ONE YEAR.

It still seems surreal to me.  An entire year has gone by since I gave birth to our sweet girl in San Antonio.  Hard to believe that this time last year, we were still in the hospital; Nic was almost finished with his Nurse Transition Program, and we were preparing to make the drive back to Lubbock.  Since then, we've moved across the country, made new friends, Nic started a new job, we joined a new church and small group, and have gotten pregnant again.  My, what a year. 

The thing that's most surreal about it is how far Audra has come.  The cliche "they grow up so fast" definitely rings true.  She's really not much of a baby anymore.  She's a toddler.  She's walking, and doing things on her own.  Of course, she needs my help with nearly everything; but not like she did when she was first born.  When Nic and I sang "Happy Birthday" I felt a little tear-y just thinking about how she'll never be the tiny little girl we brought home again... from here on, she only gets bigger.  Of course, I know that's a good thing, it's all just happened so fast.

All about our newly-one-year-old-Audra:
Motor Development: 
She's walking, pretty much like a pro.  She can cross the entire length of the house, and definitely gets to where she's going.  She walks a lot more than she crawls.  Crawling is still faster, though, so if she's on a mission she'll resort to crawling.  

Talking:
She can say:  mama, dada, hi, bye-bye, nigh-nigh (night-night), bobble (bottle), and whoa.  The funniest of these is "whoa."  Her timing with it is perfect.  Just a few minutes ago, she vigorously shook the bag that holds all of her plastic Easter eggs (still a favorite toy despite it not being Easter anymore), and all the eggs went flying everywhere.  She looked around and said, "Whoa."  On her birthday, she was being crazy and shaking her head back and forth really fast (can you say too much sugar?).  She lost her balance and fell backwards then immediately rolled to her stomach and said, "Whoa."  She's quite the crack-up.  I don't know where she got "whoa," since I don't think I say it too often, but maybe I'm wrong. 

Favorite "toys":  Of course, most of her favorite things to play with are non-toys (which is why we don't buy all too many of them ourselves).

• Her very most favorite thing to play with is the dishwasher.  She loves to splash around in the wetness that falls out of clean dishes.  She will also take out most of what she can reach while we're loading the dishwasher... which is why we now load it while she's sleeping or eating, or super distracted.  (Though as soon as she hears us doing dishes, she races over to the kitchen haha.)  
• Her next favorite thing to play with is probably any paper product, most specifically toilet paper.  It really sucks if we accidentally leave the bathroom door open haha.  
• After that I would say she loves things with buttons; especially any remote or phone she can get a hold of. 
• Of her toys, she will sometimes play with the little blocks we got her for her birthday.  She enjoys putting them in and taking them out of the bucket.  (She generally enjoys putting anything in and taking anything out of a space.)  
• As mentioned above, she still likes to play with her Easter eggs.  
• She has figured out how to gracefully get out of her little kid armchair that her Lolli (Nic's mom) got her.  She used to just throw herself out of it, which was funny to watch.  Now she knows how to get both feet on the ground and stand up.  So lately, she's been doing that over and over.  
• She often opens her books and will "read" them.  This is super cute to watch. 
  
  It's been a lot of fun to watch her learn through play. 

Eating:
She is trying nearly everything we eat, not always liking everything at first.  We rarely feed her pureed food anymore.  She's good at feeding herself finger foods, and is getting decent as using a spoon when we're in a mood to let her get messy.  She's not a huge fan of vegetables unless they're seasoned in some way, and I don't blame her.  ;)

Temperment:
She's a pretty easy-going baby.  She wakes up happy, and will stay happy throughout the day if all of her needs are met within a reasonable amount of time.  She really enjoys getting out of the house and being around people.  She's most in her element when she's interacting with others.

Sleep:
She takes one nap a day around 11 or 12, and sleeps for 1.5-2 hours.  She goes to bed between 7 and 8 and sleeps about 11 hours straight.  We've found a correlation between amount of calories consumed in a day and the time she wakes up in the morning.  The more we feed her, the later she sleeps.  She's usually awake by 6:15 or 6:30; 7:00 or 7:30 if she ate a lot the day before.
  
One whole year of getting to know this girl.  I couldn't dream up a more perfect child for us if I tried.

Stronger Than Yesterday

I'm not sure if you heard, but there was this storm, er... small HURRICANE... named Sandy... that recently came our way.  We stocked up on all the essentials and did all the things we were told to do that I knew nothing about before we moved here.  (Did you know to fill up your bathtub so your toilet will flush?  Or to buy ice ahead of time because it sells out due to refrigerators being out with power?) The bummer part of it all was that we knew Nic would be working the day the storm was scheduled to hit (Monday).  Saturday night, he got a call from his Major telling him to come in at 0600 Sunday to wait out the storm.  They wanted to make sure all hospital employees would be able to report to duty, so they called them all in early.  Which left me and the stinker home alone.  :-(  I knew we had everything we needed, but just the thought of the storm raging outside made me nervous.  Things really couldn't have gone better, though.  I stayed strong pretty much all day, and well into the evening, but after putting Audra to bed my thoughts began to wander.  Sunday night, I went to bed knowing this huge red storm cell was immediately Southeast of us, and was scheduled to go right over us before normal waking hours.  My stomach was tight with worry, but I forced myself to sleep.  Audra woke up around 2am to eat, and during those dark, quiet hours, I began to run all these scenarios through my head that Nic and I hadn't discussed. What if they come to our door and tell me I have to evacuate and they won't let me wait for Nic to get back from the hospital?  What if we have to evacuate, and Nic's on his way home but finds that an essential street is flooded?  What if the cell towers are down and one of these things happens and we can't get ahold of each other?  (That was my biggest worry.)  The last thing I ever wanted was to be separated from Nic in this middle of this crazy hurricane tropical storm and not know how to find him.  I called him around 3am, and just hearing his voice put my fears at ease.  He assured me that they wouldn't make me leave the house immediately if we should evacuate.  He would find me.  He mostly told me to stop worrying and reminded me that we faced wind storms in Lubbock with much higher winds than this hurricane tropical storm was producing.  Sigh.  I wish I didn't have to think of every.single.little.thing that could go wrong.  This is one time when it doesn't pay to be detail oriented.  :-(  Of course, it all ended up going off without a hitch in our area.  We didn't even lose power.  The eye of the storm just missed us; went directly north of us, so we just got the outer edges.  Thank you, God!  They even let Nic come home a day early (Monday night instead of Tuesday night).  It was nice to see him again.  :)

Unrelated to the storm, I've been really trying to hit the CrossFit hard lately.  Nic reminds me quite often that we're paying for me and that we should just cancel my membership if I'm not going to make it a point to go.  I seem to always find fifty million other things I need want to do when it comes time to work out.  (The dishes! My nails! Finally time to just relax ALONE!)  But these last few times, I begrudgingly drug my feet to get there, and have always been happy upon leaving.  It's such a triumphant feeling walking out of a place with an endorphin high that you almost decided not to have.  Not to mention that it really helps when more and more clothes start to fit like they used to.  I've noticed a difference in my workouts as well.  I'm getting stronger each time and don't quite feel like I'm going to die in the run during the warm-up like I used to.  :)

Remember my last post in which I told you I had the stomach flu a few weeks back?  Well, I had no idea how much the stomach flu could affect breast feeding.  It makes sense; I lost nearly all the liquid in my body, and there was next to nothing for them to use to produce.  Audra was fed many times that day with a bottle, despite my best efforts and desires to feed her myself.  (It's hard to feed a baby when they feel like they weigh a ton!)  Ever since then, Audra's shown definite preference for the bottle, and has gotten extremely lazy on the boob.  She's supposed to be what helps me produce, and that's not working out so well when she just expects my boob to hand it to her (despite us using the slowest flowing bottle nipple we could find).  So lately, we've had many feeding sessions with her whining the whole time, and me just saying, "It's there, girl, just eat!"  So we're on a strict No Bottle policy for the next week or so and I'm doing all the tricks I can think of. (Fenugreek, oatmeal, pumping after nursing, letting her stay on & suckle if she falls asleep.)  I'd appreciate your prayers, though.  This is definitely stressing me out (& I know stress doesn't help) and testing my faith in my ability to do this.  I KNOW I'm not going to give up.  She would have to be literally losing weight and crying out of hunger for me to quit breastfeeding or supplement with formula. It's just hard to be patient.  I've done some research, and I'm doing all of the things they say to do.  They say just be patient.  I'm hoping eventually she'll realize she's not going to get a bottle again and she'll start eating like her old self when she really wants it bad enough.

So it's definitely a time of new-found strength, in many ways.
As usual, I hope this finds you happy, healthy, & well.  I so appreciate you reading.  :-)

A Mess of Stress [37 weeks]

Strange how quickly a tune can change.  I had forgotten I titled my last post, "A Happy Heart."  Not to say that my heart isn't happy... it's just a LOT more stressed. 

Shortly after that post, Nic got his schedule that tells him his days off for the remainder of his program.  He was quite disheartened when he saw that he's scheduled to work 3 days immediately after Audra's due date.  Not only that, BUT he also had hardly any time to come home and see us because the scheduler had failed to give him extra hours like Nic had requested.  He was super bummed about that, and even more bummed that other people in his program were up to 2 shifts ahead of schedule without having asked for that.  We knew his program leaders weren't being the most accommodating when it came to giving him time off for Audra's birth, but once the schedule was set it seemed to be even worse than we had originally thought.

We had many a tearful conversation seriously considering what it would be like for me to give birth without him here.  I KNOW that military wives do this all the time.  And I KNOW it wouldn't be the end of the world.  But ALSO, my husband is only 6 hours away!  And I'd heard multiple times how the Air Force tries its darndest to be family friendly.  ...I just wasn't seeing it.  They weren't going to let him out of a shift should I go into labor while he worked, and they were pretty adamant that he had to be at other required things the week of her due date and following weeks as well.  In my mind, them saying they're trying to be more family friendly then refusing to work with him on his schedule was just plain unacceptable. 

I'm not trying to bad mouth them.  I'm sure there is a perfectly legitimate reason.  I just don't think that I agree with that reason.  My poor husband was nearly in tears with the thought of not being here and feeling helpless to change that-- all the while, being in the same state and perfectly capable of transportation. 

At my appointment on Thursday, my doctor asked if I'd ever considered delivering in San Antonio.  My initial reaction was a solid, unwavering NO.   I believe my words were, "I mean, we can talk about it, but I really don't think that's something we're interested in." We have a doctor we love, a birthing center I'm in love with, great nurses, friends, family ALL HERE.  So why would I leave that? 

BECAUSE HE'S MY HUSBAND AND AUDRA'S DAD.  

No matter how many pros about here I can think of, or how many cons to being there that I can think of, the fact that I LOVE HIM and I can't imagine going through something so major without him outweighs them all.  He's the only person in the world that I think I would be ok with making whatever weird labor faces I'll make... whatever animalistic noises (I hear that happens) may come out, whatever nasty ...leakage... happens, or WHATEVER else there is... I'd be ok with him seeing that.  I know this man loves me, and I feel comfortable enough for him to see that, by my side.  Not only comfortable enough... I WANT him by my side!

So it looks like if Audra can hold off until the 26th, I'll be heading to San Antonio to wait out her delivery.  I've heard and read really great things about their new birthing center (opened in Oct.), and am hoping to get a few good recommendations on doctors there.  We'll have to get an appointment scheduled for as soon as I get into town, but other than that, I think everything will come together quite easily.  The thought of Nic not having to travel back and forth between us and SA, and the thought of him coming "home" to us after his shifts/classes/whatever makes my heart so happy.  It's going to be stressful getting there.  And it's going to be stressful delivering there, especially after having acquainted myself so well with UMC and the UMC staff.  But, like I said, being with him is the most important thing (besides a healthy baby, obviously). 

I have to admit, this has all been pretty hard to me.  SO MUCH TO THINK ABOUT!  I try to remember to put my worries in God's hands and remember that He has a plan that will work out beautifully.  I've just always had trouble with trusting in that.  I wish I weren't such a planner sometimes!  I worry about whether I'll like my doctor, whether they'll follow our birth plan, about breast feeding, whether I'll have everything I need, whether I'll go into labor during one of Nic's shifts (if that were the case, he would still have to finish his shift), about pleasing all of our families, and to top it all off- WE'LL BE MOVING LESS THAN A MONTH AFTER SHE'S BORN.  So there's still all of the house stuff to think about.  After the normal day of battling the end of the year craziness with 14-year-olds and thinking about all of these personal things, I could just come home and CRASH.  But of course, when I try to sleep I can't... because I'm 9 months pregnant. 

I guess this turned into more of a vent session than I was intending.  There's just a LOT going on right now, and sometimes I feel sad about that.  There are times when I wish we could just be "normal" and JUST worry about having a baby, and NOTHING ELSE!  I know that a few months from now, when we're safe and settled into our new house in Virginia, none of this will seem as big of a deal.  I'm confident, though, that I'll be happy it's over. 

I have to admit... I'll be happy for Audra to be able to claim San Antonio as her birth city.  I've only been those few times, but I've already decided that it's a pretty rad place to be.

How far along:  37 weeks on Monday

How big is baby: She should weigh somewhere around 6 lbs. right now, and be about a foot and a half (18 in.) long.

Labor Status: Dilated to a 1!  Who knew?!?

Belly position: She's dropped a little bit and instead of feeling her mostly in my middle region, I feel her way lower, like UNDER my belly button.  I hear this will continue until she basically feels like a bowling ball between my legs.  Lovely.

As far as her positioning inside my body, her head is down and her legs are up, more toward my right side. 

Maternity clothes:  I pretty much feel like I wear the same things over and over... well, because I DO!  I wish I had more $ to have a large maternity wardrobe.  The only light in this tunnel is that here in a few months I should hopefully no longer need these wardrobe pieces. 

Movement:  Moving all the time!  I've noticed her movements change a bit.  Now, instead of just kicking or flailing her hands and arms around, she's been pushing OUT.  I think she's getting a little cramped in there!  Sometimes she'll push straight up (into my ribs) or straight down (into my bladder), but the FUN ones to watch are when she pushes straight out on my stomach. 

She still gets hiccups at least twice a day, usually 3 times.  Earlier in the week, she had hiccups so hard that my name tag at work (which hangs on a lanyard) was moving from her hiccups.  I pointed it out to a few kids and now I hear them tell someone about it almost every day.  They thought that was just so cool!  :)

Exercise:  Only two times this week.  Like I said, it was sort of a stressful week.  Pretty sure my heart rate rose enough for me to just say I worked out 3 times. :)

What I'm loving:  The fact that there are only 2 WEEKS left of school!  I'll miss my colleagues, but MAN will it be nice to have school checked off the list and be able to focus on Audra and her birth.
Oh, ANNNNND baby shower #3 is TOMORROW!  Once again, another exciting thing that I looked forward to on the calendar is HERE!  Can't wait to see all of the cute, fun things that Nic's mom and aunt put together.  They are quite wonderful.  :)

What I'm NOT loving:  All of the things swirling around in my head!  I'm so ready for some peace and for things to be calm.  Funny... I remember when things were so calm and peaceful, I would wish for SOMETHING to stir things up just a bit.  And now I'm taking it back... give me peace, give me calm, give me low-stress & happiness! 
I'm also not loving the fact that I feel sort of like a beached whale.  I'm the largest I've ever been in my whole entire life.  It's weird to picture myself in my head then see this other person in the mirror.  This would make an interesting psychological study, come to think of it.  ...I'm just not used to this body.  I want ME back!

What I miss:  My husband being mine, all mine, and not having to share him with the Air Force.  But that's not changing any time soon.  I miss good sleep, too. 

I think Virginia Beach on a few of Nic's days off will be a MUST.  Some R & R will do us good.



Hopefully your lives are a little more stable and less stressful at this moment!
Love you all!

Oops... [34 weeks]

Things these past few weekends have been quite hectic, as I may have mentioned in the last post.  Nic is currently at Lackland AFB in San Antonio for the Nurse Transition Program, and I've been going to see him pretty much every chance I've gotten.  San Antonio is only about 6 hours away, and the drive is actually quite scenic (at least during the half closest to San Antonio).  The first time I drove all the way by myself was particularly eventful.  I was embarrassed and shameful to talk about it at the time, but it could really happen to anyone, so I'm ready to write about it now.

It was toward the beginning of this month, I was leaving on a Thursday afternoon since we had Good Friday off from school.  I was hoping to hit the road around 4:45, but I had a doctor's appt at 4:15 and they happened to be running behind (not usually the case), so it was shortly after 5 by the time I hit the highway.

Things were going really well there for quite a while.  I was stopping to use the restroom when I felt like I needed; I was jamming to my jams, talking [using hands free] to my peeps...  I was really focused on the directions Nic had given me.  I knew that coming up very shortly would be a highway change.  It wasn't just a highway change; it was the change that basically meant I was getting really close and it wouldn't be too much longer until I got to him.  By this time, I'd been driving for over 4 hours and I felt good!  I was almost to my man, and we'd be spending the WHOLE WEEKEND together!  Shortly after I made the highway switch, a little light came on... ya... the GAS LIGHT.  But no biggie... Nic and I had been (unfortunately) in the habit of letting that happen in the past (in the city though, not on road trips), so I knew that I could drive a while and get to a gas station.  As the light caught my eye, I took notice that I was passing a gas station, but I wasn't too concerned; I knew I had quite a while before I ran out.  Right?  Wrong.  I'm sure as smart as you are, you've already figured out that I ran out of gas.  Seriously, I went over 40 miles with NO GAS STATIONS.  WHAT KIND OF HIGHWAY PLANNER DOES THAT?  Anyway, the speed limit was a whopping 80 mph, so my 1st concern was just getting off the highway before someone plowed me from behind.  So I got off the highway very quickly, and then realized I should have gotten even further off the highway.  I'm feelin' pretty nervous about how close I am to the white line (I had about 3 or so feet between me and the line), but of course I can't move since I have no gas.

I call Nic to come rescue me (which he was very sweet about, considering I was more than an hour from him) and he advises me to stay in the car.  The last thing he wanted was his little pregnant wife to be standing on the side of the highway in the dark.  So I stay in my car, all the while it's rocking as semi's are passing and I'm thinking,  man... I'm pretty freakin' close to the road; PLEASE GOD KEEP ME SAFE!!!  I called my parents to update them (since I would not be arriving at my ETA).  (Anyone else STILL have to call their parents on long road trips? Yes, I think it's a little silly, too, but to them I'm still small I guess.  Even though I'm 27.)  Being on the phone with my parents was just bad timing, because I think the following event would have been less dramatic if I were just able to tell them about it.  But we happened to be on the phone when this happened:  a semi came so close to me it knocked of my driver side mirror.  I mean GONE; pieces in the road.  Of course it scared the bejeezus out of me so I screamed, and my parents probably thought I'd been hit in a much more major way.  Of course it wasn't that bad... but it's scary to think how darn close I kind of came to it!  Just a few more feet over and that would have been it for me and little Audra.  But God obviously has other plans.

So my parents insisted that I call 911 and get a policeman out there so the flashing lights could help with visibility.  I'm not sure why I didn't think of that before.  So I called, and they came, and Nic finally came and gave me some gas and we were on our way to finally arrive in San Antonio for bed around 1:30.

The rest of the weekend I was quite shaken by the whole ordeal.  Just, you know, frazzled from a semi being feet away from taking my life.  And with the whole broken mirror thing came the fact that I got to drive all over San Antonio (a quite large and unfamiliar city to me) to get my mirror replaced (you know, since I don't want to drive 6 hours back home without a mirror).  But in the end, the mirror was fixed, I was with Nic, I was fine, Audra was fine and we were able to just count our blessings that it wasn't worse.

I really feel like the worst part of it all is how incapable it made me seem.  I have never NEVER run out of gas in my entire life!  Between Nic and I, I'm always the one to say that we need to get gas.  I like to think of myself as pretty responsible, confident and capable of doing what I want and need to do.   Which is why running out of gas on the side of the highway and then stopping close to the white line seems like such an idiot thing to do.  Of course, the rest of the weekend my parents and Nic's parents are calling to check on me (particularly on the drive home) and are asking about my gas levels and how everything was working, etc.  I felt the need to iterate to all who were concerned that it was just a really REALLY dumb thing that happened.  Because dumb things of that magnitude aren't so typical of me.  Now dumb things of a smaller magnitude (like losing my keys in my own classroom or forgetting whether I printed something so I print it 4 times) I am more than fine with owning up to.  But that time... that was just embarrassing.  SO, moral of the story:  pay attention to your gas, and even smart people run out of gas.  And it doesn't make you less smart or less capable if you DO run out of gas; it just makes you feel dumb. 

So it was a big, sincere "ooops" moment.   Glad things are finally getting back to normal.  :-)


A QUICK UPDATE:
How far along: 34 weeks

How big is baby: weighs about 4.75 lbs. now (about as much as a cantaloupe)!

Sleep:  I wake up 1-2 times a night to use the bathroom, but many more from discomfort.  My hips are the main problem; they fall asleep and seem to stay asleep, even after I've taken the pressure off.  Grrrr!

Movement:  She's quite the little mover!  The kids can even see my belly move when I'm teaching in front of the class, which is kind of funny.  I had read about baby hiccups, but hadn't experienced them  until these last few weeks.  Now I feel like she gets them almost daily.  I can tell they're hiccups because she doesn't really move all that much if I try to feel her except when I feel her hiccup.  It feels just like a little bump, very rhythmic and constant.  I was surprised at how quick they are.  I'd say she hiccups once every 5-10 seconds.  I feel like as a grown human, I hiccup once every 20-30 seconds.  It's fun to feel her move.  I'm loving this part!

Belly-button:  Still an innie that's squishy feeling- what I would think an outtie would feel like.  Someday I'll take a picture and post it, but not today.

Exercise: Only 2 times last week, but 3 times the week before and this week will be 3 or 4 as well.  I'm still doing crossfitmom (from crossfitmom.com) and am now doing the "Beginner" workouts so I'm sure to give little Audra enough of what she needs to keep growing and moving.

What I'm loving:  The countdown!  The movements!  That most people are SO nice to pregnant ladies!  I feel like I'm getting waited on hand and food quite often; but I'm not so used to that.  It still feels kind of awkward to me to just have people doing all these things for me.  But I'll take it!

What I'm NOT loving:  That things are seriously getting a bit hard around here.  Even just sitting.  My stomach kind of rests on my legs, which is not comfortable for breathing.  But I don't want to be nasty and spread my legs to let my stomach hang through... (sigh) Standing, particularly standing still, and also walking-- especially in heat-- are all pretty difficult.
     I'm also not loving all the sweets I'm craving.  I've never been a sweets fanatic till Audra and now I just can't get enough.  Anyone who knows me well knows I have a thing about teeth, and I always want my teeth to feel clean... and all of these sweets just make my mouth feel pretty gross.  I hope this trend goes away after birth. 

What I miss:  Life as I knew it:  1) working out like I mean it, 2) eating hot dogs whenever I want, 3) bending over comfortably, 4) sitting comfortably, 5) filling my lungs all the way up when I breath, 6) recognizing the body in the mirror, 7) laying out without concern of overheating the baby and concern for strange tan/burns due to pregnancy-related skin sensitivity, 8) iced tea without worries... 
I think that may be it for now.  ;-)




As always, thanks for reading!  Please let me know if you did so I know to keep up with these things!  Love you all, and hope you're well!

So much to say, no time to say it! [32 weeks]

Well those weekly pregnancy updates obviously got pushed to the side.  I wish I were better about getting on here and writing up things.  But to be honest, when I have down time, I prefer to just RELAX.  Truth be told, I've been going WEEKS without getting on my computer.  Facebook on my phone has been my online social outlet, but even then it usually happens when I'm in public waiting on something.

All that being said, there's a lot to catch up on!  I truly intended on each of these little things having their very own post, but alas, they do not.  So here's what we've been up to:

THE TRIP TO VIRGINIA
We were fortunate enough to have the time and money to visit our future Air Force base in Virginia.  I can't even describe to you how pumped we are to get there, now after seeing it with our own eyes.  There's SO MUCH to do there!  And it's green.  AND there's an ocean!  And ALSO a very awesome shopping area that reminds me a lot of Zona Rosa in Kansas City, which I always loved to visit.  We made the decision while we were there to go ahead and keep our names on the wait list for the Air Force housing.  We'll see what we get when it's moving time!  We had way too much fun enjoying the bridge tunnel (at least I did) and admiring the views of the bay.  Hard to believe that 3 months from now, we'll be there.  Virginia, here we come!

THE HUSBAND LEAVES
Nic left around the beginning of March for his Commissioned Officer Training.  They basically owned his life for the entire month of March.  He was up at 4:30 and in bed around 11:30, and was both physically and mentally exhausted.  He says he wasn't having fun (he said "fun" was the wrong word) but I think he did, and won't admit it.  He still enjoys looking at his flight's Facebook page and stays in contact with his flight members. 
As for my first taste of being the Air Force wife, forced to be alone without a husband- um... yea... it sucks.  A lot.  Nic and I are the type of couple that does nearly everything together.  We were friends before we ever dated, and that has remained throughout our marriage.  Once he was gone, I was just so SAD.  I missed my friend!  The first week was the hardest.  I didn't even want to clean up things he'd left out because then the reminders of him living in our house would be gone.  I cried.  And THEN I got over it.  I had my pity party, then I buckled up to try to make the best of it and tried to keep him in good spirits.  I cleaned the house, sent him a care package, talked to him daily, thought of fun sexy things to make him smile while he was away, and it all worked out!  It really did go by fast.  And before I knew it, I was watching him graduate in Montgomery!  (Which also meant I got to attend his fancy dining out, and got to meet his new friends.  Ah, fun times.)  :-)  We also had the pleasure (seriously) of experiencing 18 hours in the car with Nic's parents.  I'm honestly not being sarcastic here... Clark and Dendy are such fun people!  It was a good time!

SPRING BREAK
A few weeks after Nic had been gone, school went on Spring Break.  That was quite good timing for me-- right in the middle of his time away, which gave me some much wanted distractions and company.  The highlight of my Spring Break (besides seeing my family, of course!) :  The Missouri Baby Shower!  My mom and my best friend, Rachelle, did a ridiculously FANTASTIC job of planning and prepping the shower.  There was way more delicious food than necessary, the hugest diaper cake I'd ever seen, and a seemingly endless supply of generous gifts.  I felt so blessed that day, to have all of those wonderful people in my life, loving me and loving Audra.  I couldn't have imagined a more perfect shower.  (And THANK YOU, again!)  :-D

SCHOOL
It's hard to believe we're already in our last 6 week session!  We've got it organized into a 2 week block, a STAAR testing week, then a 3 week block, then all of a sudden it's the last week of school!  The days are going by so fast and I know it'll be here before we know it.  This may seem so dumb for me to even mention, but if you all knew how long I'd been looking forward to the last day of school (pretty much as soon as I knew Audra would be coming around that time), then you'd know how important that day is to me.  My heart is leaping with joy just knowing how quickly it'll get here!

THE BABY
Well, she's still cookin' away.  I'm at week 32 now, so an update is beyond due!  So for those who are interested:

How far along: 32 weeks

How big is baby: weighs about 4 lbs. now!

Maternity clothes:  DEFINITELY went maternity shopping.  These clothes changed my pregnant life!  I wish we would all wear maternity clothes all.the.time!  They're so comfortable!  I should have done that a long time ago!

Sleep:  No longer normal.  I'm sleeping on my sides, as I'm supposed to, and my hips are constantly falling asleep-- and STAYING asleep!  I wake up with my sides incredibly sore and the soreness barely wares off by the time I go to bed again.  When I'm at home, I usually wake up only once for the bathroom (due to the TempurPedic putting less pressure on my bladder); when I sleep other places, I usually wake up about 3 times to use the bathroom.  Audra doesn't wake me up, but when I roll over (again, due to the hip falling asleep), I feel her GINORMOUS kicks [which is actually kind of fun].

Gender:  CANNOT WAIT TO MEET SWEET LITTLE AUDRA!!!

Movement:  Movement, lol, how about ALMOST ALWAYS?  It's so fun feeling her move around in there!  I can tell she's getting so strong!  Last night, I was sleeping on my side, with my arm kind of draped over my stomach, and she was kicking so hard she was moving my arm.  It was crazy!  There was a teeny little concern for a few days when she quit moving like crazy.  She was moving, but not like the crazy mover I know her to be.  So that worried me.  I had a feeling it was connected with my workouts, and once I saw the doctor, my suspicions were confirmed.  Basically, she's growing so quickly now that she needs a lot more from me than she ever needed before.  My workouts (not all THAT intense, mind you) were stealing away the supplies she needed, so she was moving less to conserve her energy.  Interesting, huh?  I was advised to ease up on the workouts, and so I have.  It feels like I'm doing hardly anything when I work out now, but... AH, the start of sacrificing for my little gal...

Belly-button:  It's an innie, but it sticks out kind of (not plush with the rest of my rounded stomach).  It's confusing to me, to tell you the truth.  It doesn't LOOK weird, but it feels soft and I can push it in a little.  Yet like I said, it's what we would all consider an "innie."  Didn't anticipate this bellybutton weirdness.

Exercise:  I've been sticking to my goal of 3 times a week, and I've been proud of it!  I wish I could say my eating habits have reflected the healthy lifestyle, but that's not as much the case.  I'm not going nutso like I was toward the beginning, but I'm not holding a whole lot back, either.  I make sure I eat at least 1 pretty healthy meal a day so Audra gets some solid nutrients.  But I also indulge in more ice cream now than I ever have in my life.  Never really been a dessert fan until this pregnancy... and I kind of like it...

What I'm loving:  The fact that she'll be here in less than 2 months! 

What I'm NOT loving:  Missing my husband.  But trainings are over before we know it!

What I miss:  Painting my toenails (but I DO love pedicures!), being able to take medicine, not waking up to pee, having a neat guest bedroom (which has been taken over by baby supplies... yet gifts are no reason to complain, I know!), having time to relax!



So there you have it!  I'll try to be more regular with this, but I make no promises!  As always, I hope this finds you and yours all very happy, healthy and well.  Keep in touch!  If you read, let me know so I don't feel like I'm just talking to cyber-space!  :)  Take care!

Off we go into the wild blue yonder...

Well, I've alluded to this post many times, but was unable to really spill until now.  I did say something way back during the summer, before Nic graduated nursing school, but since he got hired at the Heart Hospital we've kept things pretty mum.

He had done his clinicals at one hospital here in town, and initially interviewed to work there- as they'd encouraged- as graduation approached.  The outcome of the interview was that they absolutely LOVED him... but he wasn't in the best interest of the hospital since he'd told them about leaving for the Air Force.  They openly said that the job would have been his if they didn't know he was going to leave.  He interviewed at a second hospital here in town, and literally the exact same conversation took place.  I guess he was hoping that they'd still take a chance on him and would be happy for his loyalty to our country by rewarding him with the job.  But no such luck. They said they loved him, but wouldn't risk taking on someone who would be leaving within the year.  They advised him to not tell those with whom he next applied.  So that's what he did.  The honest guy I married had a real moral issue with this, not to mention was dying inside from a) keeping a secret, b) not being able to share his excitement about that secret and c) being afraid that somone would find out and he'd have to come clean before he was ready.  Needless to say, we aren't the secret-keeping type.  But alas, his departure date is approaching and he had the conversation and put in his two weeks.  They weren't exactly thrilled, but in the end they wished him the best and things are going smoothly.  He has only one more week left there and then he's all mine for about 3 weeks until he leaves.

People have asked if I'm getting sad and bummed that he'll be gone, and the answer is OF COURSE!  He's my husband and I love every second I spend with him and I actually MISS HIM when he's gone!  BUT I also know that he's going to be right in his element and I think he'll really love what he's getting himself in to.  He'll have cell phone and internet access and I'm sure we'll talk daily or at least every other day, so it won't be the end of the world.  AND it'll be less than a month before I see him again, and then we can see each other a bit more regularly.

Each time I talk about him leaving, I get the standard, "Where is he going again?" and "How long will he be gone?"  In general, people are easily confused by our timeline (and I would be too) so I'll tell you as much as I know.  He hasn't officially gotten his orders yet (which is why he waited so long to put in his two weeks) so there' still a teensy chance this timeline could change, but I'll update you below on as much as I know.  Since the arrival of Little Miss Audra is clearly intermixed in there, I'll add that too, because most people eventually get to the question, "So what does that mean for you and the baby?"

May 2011:
Nic is 1 out of 30ish to be accepted into the United States Air Force Nurse Corps that year.  He gets a heads up of this probable timeline in advance.

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(Sorry for the blurry pic.)  

He notified me of this exciting news by bringing me my own Air Force shirt to school.  It was quite an exciting day!

October 2011:
We find out WE'RE PREGNANT!  His first concern is leaving me during this exciting and predictably difficult time.

 He's not fond of this photo, but I like the classic look on his face, when he starts to think of all the things to come... 

This was a still shot taken from the video I had running when I told him the news.

December 2011:
My dad (a retired Army Colonel) comes to Lubbock and swears Nic in as a military officer.  This makes Nic an officer on 'reserve' status since he hasn't officially started his training and full-time employment.  This ceremony took place at the World War II Memorial, next to Nic's grandpa's brick and was quite a special day.

 

Making it legal... signing the documents!

[See one of our FB accounts for more pictures.]

End of February 2012:
Nic leaves for Commissioned Officer Training (COT) in Montgomery, AL.  This is a one month deal where he learns the ins and outs of being a military officer.  He can't leave the base nor can he have visitors (until graduation).  But like I mentioned before, he'll have phone and internet access, when he has time (which will be minimal).

End of March 2012:
Nic graduates as a Commissioned Air Force Officer.  This is the beginning of a long and adventurous road!  His parents, my parents and myself will be joining to celebrate the event and also to see how cute he looks in those uniforms. ;)

Beginning of April 2012:
He'll have about one week at home, and then Nic will leave to San Antonio for the Air Force Nurse Transition Program (NTP).  This is where he'll learn what it means to be a nurse in the Air Force.  He's already received his degree in nursing (an obvious pre-requisite) and this is his step into Air Force nursing.  This will be more like his clinicals in that he'll follow an Air Force Nurse and will be able to come and go from the base as he pleases (& have visitors as often as he wants).  This will allow us to see each other while he's there.  San Antonio is about 8 hours from home.

June 2012:
Audra is due to come around the 4th!  Nic's NTP doesn't officially get over until the 21st.  This is the part that initially had us worried.   He's done some research and is comforted by the information he's found:  he'll be able to come home for the birth and will possibly be allowed to stay home and not return to the program without consequence.  Staying home depends on whether his commanders feel that he's excelled enough and learned what he needs to know, and if it's near enough to the end of the program.  This month holds the major question mark.  We'll just have to put it in God's hands and see how it goes!

July 2012:
They give him about a month from the end date of his NTP to his official start date at Langley.  Yup, that's the Langley you may have heard of in movies.  It's on the east coast in Hampton, Virginia, about 30 minutes north of Virginia Beach.  Needless to say, we're quite pumped about being on the ocean and away from all of this dry DUST!  What we're nervous about:  having only about a month and a half (or so) between giving birth, recovering, showing her off to everyone, getting our house packed up, and then moving 27 hours across the country to a new home.  OH and somewhere in there, finding a place to live.  Just thinking about it gets my heart racing.  WOWZA that is a LOT of things to do with not a lot of time!  AND what we'll REALLY be wanting to do is just stay home and be a family!  That will definitely happen, but maybe not for as long as we'd like.  Duty calls!

August 2012:
Nic will now be working daily as a full-time Air Force Nurse, and I"ll be staying home (at least for a bit) with the baby.  We'll be in our new home on the east coast, and *hopefully* things will be coming together quite nicely.


And there you have it!  Now I say all of that like it's set in stone and that's just the way it'll be.  But I know as well as anyone that sometimes God has a plan that's different (and ultimately better!) from our own.  I'm just saying that as of now, that's what we're predicting to happen if all goes according to plan.  You'll definitely be updated as time goes on!

Now that he's put in his two weeks, we can talk a lot more about the Air Force and how excited we are to be starting a new adventure in our lives.  Well... technically, a couple of new adventures will be starting at about the same time!  He's quite pumped about this, so if you're reading and have questions or want to chat with him about it, just shoot him a message & he'd be happy to talk with you.  :-)

As always, I hope this update finds you and yours happy and well!

~*Stefanie*~

The Gender Reveal (& other fun info)! [21 weeks]

To jump straight to Gender Reveal Party details, scroll stright through the 21 week update.  :-)

How far along: 21 weeks / 1st week of the 6th month

How big is baby: 10.5(ish) inches long (length of a full-sized carrot) 

Maternity clothes:  I bought some shirts at a big Old Navy sale, and was also given a large box of maternity clothes from my friend/coworker Charlotte.  I've been wearing some of those, but I have *yet* to get the much-needed maternity pants.  So the belly band and rubber-bands have been getting quite a bit of use (and also bottoms with elastic).

Sleep:  I've been sleeping through the night without getting up, which is AWESOME in itself!  (Though Nic tells me I toss and turn so much that he often thinks I'm awake.)  BUT I've also been having some pregnancy dreams.  I was actually quite a vivid dreamer pre-pregnancy (we're talking 2-3 per night that I could still remember in the morning), so dreaming in itself isn't all that strange.  What IS strange, though, is dreaming that I'm taking tumbling classes while pregnant and feeling scared that I'm going to fall on my stomach.  It's kind of fun to be thinking about little baby in my dreams.  :)

Gender:  This is the exciting part!  We had our Gender Reveal Party last week Monday (see end of post for party details), and it was AWESOME!  Through the party, everyone was able to find out that IT'S A GIRL!!!   Hurray, no more keeping secrets!  And her name is...

AUDRA KAYTE WILLIAMS!

How we picked the name:  Audra:  Nic and I both really like the name Audra.  It's been on our list since we first started thinking of having kids and talking about names.  Truth be told, though, I just couldn't decide.  I knew I liked Audra, but was it the one?  What about Kinley?  And Danika?  And Alyson (Ally)?  How do you decide on a name to last a LIFETIME?  Then, after we'd been talking about names for a while, the talk in the kitchen happened.  Nic and I were both in there, just standing (I think waiting on the microwave) and he did something that confirmed her name for me.  Out of excitement, I hugged him and said something like, "Babe, I'm so excited to be a little family with you!"  And he said, "Yea, just you, me, and (points to my belly) Audra."  That was the first time he called our baby by name with such conviction and intent... not as a suggestion, but as a statement.  My heart melted inside me.  Yes, that was it, no more wondering.  Her name is Audra.
      It's fun to think of baby Audra (which is what we call her), toddler Audra, elementary-aged Audra, middle and high school aged Audra... college-aged Audra (Lord help us), adult Audra, Mom Audra, and old lady Audra... it's a name that we feel can withstand centuries. We think it will fit her perfectly.  Right now as I type these words, I'm wondering how many times in my life I'll type the name Audra.  It doesn't flow freely from my fingertips YET but I know it will eventually.  :)
Kayte:  My mom's middle name is Kay, which she also gave to me.  I always knew I wanted to keep the 'Kay' tradition but I also wanted to put a spin on it and make it my own.  I thought of a lot of different options: Kaycey (after my brother's middle name Casey), Kaylee, Kayla, etc.  But the one I REALLY liked best was KAYTE.  Something about it is so feminine and cute, and now elegant (thanks to Kate Middleton); I just LOVE that name!  In fact, I thought of Kate for a first name, but decided it would fit more perfectly as a middle name with Audra to carry on the tradition.  And so it is.  :)

Movement:  About 3 days after my last post, I was laying on my stomach on our bed, playing on the computer.  I felt a little rumble, which demanded my attention.  At first I thought it might be gas (let's be real, it happens).  But then, I felt it again.  Each time, it was for only a few seconds, but I knew it was different from what I'd ever felt before.  The next day I felt it again, but only once.  For about half a week there, I was feeling it only once a day for just a few seconds.  Then toward the end of that week I would feel it twice or three times.  Now this week, I feel her multiple times throughout the day, but each time it's only fore a few seconds.  Almost like she's just shifting position to get comfortable and that's it.  I wish she would keep moving!  I know as she continues to get stronger I'll feel her more often and for longer periods of time.  It's the coolest thing for me!  Before I was pregnant, I'd always ask my pregnant friends what it felt like.  Some have described it "like a floppy fish" and some say "like a butterfly fluttering its wings."  For me, I guess the closest one would be the floppy fish.  Not like a little goldfish, that's too small.  More like a long fish you'd catch in a lake.  It just moves around so you can feel it in your whole stomach (well, uterus).  I know that's kind of weird to think about (because Audra will DEFINITELY be cuter than a fish) (yet will possibly come out equally slimy), but it's the best I can do.    

Belly-button:  Still an innie.  Is it weird to say I kind of like the look of it when it's stretched tight over my stomach?  Now if only I can make it look that tight AFTER being pregnant...

Exercise:  My goal of 3-4 times in one week was not met.  But 2 times in one week was!  Better that than nothing.  :)  Yesterday when we got to CrossFit, I put on my heart rate monitor and went to warm up.  I was surprised to see that my heart rate was already 155 before even beginning!  I tell you, I guess growing a baby and giving it blood and oxygen and nutrients and HOUSING it really does require a lot of work from your body, and particularly your heart.  It didn't make me not work out or anything, it's just shocking for me to see; I'm not used to it.  It WOULD explain the being more out of breath lately and how it's generally harder to breathe even when I'm just sitting in a booth at Cattle Barron eating my salad and NOT working out.  The CrossFit Mom workouts that were TOO easy in the beginning are just perfect right now.  I can complete the Advanced workouts and get a small sweat going, when before I felt like "What was the point in even coming? This was too easy." 

What I'm loving:  LIFE pretty much!  I love:  1) knowing the gender and calling her AUDRA!,  2) that we found a doula I think I'll love, 3) Nic being happy and excited for Officer Training (see next post), 4) the kids, particularly my "hardest" class being such a joy to teach lately, 5) feeling her move, 6) the fact that Nic put in his two weeks and they were actually happy for him and his future (HUGE relief for him), 7) all the travel plans we've made (also mentioned in next post), 8) registering for baby stuff!, 9) our sweet families and friends that are so eager to be there for us and help, what a blessing!, and 10)  being HEALTHY right now!  I've got so much to be thankful for, and I really am just one happy girl right now.

What I'm NOT loving:  1) the fact that breathing is getting harder, 2) people I don't know putting their hands on my belly... not cool..., 3) the lack of exercise happening despite the great desire within me, 4) that Nic is leaving exactly one month from today (see next post), 5) the HOURS of grading ahead of me this weekend, 6) Nic still working nights (but only for two more weeks!), 7) feeling hungry all the time even though I KNOW I just ate and can't possibly need more food, 8) how much all this cute baby stuff costs, 9) the lack of motivation to do house work, 10) having 3 months and 3 weeks to meet AUDRA.

What I miss:  My husband!  Our schedules were so opposite last week:  I had SMART board training right after school (which is when we usually have dinner together before he goes into work), then he had a staff meeting after he got off at 7 AM (preventing the 30 minutes we have together before I go to work).  It was about a 48 hour period that I didn't get to see him, yet he was in the house and one point and so was I.  It pretty much SUCKED.  I know I'll (obviously) go much longer without seeing him after he leaves for Officer Training, but that'll be different:  at least I'll know he's out of town.  It was no fun having him so close but yet not here.  :(  Thankfully he doesn't work too many more days until he's finished at the hospital here.  It will be nice to go to bed at night with him a few more times before he leaves.



The Gender Reveal Party! 
Hosted by:  Erin Vaubel (whom Nic met in nursing school) and also Lindsey Harkey (also a friend from Nic's nursing school) helped a lot.

Party Details:


Cast Your Vote:  I got a cheap chalkboard from Hobby Lobby and partiers put a mark for their prediction.  More people thought boy!

 
"What do the Old Wives Tales say?" Game:  I found this idea on another blog, and it worked out perfectly!  See the link for the Old Wives Tales we used.  (FYI- the Old Wives said it would be a BOY!)

Guess the arrival date:  This was one of Erin (the host)'s ideas.  She had a small chalkboard and people wrote when they thought the baby would arrive, judging from our due date of June 4.  These pics are of Erin and Lindsey, since they helped so much & it was Erin's idea.
These are also great photos to see one other thing we asked of guests:  wear blue or pink to cast your prediction. 

Food:  I had a "rainbow" cupcake theme in mind, and I think it turned out pretty cute!  To drink, we had the classic sherbert-ginger ale punch (but we also added ice cream to make it creamier).  We also had a counter of my cravings... just because I thought it was a cute idea and I didn't want all of the sweets to give people a sugar coma.

The Big Reveal:  Erin and Lindsey did a REALLY awesome job making the cake.  A few days before the party, Erin and I met to party plan- at which time I told her the gender.  She told Lindsey to get some cake assistance, but the two of them and Nic and I (well, and our doctor and ultrasound tech) were the only ones that knew!  After we played the Old Wives Tale game, everyone gathered around the cake/cupcake table (we took off the punch bowl) and Nic and I cut right in!  The grandparents and Nic's sister's reaction was priceless.  SO FUN to have everyone find out at once!

 The icing completely covered the inside, which reveals the gender...

 Excited to tell everyone...

 The cake was pink!  IT'S A GIRL!

So there you have it!  All the fun details of how we told everyone we're having a sweet little GIRL!

Sorry this post was so long, but I hope it found you well!

...December and There's Reason to Believe... [16 weeks]

Ok, well... that little goal of writing twice a week- yeah, that didn't happen.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you forgot this thing existed.  Not only did I not post twice a week, I didn't even post ONCE a week, or AT ALL for that matter...for four months!  So I'm sorry, and I agree- it's been too long!  I'll try to get better.  :-/ I promise I have a good excuse (and I bet by now you already know what it is)!  

THE BIG MOMENT:
About a month and half into the school year, I decided I couldn't take it anymore.  I'd read about the symptoms, and they were spot on.  After Nic went to work, I took the test and didn't really expect the outcome that it gave (despite the aforementioned symptoms).   Instead of 1 line, there were TWO!  So you guessed it, WE'RE PREGNANT!  Nic and all of our families, of course, are elated.  We knew some sources advised on waiting to tell family and co-workers, but, um... we didn't really do that.  We told our families the same day we found out (because I'm really REALLY bad at keeping secrets), and I told my best work friends within that first week.  My reasoning is that I WANT my support system there for us, should something go wrong.  I don't really want to keep something like this (good or bad as it may go) to myself.  So anyway, the day we found out was one of the most exciting days of our lives (I think it's safe to speak for him on this one), and even now- a few months later- it's all pretty surreal.

THE DISBELIEF:
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BABY.  Isn't that something that other people do and I only dream about?  It's a similar feeling to the one I had when I realized we were really getting married.  Marriage... that's for other people.  It seemed so unattainable for me, and then I met Nic and it happened and it was real and unbelievably amazing!  And now, a baby!  It's still hard to believe that WE will have OUR OWN BABY!  Something that started from nothing, is going to grow into a huge baby, that will one day be on the inside of me- and the next day, will be on the outside of me.  How strange.

THE BABY & THE JOB:
The due date is June 4.  Yes, to those of you who are teachers (or think along the school timeline) that means I have the lovely pleasure of being pregnant almost the whole.entire.school.year.  JOY! (Could you sense the sarcasm?)  There aren't many things I can think of that are more miserable than having 28 8th graders, at their peak of adolescence (and corresponding attitudes), trying to TEACH them things they DON'T REALLY want to learn, while experiencing all of the pain that pregnancy brings.  I've already gone through the first trimester (which meant I felt like puking on them at times) (too bad I couldn't, b/c I bet that would teach them to not mess with me), but I anticipate the 2nd being much better.

THE 1ST TRIMESTER:
I would be lying if I said my 1st trimester was completely miserable.  I feel very fortunate in my pregnancy thus far.  I haven't thrown up once (although the all-day nausea wasn't really that fun), and although I fall asleep MUCH earlier now, I don't feel like the baby has kept me from doing the things I most want or need to do.  Score on that end!  I look forward to my energy level picking up even more in the upcoming weeks.  (And for those of you who may be wondering, yes I'm still doing CrossFit, but have begun doing CrossFit Mom workouts.  Google it.  :-) )

THE CONFUSING MATH:
Anyone who knows much about having a baby knows that the math is quite confusing.  We've always been told it takes 9 months for a baby to come, right?  Well, we found out we were pregnant at around 6 weeks, and now we're at week 17 (tomorrow).  And we all know that 4 weeks x 9 months should equal 36 weeks (which would make the due date at the beginning of May) but they actually put the due date at 40 weeks (beginning of June).  So, in my opinion, all of the talk about 9 months just makes things confusing to people.  The kids ask me on nearly a daily basis how far along I am and when the baby's coming.  It's confusing for them to hear that I'm starting on my 5th month this week, then they count on their fingers and and the end date comes out all wrong.  Yea, I'm with you there, kids.  Sometimes math is hard.


OK, enough baby talk.  Let's talk about other things!

THANKSGIVING:
We had "Thanksmas" with my family in Missouri.  It was SO great to see all of them!  It was my parents year to host the BIG family, so that was just some icing on the cake.  Our big Christmas gift this year was an AWESOME camera which we love.  We spent quality family time dancing with the X-Box Kinect, putt-putt golfing, and of course- eating!  :)

(Nic & my brother... I wish I had gotten their faces; this was BEYOND hilarious!)

POST-GRADUATION:

• Nic graduated and found a job at a hospital here in town.  I knew he would-- he's too great to pass up!
• He got commissioned as an officer into the Air Force just this very weekend.  My parents came into town and my dad (a retired Army Colonel) swore him in.  It was quite a special time for him (and us).

• Of course, there's more to this Air Force story, but we'll have to wait until the time is right to tell you all about that.  :)

Given the length of this post already, Christmas posts will have to wait until next time.  (And I promise the next will be more recent than the last!)

I hope this finds you all happy and well.  Feel free to comment so I know you're actually reading!  :)  Take care!

~*Stefanie*~

Hey, Blogspot, it's been a while!

Ok.  It's been so long since I've blogged that I couldn't even remember how to log in.  How to LOG IN... Wow.  I've been reading a great blog written by Emily Cassee (what a random and gloriously wonderful thing to stumble upon while doing a nightly Google search!), and it's definitely inspired me to get writing again.  I love reading her stories about random and often very hilarious things, and I'd love to chronicle my life just the same.  Wouldn't it  be nice to look back and reflect on all those things that happened?  Well, it would be... IF THOSE WRITINGS EXISTED!  Seriously, guys, this is pathetic.  I don't think I can even call myself a "blogger" at this stage in my non-blogging career.  My last post was written in February- 5 MONTHS AGO!  So as I was laying in be at 2 in the morning (long story)... (ok- Nic and I took a nap too late in the day therefore I couldn't fall asleep), reading Emily's blog, I liked how she recapped the time lapse between blog entries.  She just included a list of important things that had happened since the last time she blogged.  Where would I EVEN begin?!?  How about here (in no particular order of importance):

1.  School's out for the summer!  (DUH!)
I successfully completed my first year of teaching!  At a Title I school, at that!  The feeling of walking into school on the last day of the academic year was... well, exciting, sad, and mostly triumphant!  It's amazing how those little fireballs who got under my skin so many times ended up being some of those that I'll miss the most.  It was a bit hard watching some of those crazies leave middle school for the last time.  A lot of them still need so much guidance, and I really will be curious to know how they are and what they're doing in 4 years.  (Hopefully graduating high school!  But realistically... yea.)


2.  My husband has been accepted into the Air Force Nurse Corps!
As if you haven't already seen all of my jubilated Facebook updates back in May, Nic was one of the 22 (out of over 130!) candidates selected for the Air Force Nurse Corps!  This is what it means for us:  First, Nic will finish his degree from the Tech accelerated Nursing program mid-August.  Near the end of February, he'll report to Commissioned Officer Training in Montgomery, AL.  (Where my girls at???)  Around the beginning of April, he'll report to the Nurse Transition Program in San Antonio (I'm SOOOO looking forward to visiting & strolling along the River Walk and visiting the Alamo!), where he'll be until around June.  I'll miss his cute face a RIDICULOUS amount, but I know he's going to have a blast.  Hopefully they'll have wi-fi... We ♥ FACE TIME!  When he gets back from way down south, we'll pack up our stuff and be on our way to LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE IN HAMPTON, VIRGINIA!!!!!  While living in the same place as the in-laws has been A-MAZING (to put it mildly), I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tired of landscape like
 

and

There's just an unbelievable amount of dust and dirt here!!!  

Pretty much the most interesting thing, geographically, I've experienced was this phenomena:

 That's right, people, that's a DUST STORM!  I remember the first time we went out during one, I commented on how red the sky was and how creepy it looked.  Mr. Lover Lover informed me that that the red color was, in fact, dust.  EWWWWW!  I was further informed that should it rain at that particular moment, it would RAIN MUD!  MUD WOULD FALL FROM THE SKY.  MUD, like in a MUD PIT!  Unbelievable.

So can you blame me for being UBER excited for July 2012 to come so I can see:

 

and

                  BUT MOST OF ALL...

the beach will be about 10... YES 10 minutes from our HOME!!!!!!!!!

Ok, enough gloating.  (Can ya tell I'm excited?!?)

3.  My baby brother's getting married!

Yes, little Briboy Casey is twitterpated.  And you're right, he's not a baby.  He's only 22.  ;)  Her name is Jessie, and they've been dating since summer of 2007.  (Sidenote- they have the EXACT SAME BIRTHDAY.  How amazing is that?!?)  She grew up in J.C. as well, which is convenient for them to have their parents all bundled up in one Fabulous Family Spot.  She's insanely cute (she runs MILES every day, so you KNOW she looks good!), and has a heart of pure gold.  One of her greatest desires is to help children in Africa (she has a fun foot tattoo to symbolize this passion).  I love the love (and let's be real- the structure, too) she's provided for my brother while they attended school in Cape.  She got a job teaching Kindergarten (I'm TOTALLY JEALOUS of that, btw) and I SO look forward to hearing the cute little stories she'll have to share come fall.  (Mrs. Monda, why does my dog lick his butt?  Mrs. Monda... I made an oopsie!  Mrs. Monda, she took my... she took my... she... [bursts into tears].)  Just thinking about that job makes my heart swell three times its normal size.  Such FUN!  To top it all off, they have a cute little townhouse with HARDWOOD FLOORS, a beautiful doggie named Gracie, and they're going to have one of the most ROCKIN' weddings known to man.  I can't wait!

4.  We started CROSSFIT.

For those of you who don't know what CrossFit is, you need to Google it RIGHT NOW!  It's only the most insane, glorious, make-your-body-hurt-like-its-never-hurt-before workout!  After (unsuccessfully) trying P90X a couple of times (mid workout, I tended to "need" a drink or "need" to answer that text.... I mean I tried my hardest, most of the time... ok I just cheated.  A lot.) we decided we SERIOUSLY needed something to kick our arses into shape.  Nic has the goal of making a perfect score on his physical fitness test at COT, and we'd heard a lot about CrossFit- mainly from his brother in law- and decided to give it a whirl.  That was last Tuesday and my.body.hasn't.stopped.aching.since.  The gyms are pretty minimal (not like a Gold's Gym, Wilson's or Bodyworks).  Just you, the weights, the workout, and the timer.  The CrossFit coaches explain the workouts and set the time and you do your best to try to complete it in the set amount of time.  Of course, they have accommodations if you're old (hehe jk!), out of shape (like me) or maybe both... but the main thing is that you really give it a go.  Over time, your cardio will increase, your strength will increase, and your hours you stay awake into the night with your spouse will increase.  ;)  HAHA!   But seriously.  I can already feel my arms and thighs getting stronger, and I so look forward to the day when I can seriously ROCK that workout and look like the other girls that have been doing CrossFit for a while.

So there you have it!  Quite a bit going on, but lovin' every minute!  I have goals to update this layout, but mainly, to update MORE OFTEN!  I promise not to forget you the way I have in the past, Blogspot, and I hope you can forgive me.  Take care!