late march in charleston

the man i love...

john - park city, utah

i felt compelled to write about the man i love...i am certain i am married to the most wonderful man in the world. there are so many things i respect and admire about him that it would take forever to write down, but here are a few...

* he loves me more than i imagined possible - from the moment he first told me he thought he was falling in love with me (back in 1994), i knew his heart was only for me
* he tells me daily how much he loves me and how beautiful i am to him - even when i'm preggo :)
* he consistently affirms my role as caroline's mother and always tells me what a great job i'm doing...it is very normal for him to tell me my "job" is much harder than his
* he is the most humble man i know - he's very uncomfortable being praised or complimented
* he is 100% committed to our marriage
* he loves me on the days i am extremely unlovable and there are lots of those
* he has worked very hard in school and residency to provide a stable future for our family
* he loves the outdoors and is literally like a child when it comes to the beauty of God's creation...can't tell you how many times he has told me to stop and take in a beautiful sunset or day, which i don't appreciate as much as him
* he's very athletic and is happiest doing something daring and physical
* he doesn't hide his emotions - he can get choked up with the best of them
* he loves our little girl with a fierce love
* he kisses me every morning before he leaves and tells me he loves me...EVERY single morning
* he works his tail off every day to serve and treat his patients and he is VERY good at it, which he would never tell you
* he is so intelligent
* he is funny
* he loves the unlovable - he's one of those people "outsiders" are drawn to b/c he accepts and loves everyone
* he is genuine and real, what you see is what you get
* he is NOT vain/materialistic...he could care less what he "has" or anyone else "has"
* he loves our families deeply
* he spent the entire weekend doing stuff for and with me around the house and didn't complain, he was joyful
* he loves Jesus with all his heart

i love you, baby and i thank the Lord every day for giving you to me!!

quote of the day

in the car after caroline had a snack of pickles...

caroline: mommy, what do you think the pickles are doing now?
mommy: i don't know. what do you think?
caroline: they're playing teapot and cooking! (she loves to have "tea" and "cook" in her kitchen)
mommy: oh, wow, that sounds neat.
caroline: the babies are cooking, the daddy is working and the mommy is cooking.

20 week ultrasound

leg and foot up over the head...impressive!!!

profile of face - looks like he/she is blowing a bubble

2 legs and feet getting ready to kick

arm and fist

foot

spine

arm over the face

2 fists

3d with 2 arms and umbilical cord on left

another 3d face shot

had our 20 week ultrasound today...the one where they check all the organs, brain, heart, bones, spine, etc for any problems. thankfully, everything looks perfect. our little one is quite flexible, too. almost the whole time, he/she had it's right leg up over the head touching the nose. it was hilarious!! we got to see the little mouth sucking and got some 3d shots, which were kind of creepy looking. my baby looks like a skinny old man right now :) well, he/she does only weigh 11 ounces. they could tell what it is, but of course, didn't share that info with us. above are just a few of the 65 pictures that were taken :)

i haven't gained any weight yet, which they weren't real happy about :( i was surprised since i've been eating lots better and throwing up less the last few weeks. so, they gave me the guilt trip and even had me talk to the nutritionist to see how we could intentionally add additional calories every day. the key is to snack, snack, snack and eat whatever comes my way...i'm happy to oblige!!! i'm getting a great start on that tonight when we go out to eat mexican with some friends. they said the baby is right on target for weight so he/she is fine, but they don't want me to get depleted nutritionally. i told them i knew very well how that feels from my last pregnancy and it's not fun!! so, i'm off to snack.....

caroline's quote of the day

(touching daddy's chest)

caroline: daddy has small ones!
daddy: yes...what does mommy have?
caroline: mommy has really big ones!

**haven't heard that much in my life so i'll take it :)

musings from a pregnant woman

caroline, 5 months old

i haven't uploaded pictures to my computer since christmas so i have nothing new to add photo wise to the blog. hence, the pix of caroline when she was 5 months old. i love this picture! it brings back so many memories. it also makes me so excited about the little one coming in july. i can't wait to see what he/she looks like. like me, like john...a combo this time. i've always wanted at least one brown eyed baby (love john's brown eyes)...will i get one? time will tell!

on a totally different note and definitely not as sweet, i have become a "throwing up" expert through the past 3 or so years. there are many tricks of the trade so i thought i'd share a few....you are warned, this could make you nauseous :)

* i make it to the toilet almost every single time, which is impressive considering how fast it can come on
* on the few occasions i haven't made it, i have successfully avoided soiling anything by throwing up in my hands and the grossest of all, in my mouth (happened this very morning...didn't want to get throw up on my new carpet in my closet)
* have thrown up successfully in the car in a very small cup and bowl. they both traveled with me everywhere for a while
* my daughter ignores me now when an episode hits...just asks if i feel better when i emerge from the bathroom
* no little remedies work for me....not saltine crackers, not bland food, not ginger, not ANYTHING! so, i just eat what i want, enjoy it and know it could come back up...green tea this am :)
* i have learned that i can still eat whatever i have thrown up...eventaully (not my actual throw up mind you, but the food itself in its original form)
* the following foods are really gross to throw up...tortilla chips. strawberries, anything with ginger, chick-fil-a salads, bacon, ramen noodles and many, many other things :)
* last, but not least, all the nausea and vomiting in the world could never possibly outweigh the joy, blessing and miracle of growing a human being created by our loving God in my tummy :)

update on the ring......

i found it!!! praise the Lord. i woke caroline up from her nap, threw her in the car and retraced all our steps. after searching several parking lots and stores and leaving my name and #, i was very discouraged. my face and eyes were red and teary. we got to our last stop, publix. i looked where we parked and didn't see anything. i started to head inside and literally looked down and saw it lying in a puddle. completely untouched. it was there for at least 3 + hours. how amazing is God!!!!???!!! at every store, caroline kept telling anyone she saw, "my mommy lost her ring" with a really sad face :) on the way home, she kept singing "we found mommy's ring, we found mommy's ring".

please pray!!!!

please, please pray!!! i realized a little while ago that my diamond wedding ring was not on my finger. my band is, but not my diamond. it gets loose when i'm cold and apparently it slipped off. the problem is i ran a bunch of errands earlier and it could be in 3 different stores, parking lots, etc...i am completely devastated and can't stop crying. i know it is a material possession and there are much bigger problems, but it means the world to me. please, please pray that it will turn up in our house, car or that someone who finds it elsewhere will be compelled to turn it in to one of the stores i was in today. thank you!

it's almost moving day

tomorrow is the big day! we will officially move into our new house. john and his parents have spent the last 2 days painting and making it our own. being pregnant allowed me to be exempt from that task. let me just say, i have a very red kitchen and i LOVE it :) i am trying to finish packing up our condo. whew, it is exhausting! but, we're almost there and i'm so excited. it is such a blessing to be moving into a home that i know will be ours for the next 3+ years...way longer than our last few stops. keep us in your prayers this weekend as we get everything moved and settled in. i'm sure i won't be blogging for a while, but when i come back, i'll have pixs :)

how amazing!

i've been laying here on the couch working and feeling my precious baby moving :) it really is the most amazing feeling. it seems a tad early to me, but i'm almost positive it is the baby and not weird tummy stuff. i believe i didn't feel caroline until maybe around 16 or 17 weeks. i remember being worried b/c other girls i knew who were pregnant and due around me were feeling their babies and i wasn't. anyway, i love it and it reassures me that this sweet boy or girl is growing big and strong. he or she should be because i've been craving nothing but really unhealthy and fattening foods. it is awesome to just eat whatever i feel like...last time, eating was something i dreamed about and tried to do, but wasn't very successful at all. please continue to keep this pregnancy in your prayers :)

moving is always interesting...

well, i should be posting about our move into our new house, but it didn't happen so i won't be able to today. our closing was postponed for the second time to this tuesday, january 16. it has been a stressful week, but i can honestly say i trust the Lord's perfect timing on this and it always works out. we will move in this weekend. it has been a learning experience and i'm thankful for that!
on a much happier note, john's parents brought our baby girl back to charleston late friday night. she had been in georgia all week with both of our families so we could pack and get ready for the move that didn't happen. i tell you what, i don't know what we would do without our families. we are so blessed! i don't say that lightly. we have so much love, support and encouragement from them. i went out to the car to get caroline when joyce and sonny got in town and i almost cried. i missed her soooo much. and, she looked like she had grown a foot. she wrapped her little arms around my neck and kept saying "mommy!" over and over. she couldn't stop putting her hands on my face and saying "mommy!". i didn't want to let go of her. joyce and sonny stayed in town and we got to relax and basically eat and do nothing productive, which was exactly what i needed after the past week. we went out to folly beach on saturday and enjoyed the beautiful weather, close to 80 degrees. caroline wanted so bad to swim in the ocean. she practically did considering she got completely wet anyway. she had grandad walking back and forth on the beach with her over and over. we ate wonderful food and had so much fun together.

here is caroline's quote of the day:
i put her pj's on tonight and she threw her arms out and said....
caroline: i'm so beautiful!
mommy: yes, you are, but you know why? because you're beautiful on the inside. your heart is beautiful.
caroline: my hands are pretty because Jesus made them.
mommy: that's right
caroline: and my tummy is beautiful because Jesus made it, too.

i couldn't have said it better myself :)

we're still here!

just wanted everyone to know we're here! we had a wonderful christmas and new year's with our families. we're packing up this week and moving into our new house this weekend so i won't be blogging until after all that gets done. pray for me! i've never had to pack up while pregnant and it's harder than i thought. i get tired and my back begins to hurt after a few boxes :) i'll be back next week with pictures/news from the holidays and our new house. back to packing....only about 50 more boxes to go!!!

caroline's quote of the day

(as she was reading one of her favorite books full of scripture, hymns, and prayers to me)

#1 caroline: praise Him, praise Him all ye little children. God is long, God is long. (should be God is love :)

#2 caroline: how i love jesus, how i love jesus (singing)

#3 caroline: and God said, let the little children run to me (should be come to me, but i like her version better)

caroline's quote of the day

(praying before dinner)

caroline: dear jesus, thank you for mommy, daddy and me, okay? in jesus name, amen.

i promise she does other things than pray, but the prayers just get me everytime. this was the first time she included the whole family :)

seriously!?!

as i was driving around charleston today, i saw these 2 bumper stickers on the back of a car....

#1 Safer Products and Healthcare...Thank a Trial Lawyer
#2 No More Exploding Gas Tanks...Thank a Trial Lawyer

i almost threw up all over myself. and no, it wasn't because of my morning sickness :)

new house and christmas fun

getting started

"open shut them, open shut them...."

"jingle bells"

owen, caroline and rafe post performance photo op

caroline saying "cheese!"

owen's outta here!

playing with the props

playing with the nativity sets

deocrating the tree

mommy and caroline

caroline digging through all the holiday boxes

checking out the ornaments

caroline's reaction when we told her we were done decorating

most of you know, we've been building a house here in charleston. well, it's been hard to estimate when we might get to move in...they started it way later than we thought and we just assumed it would take a while and that was okay. about 2 weeks ago we had a walk through with the builder after they drywalled and he said we'd be getting an estimated completion date soon. well, our new home representative (aka realtor who gets to sit in the model home all day) called and left a message for john with our est. closing date last week and it is.......JANUARY 9th!!! yes, you read that right, about a month away. side note, john tricked me and at first said december 22. i literally almost fainted and he quickly told me the real date. do they honestly think that's enough time for me to pack everything back up (please remember we just packed and unpacked everything we own less than 6 months ago), get ready for christmas (not even close to being done shopping) and be out of town for 2 weeks at the end of december??? in the middle of all this, i'm pregnant and tired, tired, tired. i'm just not doing as much as fast and that's just not good. oh my goodness, that just stressed me out!!!!!!! keep me in your prayers!

on a different note, this past thursday night, caroline's preschool had their christmas program. it was soooo sweet. she did great and enjoyed being on stage. i'm posting some pixs so you can see. they only sang a couple of songs, but it was precious. she didn't see us out in the audience until they turned the lights up and she was so excited...she waved and said "hi mommy, hi daddy" and smiled real big. i'm also attaching some pixs of us decorating the tree, caroline's favorite task. after we were finished, she cried and said she wanted to do it again. we had a busy weekend full of christmas fun...daddy and caroline had a date night friday while i went to a girls only christmas party (so fun!!), saturday night we had the radiation oncology dept christmas party downtown and tonight we went to the christmas parade in mt. pleasant. we're not short on christmas activities around here :) i'll post some pixs of the parade later. it was chilly!!!

obgyn appt

i had my first obgyn appt today...got to see a picture of the little guy or girl and see that tee tiny heart pumping. wow, isn't that the most amazing sight in the world? it took my breath away. the official due date is july 8. caroline is already counting down...actually, she wanted to know why we didn't bring the baby home today. it's going to be a loooooong wait for miss priss. and for me, as i try and convince her over and over the baby can't come home until it gets big and strong in mommy's tummy. she burst into tears today when i told her the baby wasn't coming. i explained about how long it takes and how it will be summer before he/she is ready. she nodded and then asked if it was coming home tomorrow :)

the obgyn wants to change one of my steroids for my addison's disease. she says it is one that can cross the placenta and has been associated in animal studies with low fetal birth weight. well, that scared me to death. i had a moment of panic thinking i had done harm to my baby already and why didn't someone tell me before. but, she assured me that it is not harmful in any other way, she'd just rather be safe so this baby can be big and strong. so, i will start the new one tomorrow. i'm a little nervous simply b/c i've been on these specific meds for over a year now and they have worked great. but, i'm just going to trust the doctors and the Lord and listen to my body. whatever i have to do is worth it for this precious life growing inside of me!

thanksgiving 2007 recap

dallas (my grandmother's hubby) and andrew...such a sweet and loving man!

grandmother and caroline (her great-grandmother)

caroline, andrew, luke and sarah

andrew...the sweetest baby :) he did this most of the day

john and andrew...he's ready for another one, can you tell?

my cousin anna and andrew (his second cousin)

caroline practicing for her upcoming role

here comes trouble...and they're armed :)

yeah, they look sweet, don't they?

caleb and caroline

the whole crew in their coordinating pjs

she's had enough of the pictures

sorry to offend anyone...the first deer shot on the fortney property, courtesy of david fortney

playing in the gravel driveway

honestly, why do we even bother with toys?

grandma and abby on the 4 wheeler

decorating the tree

another group shot...love caroline's face :)

3 toddlers decorating the tree...scary, huh?!

aunt connie took caroline on her first 4 wheeler ride

kaitlin doesn't need an adult, she can do it all by herself

caroline's favorite toy... max!

max makes a perfect seat

what a wonderful thanksgiving we had this year!!! the best part of all was sharing the news that we're expecting baby #2 in early july. how fun to share this awesome news on thanksgiving. surprises are priceless. our families knew without a doubt that we were ready to have another baby, but we've been talking about for a while and caroline has been talking about it forever so it's not a big deal when the topic comes up. caroline got to do the honors with both families announcing proudly "i'm going to be a big sister". my parents just grinned and dad said "i knew it, i thought that was coming" and "wow, you girls are fertile". this will be #5 for them, i remember when miss sarah was the only one. we headed up to the farm for dinner with the fortneys and i left it up to john to time the announcement. caroline fumbled a little this time so it wasn't totally clear. joyce looked me and i nodded and there was joy all around the table. then, they all joked the rest of the weekend that there were twin boys in there or maybe even triplets :) side note, there are 4 granddaughters and 1 grandson on that side so poor caleb needs some help to even up the score!!
i've attached lots of pixs from our time over thanksgiving...i think i was baby andrew's personal paprazzi b/c every pix i took on thanksgiving at my parents has him in it. if you didn't hold or go near him, i didn't photograph you. can you tell i had babies on the brain???