HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Wow, I still can't believe we are into another new year already! I hope every one of you had a wonderful, safe & happy new years eve! I, unfortunately, didn't get to spend it with my hubby. He had to work again for the holiday (he worked Thanksgiving & Christmas as well) but I did get to spend it with several of his family members snacking and playing cards, and that's always a great time.
Well I decided that with the new year, we're going to have a lot of exciting things happening this year, so why not write a blog about it? January 2011 marks just over 4 more months of pregnancy left before we welcome our first baby into the world!! We could not be more excited than we are right now for this amazing event. We feel like this is truly our miracle baby. After experiencing 2 miscarriages in the last year, I can't tell you what a relief & joy it is to know our little one "stuck"!! It's amazing to be able to hear the heartbeat anytime that I want at home, after purchasing an at home doppler around 12 weeks of pregnancy. It has been a God send! Such a relief to be able to lay in bed after a long day and hear that beautiful sound.
We have less than a week now until we will be able to find out whether we're buying a whole lot of pink or a whole lot of blue! I can't believe how fast this appointment has approached us! It seemed like previously, the 4-5 weeks between appointments would take quite awhile to finally get here, but this one is almost here and I can't believe how fast it went! I think it helps that there was a lot of stuff going on during the last 4 weeks, that kept us pretty busy, we didn't have time to think about it. I just figured knowing that we were going to have a sono at this appointment after not seeing our Peanut since 6 weeks (I'll be 2 days shy of 20 weeks when we go) AND knowing we would (hopefully!) be able to tell the sex at this appointment, it would crraawwwllll by trying to get there. But, to our surprise! It hasn't! Justin says he thinks he will probably cry when we get to see our little one, I know I will bawl like a baby. It's just going to be amazing! It'll be the first time we get to see our baby when it actually looks like a baby & not just a little blob with a heartbeat! lol Plus, after the struggle we had to get a little one to stick, I think it's just going to feel so unbelievable to us when we see that little one moving around. Not that it's not "real" right now, but I definitely feel like it's gonna be a huge rush of emotion to us both that there REALLY is a beautiful little life growing in there! Haha... Oh, I get so giddy just even thinking about it. I just wish our mom's were here to experience it with us.
In a way, I'm glad the holidays are over for the year. Don't get me wrong, I looovveee being able to spend so much time with the people I love, especially now that we live close and I have a job that allows us to do so, but it can just be a bittersweet reminder. Reminder that while we do have so many special people in our lives, we've lost several special people to us as well. This year was especially tough because we lost Justin's beautiful grandmother on Dec. 3rd. That was definitely tough... On top of us both not being able to spend yet another Christmas with our mother's. I still can't believe mine isn't here. Every day I think of her. Wish she was here to share things with. Wish she was here to see my growing belly, to talk about her finally becoming a grandmother! I just miss her so much. Although we've finally made it through the holidays, now the countdown begins to March 16th. The day she passed away. I can't believe it will be 3 years already. It feels/looks weird to even type that on the screen. 3 years........... It still seems like yesterday when I was holding her hand telling her everything would be ok, that we'd all be ok. Wow.... it's amazing how time flies by so much quicker the older you get. We both were definitely blessed with 2 of the best mother's anyone could've asked for. Just wish we could've had more time with them. I suppose we would've always said that, no matter when they left this world, though...
We are glad to finally be getting settled into our new house! We're still just renting, but we LOVE being in an actual HOUSE where we don't have to share walls with ANYONE else! Oh I can't tell you what an awesome feeling that is! lol It's the little things!! We still have a long way to go, unfortunately, on the unpacking. But even with most of our stuff still in boxes, it's already starting to feel like "home". It was great that we found a place so quick and could move and (hopefully) get things settled and in their place before we have such a big change to our lives in May! We figured it would be better to move in the middle of winter, than when I'm either 9 months pregnant, or have a new born!
Things we did in 2010:
*January- I celebrated my 25th birthday! Can't believe I'm already 25, feels like I just graduated from HS! My SIL & I had our annual birthday bash. It was an 80s party and was soooo much fun!
*February- We had a great valentine's day, spent in KC. It was great to do something a little different. Justin celebrated his 25th birthday! We also found out we were expecting again. Due October 11th.
*March- We started the month off on a bad note, finding out we had lost our 2nd baby... Then the 16th was the 2 year anniversary since my mom passed away. We did get to celebrate St. Patty's day with some great friends in Aggieville. That was a blast!
*April- We celebrated 4 years of being together! We also were preparing for Justin's graduation in May and preparing to move back home. Justin's grandma had a tumor removed off her brain. She was also diagnosed with brain & lung cancer.
*May- Justin graduated with his Bach degree from KSU!! So proud of him and all that he has accomplished! We also moved back to Lyons. Justin started working at the Ethanol plant. My grandma had a tumor removed off of her brain, they say the same type of tumor my mother had.
*June- Justin attended AT in AR the first 2 weeks of June. I got to sing the Nat'l Anthem at the Relay 4 Life in Lyons and be part of a team. That's always such a wonderful experience, to celebrate the lives of people who have beat and also the ones who have succumb to cancer. It also marks year number 3 of being a USMC family!
*July- We celebrated the 4th up at the lake with friends & family. It was SUCH a great time. We always have a blast up there.
*August- I finally got a job!! After getting laid off Dec '09, it was a wonderful opportunity! I started working for the school district, in special ed. I love it! Justin also finally got a new position at the job he had started in May. He loves the new position and it was a bonus that it pays quite a bit more! My SIL got married in Cancun & we got to help them celebrate at their reception.
*September- We were so glad to be able to attend the State fair more than once! I love the fair and fair time, it was great to be able to go and hang out with friends. We also found out on Sept 16th we were expecting a baby!!!! Due end of May 2011!
*October- On the 2nd, I got to be a part of my best friend's wedding! It was such a beautiful wedding and I was so honored to be a part of it! We also celebrated 2 years of marriage on the 4th! I can't believe it's been 2 years already. I am such a lucky girl to have married my best friend. He's the best man/person/husband/future father I know. Justin also go promoted to Cpl at the beginning of the month! So proud of him! He's now an NCO in the USMC. We also got to see our little Peanut on sono for the first time!
*November- We got to dress up and attend the USMC birthday ball with my SIL & her boyfriend. It was so much fun to have them there with us this year! Happy Birthday Marines! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well. It was nice being home close to family and not having to run around so much to see everyone.
*December- We lost Justin's grandmother on the 3rd. It was definitely a rough time for the whole family. The 15th marked 15 years since Justin's mom passed away... I got to enjoy 12 days off of work for Christmas break. We had a great time celebrating Christmas with the family, both his and mine. Once again it was great to be able to be so close to everyone, not have so far to travel! Justin's parents dog passed away the day after Christmas. That was very sad for us as well. She was such a big part of the family and we will miss her a lot.
I suppose that is all I have to "update" on right now, stay tuned for all the wonderful adventures we're about to endure this year! 2011 is going to be the best one yet! I just know it! :)
Love,
Justin & Ashley
