It's a Lucy!!!

A pink blog only seems fitting today!! Doc and I had our 20 week ultra-sound 2 weeks ago, and we found out that we're having another girl!!! Lucy Kay is due to make her grand appearance on February 22nd!! We're super excited!! I'm not gonna lie, there was a bit of dissappointment in Doc's face when the Nurse typed "It's a girl!" onto our ultrasound screen, but he very quickly perked right back up at the thought of having another healthy little lady to giggle all over the house with Miss Jordan :)

Today I had my 22 week check-up! Everything is going fantastic! Thus far, I've gained 3 pounds total. My Dr. is extremelyl pleased with this, as am I, so that was wonderful! If I keep gaining at the rate that I am, I'll only gain about 10 pounds total when I deliver. Did you notice that I said DELIVER??? That's right!!!! Though Jordan was born via C-Section, and there are a billion myths that "Vaginal deliveries after Caesareans are SO dangerous and should never be done" blah blah blah, I am extremely blessed to have a Dr. that believes in looking at the outcome, not the convenience!! The truth of this matter is that the risk associated with a V-Back (Uterus rupture) actually occurs in less than 1% of V-Backs. With the type of incision that I had, the chances are even lower than that! After much research about this subject, Doc and I were praying that I would be able to deliver this baby vaginally, and thank the Lord, that is exactly what we were told today! We are keeping open minds about this for many reasons, the biggest being that God is completely in control of this situation, and if for some reason intervention is needed, we will understand. We are also at the mercy of the Dr. we choose in Washington. The station we are going to doesn't have a military hospital within a reasonable driving distance, so I will be referred out to a civillian hospital. Doc and I will have to work quickly once we arrive to find a midwife, and hopefully a facility that is conducive for natural childbirth! We know we'll have to be in an actual hospital that has an OB/GYN in house as well as an anesthesiologist ready just in case intervention is necessary. We're praying that search will go smoothly!! Will you pray with us?

Our move is in full swing!!! We have dates set for our movers, hotel reservations booked, pet flights ready to reserve, and lots of stuff on the market so that we don't have to move it with us! We're slowly but surely beginning to say "Til next time..." to our awesome friends that have become family here. It's not a fun process, but we're excited for the next chapter!

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers throughout this process!!! We know that God is the reason things are going smoothly and we pray that He continue to lead us! We're SO excited to be physically SEEING many of you in the coming months!!! We'll have more updates soon! Until next time....we love you all!

Happy 4th Birthday Jordan Elaine!!!

I am in disbelief that these pictures were taken 4 years ago!!!

What a beautiful whirlwind life has been ever since....

My precious Jordan Elaine:

4 years ago you blew into your Daddy and I's world like a hurricane! We were scared to death to think that God had chosen us to be parents, thinking there was no way we would ever get the hang of it, nor that it would possibly be something "fitting" for us to do. Little did we know, you were the piece of our hearts that was missing all along!

2 Weeks ago, we celebrated your 4th Birthday! You've grown into such a beautiful little lady, Jordan! Your Daddy and I are so proud of you, and we absolutely LOVE being parents! We love being your parents, Jordy! We want you to know that you are the very best thing that has ever happened to us, for many many reasons! Though it is our hope to teach you all about Jesus, we want you to know that you are the one who led us back to Him! Through your innocence, and your love, your Daddy and I found a greater calling on our lives. We have seen the love of God through the eyes of our beautiful baby girl. We've come to know our Saviour, Jesus Christ, in a way that demands that we give our lives to Him. We see God's divine Will unfolding in our lives, and we're empowered by it!

Loving you makes time go by so quickly! It really seems like yesterday that you were perfectly swaddled (by Daddy, the Master-Swaddler) with a cute pink bow in your hair, and now here you are....4 years old, smart as a whip, beautiful as ever, polite, positive, encouraging, and wonderful in every way. You have a special gift Jordan, and your Daddy and I hope to encourage you and help you develop it over the course of your life. You are a joy to everyone that comes in contact with you, and you can find the good in any situation. You have a heart for prayer, and you use it to pray for every circumstance that you come across. That is a powerful thing, baby.

Jordan, I could keep writing all of the wonderful things about you for days, and still not have enough time to say them all! I want you to know that you have stolen my heart in a way that I never knew was possible. You have given purpose to my life, and I adore you.

Happy Birthday Baby!!!

Love,

Mommy

"Honey, we have orders!!!"

I got the best phonecall bright and early about a week ago! "You better start getting ready for our move.....because we have orders!" In 41 days, we will officially be checked out of this command and on a plane headed to our new duty station: Everett, Washington!! This is great news for us, as this was one of our top choices in orders! Doc and I have been very open with Jordan about our upcoming change and how everything will work, and she has remained completely positive and excited throughout the process so far! Doc's Dad and Stepmother live around 2 hours from Everett, so we'll be able to see them much more often! We also have family in Oregon, and some others in Washington as well! And, of course, my beloved Capistrano's just a short 8-hour drive in Boise, ID!! We already have plans to meet up with them in December, and it definitely cannot come soon enough!!!!

I know I've written before about how much Doc and I have enjoyed our time in Hawaii, and now those memories seem even more vivid and dear with the thoughts of our move coming so quickly. We've had a wonderful time here, but we are most definitely ready to move on. Doc's ready for a deployment break, and frankly, so am I. We're use to being seperated for months at a time for training, deployment, etc., and by the grace of God we handle that seperation very well, but that certainly doesn't mean that we enjoy it. The thought of spending 2 solid years with my husband makes me go weak at the knees, and he feels the exact same way. After 3 years of weekend field ops, weeks on the Big Island, months in California, and half a year in the desert on 2 seperate occasions and long work days even when he's "home", he is feeling the strain and ready for some family time as well. We know that this duty station won't be perfect, and we know that there is still the chance that Doc could deploy as an IA or a MAP, but we're excited for the change and hopeful that it will be just the break we're longing for! Hawaii has been a wonderful twisty-turny portion of Doc's and I's life long journey together, and we're ready for the next phase.

Our days now have been filled with PCS Workshops, meetings with JPPSO (our household goods shipping peeps), taking inventory and photos of all of our possessions, and many many more fun moving tasks! There's been some fun thrown in there too, but for the most part, it's all business right now! We're very much ahead of the curve when it comes to our process right now, and we intend to stay that way, God willing!

We've been in prayer every step of the way, and desire to be even more reliant on God now than ever. We ask that you all pray with us for a smooth move, and for God's direction during the transition. We'll keep you updated every step of the way, and we thank you for all the prayer and support during this time!!

I'll write a little more about the fun stuff in the next couple days, but for now I wanted to update you all on the business stuff :) I hope you all are doing well, and we love you all!

Jordan Elaine: Official Letter Writer!

Today is such an awesome day for us!! Jordan and I decided a few weeks ago that our current Home Pre-Schooling goal would be for her to be able to write all of her upper-case letters before her 4th Birthday! Today, she accomplished it!!! It was SUCH an awesome lesson, in so many ways! Not only was it the obvious lesson in writing her letters, but more so it was a lesson in setting a goal. We talked extensively about what it means to set a goal, and what we have to do to achieve it. Jordan came to me everyday and said, "Mommy! We have to do my goal today!!!" She has worked so hard for the last couple weeks, and I'm so proud of her! We will definitely be celebrating this to beat the band! As if her 4th Birthday party this weekend wasn't enough.....:)

Teaching Jordan has always been very fun for me, and very easy as well. Jordan LOVES to learn! She thrives on learning information, remembering it, and reciting it later to practice. I hope that I am able to continue to challenge her and keep her learning! She's very musical, and has probably 20 different songs memorized. Some children's songs, but some much older for her! "Lord I Lift Your Name on High" is her favorite, and she begs to listen to it everytime we get in the car. She knows all of her letters, writes them, knows every letter's sound, and even sounds out words. She does this to figure out both how to spell a word, and how to read a word that she comes in contact with. We have to help her with putting the sounds together, but she makes the sounds on her own. We're going into the beginning stages of reading, and she's exceeding my expectations constantly! Doc and I started working with her on her counting. She's been able to count to 20 for well over a year now, so we've been working with her on 30, 40, 50, etc. She caught onto that very quickly, and now we've moved on to addition, which she seems to be enjoying as well! I LOVE that learning is so magical at this age, and I love being a part of it! We even work with her on her Spanish, which is super fun for all of us!

Her biblical knowledge is the part that we really try to emphasize the most. She absolutely loves her bible stories, and it is so rewarding as a parent to watch her put that knowledge into action. We can't see an ambulance driving down the road without her saying, "Uh-Oh Mommy, someone must be hurt, let's pray for them right now!!" She'll proceed to ask God to be with the hurt person, and lead the Dr.'s to care of them, and comfort their family. We encourage her in this, chime in with more prayer, and tell her how much Jesus loves her heart for His people. She'll smile, as proud as a peacock, and say, "Yah Mommy! I just made Jesus happy!!!" It is such a beautiful thing to see my child's heart set on Jesus at such a young age, and I pray that God will lead us to encourage her in whatever He calls on her to do!

I am competely aware that this is a shameless proud-Mommy post! And I don't care! :) This little girl has my heart in ways that I didn't even know were possible, and I am so proud of her! I can't believe that she is turning 4 already this weekend, but I am so looking forward to just celebrating her and cherishing every moment!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll update about ours in a few days, and post some pictures from the lovely lady's party :) Until then, I hope all is well!!! Love you guys!

Random Random Random

1. We're still waiting on orders. Yes, we were suppose to have them a week ago. Please pray. Please? We SO appreciate it! God will totally make this happen and ease our minds, we just have to ask! Will you ask with us?

2. I can officially feel the baby move!!! I LOVE this feeling!! It always seems to take me longer than I think it should, but when it starts, it is just magical!!! I am totally head over heels for this little flutter that I feel inside me. What a blessing!!

3. I no longer have cable :( What a sad day....however, this does 2 things: A) Helps us put even more money in savings!! && B) Gives us less to distract us from getting PCS stuff done! I am already completely ahead of the curve, and I plan to stay that way as long as possible! I know random stuff will come up, at least this way I'll be ready!

4. Inside and out, my husband is THE most handsome man I have ever seen. Hello, fabulous 5th Month of Pregnancy Hormones. How lucky am I to experience you while my husband still has to wear Desert Cami's with the rolled sleeves?? Just awesome, I tell ya!!

5. I have never been flakier in my entire life than I am right now. Something about this pregnancy just makes me a totally ditz!! Doc and I laugh at it constantly! I forget what I'm doing in the middle of it, go to the store and then wonder why I went there in the first place, forget to do simple things like put soap in the dish washer, and the list goes on and on. It's ridiculous, yet hilarious.

6. REALLY random sidenote: I HATE opening Grand's Biscuits!!! Seriously!! It's like the Jack in the Box for adults!!! Especially when you're just peeling the paper and it just POPS!! Really sudden and really loud! What a heart attack! Anyone with me on this?

Happy Tuesday Peeps!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

It's been a super low-key weekend around these parts....how about you?? Anything exciting this weekend? Doc and I (thanks to our fabulous neighbor) had a great date night on Friday....it was a much different date night than we've ever had before, but it was so overdue and turned out to be one of our faves!! We're about 6 weeks out from moving right now, and we're trying to hoard every single dime that we can right now. We're determined to pay for this move outright, rather than putting it on credit cards and waiting for the military to reimburse us like most people due. We're Dave Ramsifying, and we don't want to use credit cards at all. That equals out to us throwing several hundred dollars out of every pay check into savings right now and basically spending nothing other than the essentials. (bills, groceries, gas....that's pretty much it!) It certainly doesn't make life fun right now, but the end will be worth the means. It's just a lesson in self-reliance, rather than relying on credit, and it's one that we want to tackle. We're not super credit card oriented, but we do have one and we do use it occasionally rather than saving and waiting to buy something that we want. That's a habit we are determined to break!

Anyway, all this considered, we had already set up childcare for Jordan for Friday night so that we could go out on a date. After much consideration, we decided not to spend the money on a meal out, even though it wouldn't have been much, it would have been completely against our principles in what we're trying to teach ourselves here. But the date WAS needed, so we had one.....at home! Jordan went to Miss Jenn's, and Doc and I hung out in the kitchen, cooked Baked Ziti, Caesar Salad, and Garlic Bread with Mozzarella together, lit the candles, turned down the lights, and had ourselves an absolute blast! We drank our favorite Crystal Lite pink lemonade out of our fanciest stemware, stole kisses as often as possible, and talked about "date night stuff"...the future, each other, child-raising, God, etc. It was awesome! And free!! I think this will become a tradition!

Yesterday we spent the day at a birthday party for some dear friends of ours' children, and we pretty much ended up just chatting with them well into the evening! Today was a great church day, and now we're getting ready to Skype with the Grandparents (and hopefully, fingers crossed, get a sneak peek at our new niece, AnamCara...and her Mommy and Daddy too of course!) Thank God for Sundays...this day of rest is much needed!!!

How was your weekend?? Anything exciting? Fun? Not fun? Anything we can pray for? I hope you all have a great upcoming week! We should (Navy willing) have a big update for you within the next couple days!!! Love you peeps!

Pregnant Lady Obsessions

Steak. A lean, mean delicious machine. MMMMM!!!

Rainbow Sherbet. Thanks Grandma, for my addiction to this delicious, amazing, low-calorie dessert! I am forever grateful and can't wait to eat some with you in heaven!

Safeway Brand Garlic Caesar Dressing - delicious!!!!

Grande Decaf Well-Stirred Non-Fat Caramel Machiatto. With Whipped.
So incredibly entertaining to hear the Starbuck's lady repeat that at Mach 40.
Thank you Diana Fuller for my addiciton to these!!
PS I have no idea what that chinese writing on the side says!

A big fat baked potato with cheese. Lower in calories than a potato with butter, and higher in calcium too! Brilliant!!

Blah blah blah.

That's how I feel this evening. Blah. Blah. And more blah. It's one of those pregnant days, where I'm just blah. I hate these days even more than days when I'm sore, or sick, or in pain. My normal personality is the polar opposite of "blah", so I just don't feel like myself when I feel like this, which only makes me more "blah". I have to be honest though.....God is making it very hard for my "blah" to hang around.....we've got a lot to be thankful for right now!!!

1. HUGE blessing on the orders front! We've been waiting patiently (Ok that's a flat out lie. I've been waiting extremely IMpatiently) for God's direction to lead us. We've been waiting during prayer time for some sort of a guidance, searching during our daily bible reading for something, ANYTHING to jump out and tell us what He wants. Begging our families and friends to pray with us. And Friday, finally, we got the "all clear" from the Lord on the plan that He's ordained for us. We've been selected for orders to Everett, Washington!! An hour and a half drive from family that we (my husband included!!!) have literally never even lived on the same side of the country as, let alone a super short drive away! We still need hard copies of these orders before we can call it official, but we should have them sometime this week, hopefully sooner rather than later!

2. We had an ultrasound at Aloha Pregnancy Care on Friday with our dear friend Alana, and it went fantastic!! The baby was measuring one day shy of our exact gestation period, and everything else looked perfect! It was such a huge sigh of relief! Though we never really thought there was a problem, it's always so wonderful to hear that from your Dr.! Or ultrasound tech, in this case! The only little downside to this day was that the baby refused to show us it's gender! We tried everything! We stopped midway through for me to go to the bathroom and jump around a little bit to try to shake things up in there and see if we could get it to move, and still, nothing. Legs politely crossed, arm above it's head (ironically in the EXACT same position I was laying in, so cute) I can already see so many differences in this baby from the way Jordan was. During my 16 week ultrasound with Jordan she had her legs wide open and was waving to us on the machine! Little Miss Personality has not changed a single bit since then! :) This child seems to have my husband's shy, quiet personality. And it's stubborness leads me to believe that it's definitely a boy! Haha :) Our next U/S is October 7th, so hopefully our little babe will be a bit more cooperative that day!

3. We are busy planning our trip to Illinois coming up in November!!! I haven't been home since we moved here 3 years ago, and I am ready to say the absolutely least!!! Neither of us are fond of the place we call home. We love our family, love our friends, and have some good memories there, but it's never a place that we will choose to live again, and certainly not a place we'll choose to raise our kids. However, after being gone for three years it will be great to take a little visit there! If my husband had his way, we would literally never set foot in Illinois again, so this took MUCH finaggling on my part to make this happen. If this trip is miserable, I can promise that it will be his last trip to Illinois. Well, I guess promise is a strong word....you never know what God may have in store for us. We have a million things to do there, and a million people to see, and lots of delicious Midwest food to eat!!! Hopefully it will all go smoothly! Will you pray for that with us?

I hope you all have had a great weekend! We'll keep you posted on the orders situation! Hopefully in just a couple days we'll have a firm copy of orders, and then the REAL craziness will begin!!!! Love you all!

16 Week Dr.'s Appt.

Does that SERIOUSLY even seem possible? 16 weeks along? Already?? This child isn't even born yet and it's already growing too fast!!! Craziness I say!

Yesterday was my 16 week Dr.'s Appt. with my NEW and IMPROVED Dr!!!! I LOVE her! LOVE LOVE LOVE her would describe it more accurately! She's wonderful! Supportive, sweet, upbeat, encouraging, helpful, I could go on and on. Leaps and bounds from my appt. with the Nurse Practioner 4 weeks ago, and I couldn't be more thankful for these answered prayers! On to the good stuff.....

The baby looks perfect! Yes....I said "looks" perfect! We weren't suppose to have an ultrasound until 20 weeks, but the baby was so active that Dr. Coleman couldn't hear the heartbeat, so she went ahead and did a mini-ultrasound. Jordan was with me, and she was SO excited to get to see her new brother or sister!! The baby was jumping around like crazy! It was adorable! I'm still not feeling the movement yet, but I will soon! Unfortunately, Dr.'s are not really as well-trained on sonography as you may think they are, so she wasn't able to give us a gender :(
HOWEVER......We'll find out the sex on Friday!!! Here's how....

A good friend of mine works at a Christian Counseling Center for pregnant women over in Kaneohe Bay. Pregnant girls who are wanting abortions come to them, and Alana (my fabulous friend) is a counselor there. Her job is to get these girls to choose life for the babies, whether it be adoption or just a little encouragement in their new journey. She has an amazing testimony, and if there is any woman qualified to do this job, believe me, it's her! There's pretty much nothing she hasn't lived through. She's a wonderful woman, and I love her to death! She is in need of pregnant bellies to train her new nursing staff and counselors with, and since I volunteered, they will be ultrasounding me on Friday to determine the sex! HOW AWESOME!!! And what an amazing blessing! And more so, what an awesome opportunity for me to serve God! To volunteer to be a guinea pig for a place that is doing AMAZING work for the Lord?? Just wonderful! Again....what an amazing blessing!

I will be sure to keep you all posted on that, and if for some reason I don't announce it, don't be sad! If they can't say conclusively one way or the other, we may just wait until the 20 week one to confirm!! :) I'll let you know if that happens!

Happy Hump Day all!!!!

Smiling in the Midst

Happy Labor Day peeps!!! I hope yours was much less stressful than ours! Pardon my disposition....The truth is, we had a great weekend together, we just have SO much going on!

Doc is taking a precalculus class right now, that thankfully is almost over! I say thankfully for everyone's sake! Doc HATES math, but is extremely curious about it and really wants to know all that there is to know about it. Insane, right?!?! That's my husband for ya! LOL He's very intelligent and very motivated to learn, so he chooses to torture himself with things like calculus that he knows will take over his life and make him miserable. However, his determination is remarkable, and like I've said from the day that I met this man, he can do ANYTHING that he sets his mind to. The Doc Henebry that I dated 6 and 1/2 years ago couldn't do Geometery without my help. The Doc Henebry I'm married to today is doing calculus like a champ! I'm so proud of him!! Only to God be the glory for this, and we are thankful for all that he is doing in our lives!

Doc and I found out on Friday that we have been denied orders to all three of the places that we had put in for. This was disappointing to say the least. None of the places that we put in for were places that we were jumping up and down about, and it wasn't the location we were excited about. It was an answer we were wanting. Where will we be moving in less than 2 months? Where will I be giving birth to this child at? What sort of work environment will my husband have? All important questions, still unanswered.

During the course of the last year, Doc and I have dealt with SO much crap with the Navy. At no fault of his own, doors seem to close more often than they open. Doors to things like the Officer's Package that he's wanted to put in for 2 years now, that no one seems to "have time" to help him with. Doors for Orders. Doors for Shore Duty, that though my husband has been very vocal that after 4 deployments he's ready for a break from the Fleet, he is still being told that wherever we are sent (regardless of the fact that it will be Shore Duty and Non-Deployable) he WILL be deploying. Infantry Corpsman are in extremely high demand right now, and regardless of the fact that we will be in a clinic, he is pretty much guaranteed to get plucked out of it and sent on one if not two deployments with an Infantry Battalion during our 2 year "break" of Shore Duty. And after that, it's right back to the Greenside for more deploying. Switching jobs in the Navy is not an option for Corpsman, because they need them too desperately right now.

We pray over this situation daily, and right now, we're feeling the hand of God lead us to other paths. Nothing in the world scares me more in this economy than NOT having a job. However, if God's Will for us is NOT this, then He will be faithful in making a way for us. We trust Him completely in this. To say that we are not scared would be a complete lie. Two adults. One beautiful almost 4 year old daughter. Baby on the way. 2 Kittens. All our responsibility to take care of. It's kind of one of those things where the saying "Feel the fear, and do it anyway!" comes into play. The fear is there, it just won't stop us from following God's Will for our lives.

We are considering many different options right now, from staying in the Navy, to getting out completely, to switching branches, and so on and so on and so on.....Will you pray with us? Pray that God make's a way for us. Pray that God makes it known to us and opens and shuts doors to show us his path. Pray that our daily bible reading will speak to us *LOUDLY* with God's instructions. And lastly, but certainly not leastly, please pray that neither of us lose our minds in the process! :)

I titled this post "Smiling in the Midst" because that's what I find myself doing daily. This situation can be so overwhelming sometimes, but God is SO much bigger than this, and he reminds me daily, in the most awesome ways! Like today, for example. We barbecued with all of our Ohana (our bible study group is called Ohana, which is Hawaiian for "family"....and they really are just that!) at the beach for a little boy's birthday party, and we felt so incredibly loved and supported by every single one of our friends there. We had dinner on Friday with other friends, and had such a blast playing Catchphrase and laughing. We went to the mall with Jordan this week and spent over an hour at Border's just reading books to her and laughing, and then went downstairs to Motherhood Maternity where my husband INSISTED on buying me a new outfit, just because. He showers me in affection during times like this because HE wants ME to feel secure. This is HIS career on the line, and all he can think about is his family. Now regardless of anything going on with the Navy, how could I not smile at that? He's incredible!

Here are a couple pictures from the last couple weeks! One of our beloved Pastor Rick and his wife Sue that just moved, and the other of the most stylish little lady in the world :) She insists on choosing her own clothes and accessories, and as you can see, she's pretty into it......:)

Monday? Again?

WOW!!! What a fast weekend!!!! We've had a great one, though a little bittersweet! Last night we went to a BBQ/Aloha Show for our Pastor, Rick, and his wife Sue. They are retiring after 46 years in the ministry! What an amazing thing! Today we got to hear Pastor Rick's last sermon, and I have to say, it brought us to tears. For so many reasons....

I know that anytime we have to part ways with someone dear to us it is bound to hurt a little. Last night, after watching a slideshow of Pastor Rick and Sue's time here at Island Family Christian Church, we went up to hug them and tell them how much we would miss them. I thanked them for all they had done for our church, and Pastor Rick turned to me and said, "No, thank YOU for your family's willingness to serve in this church!". Doc and I love being involved in ministries, but I was overwhelmed with emotion when Pastor Rick said that. I wanted so badly (but for the sake of time, couldn't) to tell him that we wouldn't BE serving if it weren't for him! We wouldn't have grown as much as we have in the last 2 years if it weren't for him, and our lives wouldn't have been changed forever for Christ, if it weren't for Pastor Rick. I'm sure it will be hard to part with any Pastor that we have, but I'm not sure that I'll ever be as personally attatched to anyone as I am to Pastor Rick. After all, he did baptize both my husband and I, right here in the beautiful Pacific ocean, and He and his wife were big parts of our wedding here. His sermons taught, developed and encouraged me throughout both of Doc's deployment here, and did the same for Doc as well!! I was able to get a recording of every sermon during both deployments and send them to Doc in his care packages. Those sermons changed his life while he was 10,000 miles away. We're forever grateful to these two, and wish them nothing but the best!

And now it's back to Monday! Ugh. Grocery shopping. laundry, errands, all the fun stuff. Whoohoo! I'll update more early this week! Have a wonderful week peeps!

Weekend Humor

A Buddhist walks up to a hotdog cart and says...

"Make me one with everything!!!!!"

Happy Weekend Peeps!!!!

:)

Question...What are your thoughts?

Aloha peeps! THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!!!!! Anyone else feeling that way today? This weekend is sure to please! Ours will be filled with lots of cooking!! I've really started to love cooking on the weekends! I cook completely different food than I do during the week. Typically on weeknights it's quick, 30 minute meals. On the weekend, we spend at least on hour just on Saturday morning brunch. Doc and I cook together, blaring some worship music, and letting Jordan go back and forth from Saturday-Morning Cartoons to dancing like a crazy person for Jesus. And it doesn't stop there....on the menu this weekend we have a Honey-Glazed Ham, Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes, Garlic-Sugar Green Beans, lots of fruits and veggies for snacks, and plenty of Crystal Light Pink Lemonade! (Ok ok....as well as Caffeine Free Diet Coke....if I close my eyes for a second it almost tastes as good as regular Diet Coke!) I hope you all have a blessed weekend!



So.....I have a question for you all. I am so lucky to have such a plethora of wise, wonderful people in my life to give me their opinions about things like this. I've already made my decision, but I'm still curious as to how other people view this. Here goes...



While at my Dr.'s appointment last week, the Nurse Practicioner brought up the testing for Down's Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, etc. At Tripler Army Medical Center, these tests are optional. They were mandatory at the hospital where I delivered Jordan, but they are optional here. When she asked if I would like to have the tests, my question to her was this: "Do the results of this test change, in anyway, the delivery process, or provide information for things that need to be done in the delivery room or immediatley after the birth?" Her answer was "No." That was all I needed to know, and I declined the tests. She went on to tell me that she would not take such a hasty answer, and insisted that I think about it more. I asked her what the benefit to these tests would be, and her answer was "Well, for you to knowingly bring a child into this world with something like Cystic Fibrosis you need to KNOW what that means....a child that won't live past 30, that will be in a constant struggle, with mucus filled lungs, and special costly care, etc." Now...this may be my crazy pregnancy hormones, but I took this as her saying that I need to know before I DECIDE to have this baby. I told her again, with gusto, that I would like to decline the testing, and she again refused to write down my answer. She said that technically she doesn't need an answer until my next appointment, and that she insists that I think about this a little more. I don't know if she truly wants me to think about it more, or if she truly just doesn't like my answer.



In my household, abortion is not an option. It's never discussed, because it's simply not an option. It is our sincere belief that God creates babies, and we don't, regardless of the circumstances. We would have this baby regardless of anything that could be wrong with it, because it's God's will. Not because we think it would be easy to raise a child that required special needs, but rather because it is asked of us by our Lord.



That being said, I know plenty of people who feel the exact same way about abortion/creation, but DO think it would be a good idea to go ahead with the tests, just to have a "head's up" of what's to come. For me, I truly don't think I could go through the rest of my pregnancy with the same excitement and joyous wonder if I knew that after the delivery things would be completely different than usual. I feel ashamed for feeling that way. I would certainly not give my praying knees a break if I were to find out something like that, but I would have the advantage of being able to prepare. And that's another thing, how DO you prepare for something like that? We pray for a healthy baby, knowing that it may be God's will for us to have a child with Special Needs. We continue to tell Him our hope, and we continue to say "Your will be done" at the end of each prayer.



How do you feel about this? These tests? Do you think the advantage of knowing is something that everyone should have if they were about to have a child with special needs? Do you think it's crazy to not want to know? Do you think it's crazy to want to know? I don't really think anything of either choice, I just feel what I feel for my personal situation, and I know this is different for everyone. I see up's and down's with each choice. What do you all think?


Thank you for listening to me ramble about this! And thank you in advance for your feedback! I appreciate it! I hope you all have a great weekend!!!!

Confessions of a Happy Pregnant Lady

DELICIOUS Pink Lemonade!!!!!

Fuji Apples!!!!

LOVE This show :)

MMMM....fastest nausea cure.

Awesome Daily Devotional!!!! Very "Step by Step" and very refreshing!!!

August Mayhem!

DANG!!!!! It's been a busy few weeks!!!! I apologize for the delay in posts :( Here are some updates on life these last few weeks:

1. I had my first Dr.'s appt for this pregnancy last week!!! It went very well, ish. Every Dr. is different, and I have to keep telling myself that. It's AMAZING how much has changed since I was expecting Jordan. First, my Dr. told me that I would be considered "slightly high risk" this pregnancy because of my C-Section with Jord. I have NEVER heard this before in my life. Ever. But, that is this Dr.'s opinion. She also said that she had "concerns" over Jordan's low birth weight. Jordan weighed 6 lbs and 14 oz, and her pediatrician at birth felt as though her birthweight was healthy as a horse. NEVER did he think it was low, and my gosh, she was almost 7 pounds!!! This Dr. insists that she really could have used a few more ounces, and says "she'll be monitoring me closely". Whatever. We heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time, and in the words of my husband it sounded like "a thundering baby boy" :) He's wishful thinking of course :) This "Dr." as I keep calling her was actually only a nurse practicioner, and I will not have to see her again at all. Due to my "semi-high riskness", I will have to see an actual Dr. from here on out. I certainly have no problems with that, and I'm actually a little relieved that I get to switch! The nurse practicioner and I had a little argument over some optional testing that I will go into more details about later......I'm glad that I won't have to deal with that any more!

2. We have been denied the orders that we were hoping for in Washington, and are back in re-negotiation for new ones! The last week around this house has been filled with 3 AM phone calls to Tennessee, praying for wisdom, praying for orders, searching of good civilian jobs just in case God leads us toward that avenue, and more prayer in general. Theses situations of transition make me feel like my neck is going to close up, but it also forces us to lean on God. That's something that we can rejoice in right now! We've turned to his Word, and at this point we feel that He is leading us to stay in. We've put in for orders in a few places in California, and we're waiting to hear back on those. We're still praying for God's direction in this matter. Will you pray with us?? Thank you peeps!!

3. We had a friend from Illinois come to visit this last week! We've been mini-vacationing and living like tourists for the last 9 days, and it has been incredible!! Doc has been on leave, and we've had such a great time together! I think it's safe to say that we're all kind of luau-ed out right now! LOL I'll post a few pics from our outings in another post soon!

4. Just to reiterate what I've already posted in other posts: I FEEL AMAZING!!!!! My morning sickness is completely gone!!!!! I did find out that I more than likely have pregnancy anemia, and that I may need an additional iron supplement in addition to my prenatal vitamin. That is great news, because I've really been wondering what the deal is with the wave of weakness that comes over me for no reason almost constantly all day long. I've been so active during the last week, and though it was pretty difficult at times, I have REALLY enjoyed myself!!!! Thank you for the prayer for these times!!!! God is good!!!! And he has humbled me throughout this entire experience. I will never again look at a barely-pregnant lady and think to myself "Oh please, she's like, 7 weeks along, she really needs to suck it up!!!" I'm ashamed of myself for ever thinking that way, and thankful that God changed my mind! He knew that He needed to!

How are you all doing?? I feel like I've been out of the loop lately! I hope you all are well!!! I'll be posting a little more this week, to include a question that I really want you alls opinion on. It's a bit of an ethical one, and I hope that it doesn't spark a massive brawl (not that I think any of you would do that, but it's an opinion question and you never know what could happen!!! ) Be on the look out for that!! Love you guys!!!!

The Story of Us: Part 2

Doc and I decided to attend church that Sunday at the First Church of the Nazarene in Forsyth, Illinois. Doc had been raised Catholic, but was a little confused about what he actually believed. We both had things about the Catholic religion that we didn't truly believe, so we chose to try a different route. God was guiding us to the best decision we've ever made. First Church became our Illinois church home, and though it was just for a few months, it made such a huge impression on us and set the pace for the rest of our spiritual journey.

Doc left for BUD/S in Coronado, CA, and soon after, we found out we were being transferred to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, for Doc to take over his old job as an Infantry Corpsman with a Battalion that was slated for a deployment just 2 months after our arrival. The comfort that God gave to me at that time is truly amazing. I had just moved 7,000 miles away from anything I was familiar with, to an island with a new culture, to a military base where everyone spoke in acronyms and everything seemed SO weird, and I was sending my husband off to war. This was Doc's 3rd deployment, but his 1st Combat Deployment, and anyone who's ever done both knows that there is a HUGE difference between the two. This was my first deployment to go through with him, and though I was devestated to be without him for 7 months, I was not afraid. I know that sounds crazy, and believe me I thought it was too, but I truly had a complete peace in the situation. I knew that we were where God wanted us to be. I knew my husband was following the calling on his life that God had given him. I knew my family and friends thought I was insane for moving here knowing that he was deploying. But as our Pastor just quoted yesterday, "Who cares who frowns, if God is smiling". The peace I felt with the situation was incredible.

My husband returned home from that deployment untouched by the war. Thank you Lord! During our first night together, his sleep schedule was so messed up that we ended up staying up all night talking. He told me about a book that a friend had given him in Iraq called "One God, One Message". He had told me about it before, but he had never had a chance to tell me what a profound effect it had on him. This book had brought him to the moment where he realized what salvation really is. How AMAZING it is, that though we still mess up and fall short daily of what God wants from us, we are still saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no more "not good enough". No more "Keep working at it, you'll get it right eventually". No more!!! We are SAVED!!! Regardless of anything we've done ourselves, and only by the amazing grace of our Lord! I'll never forget the words Doc said to me that night: "Tammy, as a Catholic I was taught that when you get to the Pearly Gates, your good deeds in life just have to outweigh your bad ones, and I've done so much bad stuff......when I read that all I had to do was believe in Jesus in order to go to heaven it was like an elephant was removed from my chest! I felt so relieved!" I cried and cried that night for joy, and praised the Lord for what he was doing in our lives. While Doc had been in Iraq, I had grown alot spiritually as well thanks to our new church in Hawaii: Island Family Christian Church. I had made the decision to be baptized a few months before, and just 3 weeks after he came home he made the same decision. God had used the deployment that neither of us wanted to happen to seperate us and work on our hearts individually so that together we would be ready to serve Him.

We grew so attatched to IFCC, and we still are to this day! Just 2 months after Doc returned from Iraq, he was already in the field training for another deployment. He left for Afghanistan a few months later. We knew going into this deployment that it would be much more difficult. God had a plan in our lives and we were ready to do His will. We both continued to grow closer to the Lord in the midst of our own seperate challenges. My challenges were the domestic type. Pay issues with the Navy, potty-training a 2 year-old, the balancing act of full-time work, volunteer work and child raising, and the stresses and fears of my husband being in a very active combat zone. The Lord taught me during this deployment that taking on everything WILL take a toll on you. He taught me to ask for help, and he taught me what happens when you refuse to do so and try to push through it on your own. He also taught me to say "No" when something comes up that is too much for your plate. Perseverance, patience and honesty to admit when things are more than you can handle on your own were my biggest lessons, though my biggest lesson of all was to rely on God during these times.

My husband had a spiritual journey of his own in Afghanistan, one that is the defining moment of his life thus far. God brought him to the place where he had absolutely nothing else he could rely on but God. He taught him so many lessons there, ones that will last with him the rest of his life. His stories from Afghanistan are incredible, and I could listen to him talk about it all night long.

Our God is an awesome God!! We have been so blessed on this journey together, and though it has been bumpy and full of twists and turns, it has brought us to a place of such sweet understanding of the Lord. I don't think anyone can fully grasp the grace we are shown, and the love that He has for us. It is SO amazing!!! Until we're with Him, we will praise Him and try our best to follow His will for our lives!!
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Thanks for reading about Doc and I's spiritual journey! We are still a work in progress, but looking back on all the things the Lord has done for us is so incredibly special and leads us to a deeper place of understanding. I hope that this encourages any of you who may be on your own journey in life, of any kind. God has a plan for everything, and if you seek to do the things that He has called you to do, He will take care of every single detail. That's a promise! Not that I made, but that He did!

In other news, we celebrated something special this weekend: Doc has officially been sober for 3 years!!! He made the decision to completely abstain from alcohol in July of 2007, and he has not had one drop since. Thank you for everything that you do for this family, Babe. I know this wasn't an easy decision for you to make, and I know that it hasn't always been easy for you to abstain from. You are so strong, and I admire you so much!

The Story of Us: Part 1

Today is such a special day for me. On this day in 2004, I drove around my small town home in Illinois with my friends ALL day with butterflies in my stomach. Evening finally came, I took "the shower" (you know which one I mean...the nooks and crannies shower) and then spent at least 2 hours getting ready. I got in the car (with my dear friend Candi right behind me in hers) and headed out. I had a date this particular night, with a particular man, that from the moment I sat next to him in Spanish class a year beforehand, I knew I wanted to know more about. I had no idea at the time that THAT man would one day be my husband!!



At that time, we looked something like this:

It is SO incredible to me to look back and see how God has brought us full-circle together. If you had asked anyone 6 years ago today if the two of us would last, they would have been clinically insane to have said yes. Neither of us were big on the concept of commitment, and for the first 2 years of our relationship we refused to even call it a relationship. Now alcohol on the other hand, THAT was something we were very committed to. I have never been shy with anyone about my past. It is shameful, and I am not proud of it, but it is what it is. And what it REALLY is, is a testament to the remarkable change that God can bring about in 2 people that are ready to live their lives for Him. At that time in Doc and I's lives, we were drinking heavily to the point of intoxication (and then some) at least 5 nights a week. Sometimes more. We were failing classes left and right, and constantly on the prowl for where our next party thrill was going to come from. We were drinking and driving regularly, smoking around 2 packs a day, working dead-end part-time jobs and living about as care-free as you could get. We both had huge dreams and big aspirations, and we knew that we would never see them come true at the rate we were going, but we just kept going anyway. We knew that we had 2 completely different goals in life, and knew that we would have to seperate one day in order to achieve them, but in our selfishness, we lived life as it was regardless. Afterall, at the rate we were going, it didn't exactly look like anyone would be meeting their goals anytime soon! We are on the fast track to no where.

After finding out we were pregnant with Jordan in 2006, we both knew that change had to come. Now, how this all came about I could seriously right a book about! And maybe one day I'll blog about that, but for today, we'll leave it at this: We looked at the way we were living and were disgusted. It's funny how "confident" you can be with your choices, and how smooth you can talk about how "everyone parties....it's totally no big deal at all", and "health wise...I mean come on, not everyone who smokes and drinks gets cancer, I'm young, just let me live my life" and then BAM. You realize what a lie it's been all along. There is absolutely no other word for it then a lie. A complete and utter lie that the devil so easily implanted into our minds and that we fell for hook, line and sinker.

Jordan was about 8 months old when I prayed for the first time in years. She had a stuffy nose, and I decided to ask God to heal it. In the middle of that prayer my body was literally engulfed in shame. I hadn't spoken to God in 4 years, and here I was asking for a favor??!!!?? As a matter of fact, I had pretty much been running as fast as I could to get away from Him! But all the while, He was running after me to bring me back. I started crying uncontrollably, and aplogizing over and over and over again for my selfishness.

When Doc came home for a visit that weekend (he was at Great Lakes Naval Station at the time, waiting to leave for BUD/S) he told me a story of something that had happened to him that week. He had something come up that shook him to his core, and scared him so badly that he hit his knees and prayed, really prayed and meant every word of it, for the first time in years. We were hundreds of miles apart, and yet God was working on us individually to prepare us for His will. It's amazing! That Sunday, we attended church together.

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Tomorrow I will finish this little story....I suppose "bring it up to current" would be a better way to put it, as God continues to work on us throughout this journey. Thanks for reading! Do you have a story like this of your own? I'd love to hear it!

Goodnight peeps!

Week full of nothing!

Truly. Nothing.

It's been a "nice nothing", unlike the nauseaus, annoying, exhausted nothing that we've done for the last 3 weeks. Major praise report: I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!!!!!!! I am SO glad!!!! Thank you for all the prayers!!!! God is good, all the time. This is the first week that I've felt better, and I've been taking major advantage of it, cleaning and resting, snuggling and playing, and catching up on life that I feel like I've totally missed out on for the last month. It feels good my friends, it feels good!

I've decided that, effective Monday, Jordan and I will submit to a schedule. Though we really don't have to do this, I've decided that it's the only way to keep things routine. I hate not being on the same schedule as Doc. He and I wake up literally 4 hours apart, which makes things so much more difficult all day long. Doc eats lunch 2 to 3 hours before we do while he's at work, so he's hungry for dinner at least 2 hours before us, and after getting up at 4:15 AM, he's definitely ready for bed at least an hour or so before I am. He's always told me that he doesn't ever sleep soundly until I come to bed, so for the last few weeks I've been laying down with him at 9:30. We read our bibles, hit the lights, and settle in, but I toss and turn for what seems like HOURS. Which makes me more exhausted the next day. I hate it! It's such a battle, and bless his heart, the man works really hard for us, and I feel like this is the least I can do to help better support him. I'll update you on how it goes!

I just finished a WONDERFUL book last night! It's called "Men Read Newspapers, Not Minds", by Sandra P. Aldrich. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a litle marital humor as well as Christian guidance. Doc and I have been extremely blessed with a great marriage, tried and true. Reading books like this and monthly date nights (alone) are something that we both look at as "marital maintenance". Life gets pretty crazy sometimes and our home life is not something we're willing to sacrifice. Looking at the way God wants our marriage to be has completely changed our way of doing things, and seriously folks, just when we thought it couldn't get any better, along has come the best year of marriage we've had to date! We're thankful to serve a God that blesses us immensely when we do things His way.

Doc and I have a fun weekend coming up....which I'll write more about tomorrow! For now, I'm FINALLY feeling tired enough to join the hubby for some Zzzz's! Goodnight all!!

Remnants of Deployment

Having the leftover emotions of deployment LONG after it ends is a very normal thing for military spouses, and of course servicemembers as well. It's not something that troubles me, or my husband, and I've always thought of it as a great thing....you know, the ability to process through all of those emotions. Typically it's when you ignore them that there becomes a problem. It's something that anyone who's been through a deployment can relate to. Something that we all just feel, everytime we drive past a parking lot lined with sea bags and white busses, whether it's our husbands getting on them or not. It's intense, it's painful, and it stings your eyes to the point of tears instantly. It takes you right back to the days that you've told your loved one goodbye....and prayed that it was really "Until next time". It didn't make it easier, but all of this I was prepared for.....this I was not:

First thing this morning:

Mommy: Good Morning Jordy!!!

Jordy: Hi Mommy!! I have some good news and some not so good news......

Mommy: Oh goodness, what is your news?

Jordy: Well, the bad news is that Buzz Lightyear (her imaginary friend) has to deploy to Afghanistan today. He's gonna be gone for a really long time. He'll be working over there. We'll have to pray for him.

Mommy: *stunned* Wow Jordan, well what's the good news?

Jordy: The good news is that after a long time is over, we get to go pick him up!!!! And it's gonna be SO fun and we'll get to bring him home!!!!

What do you say to that??? On one REALLY big hand, I am SO thankful that she is processing these emotions. On another hand, I'm completely heartbroken that she has to deal with this. We all understand that this is hard on children. We all prepare for that in our own ways, and I'm so thankful that as my husband continues his career in the military our daughter has been able to get a decent understanding for how this all works. She has taken away the main things that my husband and I made our priority to convey to her:

1. Deployment is a long time. It won't be over tomorrow, and we have to understand that in order to cope and maintain order in this house while he's gone.

2. Prayer!!! If there is anything we want from the Lord, we MUST ask for it! While Daddy is deployed we need to be in prayer for him as much as possible. Jordan said the same prayer 4 times a day while Doc was in Afghanistan: "Dear Jesus, Thank you for this wonderful day, Please protect Daddy, Poppy (who was having health problems), and Pastor Rick (who was on a mission trip), in your precious name I pray, Amen." If she took only this from these experiences, I would die happy.

3. We will live our lives with faith in our hearts that he WILL be coming home.

And I love that the thought of Homecoming is something refreshing for her as well. :) It IS the best part of deployment. It's the only thing that keeps you going sometimes, and moments like this only come once in a lifetime:

Daddy Woes....

Look at this face......does it say ANYTHING other than "innocent"?

Oh how I LOVE the stories my husband comes home from outings with Jordan and tells me.....yesterday was no different! You see, children have this uncanny ability, even at the ripe old age of 3, to distinguish very clearly the differences between their two parents. They know each parent's priorities, each parent's weaknesses, and how to use all of this to their advantage. For example, Jordan NEVER asks me for ice cream. Only Daddy. Daddy has a sweet tooth, and Mommy doesn't. Typically when she asks Daddy for ice cream it reminds HIM of how delicious that would be, and off they go for an ice cream cone. She knows that when she asks me I say No and offer to share a banana with her. She NEVER stops thinking, that darn Jordan.....

Yesterday our whole house was napping, and Doc woke up a little before I did. Jordan woke up at the same time, and the two of them set off for the commissary while I slept a little longer! Much needed!!! When they returned a couple hours later (I'm guessing they stopped for ice cream) Doc looked at me upon walking through the door and said, "Why don't you ask YOUR daughter what she did at the Exchange today......" Uh-oh. He went on to tell this story.

Apparently they were leaving the NEX and headed downstairs to the commissary. Doc was walking ahead, and Jordan was right behind him. Jordan LOVES escalators and never hesitates to get on them with me. She actually looks forward to it when we're at the NEX and starts talking about it the minute we get to the parking lot. Doc got on the escalator, assuming she was behind him. About 5 seconds later he started hearing this death scream, "DAAAAAADDY!!!!!! DADDY WHERE ARE YOU!!!!!!!!!" He turned around, and in his words was expecting to see no less than masked armed gunmen snatching Jordan and running. But rather, there she stood at the top of the escalator. Just looking at him and sobbing. He, in his giant flip flops, turned around and starting running up the escalator to her. He got to the top and asked her what the problem was, to which she replied, "I don't know.....I just got scared to get on the escalator....."

Remember what I said about kids playing on their parents emotions? Daddy THRIVES on the ability to chase monsters out of the closet, pray with Jordan over things that scare her, take her to the window at night to show her that the scary shadow is just a tree branch, etc. etc. He's the protector, and when she's wanting a little extra attention from him, she knows when to get "scared".

Doc hates a scene, he hates to be the center of attention, and more than anything, he hates awkward public situations, so as you can imagine, he was mortified by this. I, on the other hand, laughed hysterically! I still chuckle when I think about it! He finally laughed about it, too, it just took him a while longer!! Kids do the darndest things!!

Weekend Ramblins

So far, this weekend in the Henebry house is going awesome!!! I woke up this morning to the sounds of Sanctus Real and the smell of bacon! Breakfast was delicious and so very thoughtful of my husband to make, and I think it set the whole weekend off on the right foot! He is such a peach!!

Today we did some shopping, ordered pizza, went to the gymnastics center for open gym (Jordan loves showing Daddy her sweet gymnastics moves that she learns at gymnastics class) and now we're ready to put in some movies!

On a happy note: I can count on ONE hand the number of times that I felt nauseaus today!!! It's amazing! I'm hoping that this is a sign that my morning sickness phase is about to pass! I did, however, get SO sore from walking around the mall today. I get so upset over things like that, because it's so opposite of my normal personality. I'm typically the one that's rarin' to go, always positive no matter what the situation, and never gets tired. Today my hips starting hurting within 5 minutes of walking around and I felt completely exhausted. I pushed on, but not without a good share of complaining and feeling frustrated. I never experienced this during my pregnancy with Jordan, and I was hoping I wouldn't this time either. I'm rejoicing in the lessons God is teaching me through this, and praying that it passes soon!

I have to say a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to a dear friend on the mainland who just gave birth to her 3rd beautiful and healthy babe!! Congrats Larson family!!!

I hope all of you are having a wonderful weekend! PLEASE say a little prayer for us on Monday morning! We'll be trying to get in touch with our detailer once again to talk about orders!! We'll keep you all posted on that process!!! Until then, sleep, church and snuggling are calling my name! Have a blessed weekend friends!

Back to Blogging....

WOW! The last time I updated this blog was exactly a year ago!!!!

My my my, how life has changed since then!!! My intentions with this blog have always been to both keep our families informed of what's happening around here, and also to give myself an outlet to express my thoughts, feelings, concerns, praises, prayer requests, etc. As you know, I'm quite the communicator :) During this time last year, I was going through the most stressful time of my entire life. Doc was in Afghanistan, barely having time to call once every 2 or 3 weeks. Our battallion was suffering casualty after casualty, and Doc's platoon was hitting IED's weekly. The Navy had just sent us notification of a HUGE error that had resulted in us owing them over $10,000. (which by the way, that FINALLY got worked out in March of 2010...so it was only 10 months of worry adn strife we'll never get back....thanks alot Navy!) Jordan was, well, 2. Enough said. My friends were all going through their own crazy situations, and I don't think I could have possibly felt more overwhelmed than I did right then. Hence, my blog writing kinda took a back burner! :)

Now, our family is heading into big changes, and I want to be able to keep in touch with our families near and far, and also have peeps to talk about life with! My hope is to be able to encourage each other and talk about the work God is doing in our lives!

Here's the skinny on what's going on here:

1. WE'RE EXPECTING!!!! Due in February, and SO SO EXCITED!!!

God is SOOOOO good!

2. We're currently awaiting order's to leave Hawaii :( It is SO incredibly

sad to me to think about leaving the place where Doc and I got

engaged, got married (twice! LOL) survived 2 deployments

and both of us were baptized into the Lord in the

beautiful Pacific Ocean. Our church family

here is everything to us, and we are

praying that God takes us

wherever He needs

us!!!

3. I am having a ridiculous amount of morning sickness. In comparison

to my pregnancy with Jordan, in which I had NO sickness or soreness,

this pregnancy is SO not fun thus far! I'm praying and clinging to the

promise that this too shall pass.....until then, will you pray with me?

I believe that is all for our updates right now!!! I look forward to sharing much more with you all and hopefully will be updating every few days or so!!! Happy Thursday peeps!