take just one more thing!

So, I am just trusting in the Lord. He is good and He has been my peace and hope in all of this. I hope that that season of harvest is coming. I am looking forward to being settled into our new house, welcoming Avery into our family, and just enjoying the time we have together. :)