Blessed

Today, John and I have been married 18 years. Hard to believe. I have been with this guy for 21 of my 38 years!!! Wow! Having just returned from a weekend trip with the Spencers, I feel so blessed that I also married into a wonderful family. It is amazing how family can turn into such special friends along the way. I adore every Puster family member! (Emily, you are truly a "sister" in my heart! Thanks for a great trip!)

As I look at this photo from the weekend, I find myself torn emotionally. I am sad to think that Anna will never have the opportunity to fish with her Grandpa Stan (and I miss him terribly), but I am also excited that she loves fishing so much and will be a great fishing companion for her dad! I am sure that Grandpa Stan added a little "something extra" before sending her to us. ;-)

So, thanks to all of you for being such an awesome presence in our lives! Not only do I give thanks for the wonderful man I married, but also for his family.

Oh so tempting......

Ah, finally a moment to sit down and enjoy the quiet. It's been a busy day in our house. Maya crawled for the first time!! YEA. Then, a 3rd tooth mysteriously appeared on her upper gum. I have been checking for one on Riley since she's been getting teeth earlier, but must have missed that one on Maya. However, at bedtime after full bottle Maya threw up all over herself and the changing table......another bath, another set of jammies, another bottle and 45 min later she was down. Thank goodness those times are few and far between.

So anyway, as I am unwinding from the day I am sitting here thinking of the turtle pie that is in my freezer. OH, soooooo yummy. I am so tempted to have a piece. Then I think of the NOW 8 lbs I have to lose (where did those extra 2 come from!?!?!?!?)....and then I just think of another temptation. So, I say to Bill "maybe I'll just have a tummy tuck". And he shakes his head and just rolls his eyes and tells me I am great just the way I am. Hmmmmm......maybe if I had an extra $8,ooo-$10,000 or so it would make it easier. Haa haa! Maybe I should just skip the pie and drink a bottle of water instead! ;-)

Cousin Buzzin'

Just thought I'd share a picture of Juni, Maya and Riley from our recent trip to WI. A good time was had by all.

Day by day...

As most of you know, I've been busy helping pack up Anna's school for our big move in August. (Talk about stress!) I came across a little (and old) booklet about attitude. Since it seemed discarded, I snagged it and brought it home. I found many little wise gems inside and thought I'd share this one:

Manage Stress Day by Day

1. Let go of unrealistic expectations of yourself and others. Not everything has to be perfect.

2. Simplify your schedule. Say "no" when you can to events and requests that add extra stress.

3. Learn to be flexible. Accept that you can't control every aspect of life.

4. Get plenty of sleep--it recharges both your body and your mind.

5. Make time for relaxation every day. Go for a stroll, take a bubble bath, work on a hobby, or play games with family or friends. Do something that you enjoy.

6. Learn to unwind in healthy ways--through music, reading, meditation, stretching, or exercise.

Wishing you all a "stress-free" week!

It seemed good...

Ok, so I've been trying to lose weight since the beginning of the year. I am down quite a bit--although it's taken awhile--and I still have 6 lbs. to my goal. (So close and yet so far--I've been a yo-yo for the last 10 years and never have reached that goal yet.) I was feeling pretty good about that today when I stepped on the scale, but then realized that I'm EXACTLY 20 lbs. heavier than my wedding day!!! OUCH! Well, I just chalk it up to a happy marriage, and having a kid! :-) I'll keeping working for the last 6...

HOORAY!

Congrats to Sue!! And if you don't know why...ask her! :-)

Faith

A quote I would like to share:

"Faith makes things possible, not easy." ~Author Unknown

Surgery

My D&C surgery is scheduled for Thursday morning. They are also going to do chromosomal analysis on the gestational tissue to see if they can find something there. If there is a chromosomal problem there, they will test Matt and I as well and we will start looking at the next step. There is also the possibility that this could be just a random chromosomal abnormality - 2 times in a row. I guess you would call that REALLY BAD LUCK. The good news about that would be that it's unlikely to happen a 3rd time, the bad news is that it doesn't leave any room to come up with a solution, since there wouldn't be one.

Hoping to see some other happy posts soon!

Thank you

Girls -

Thank you so much for all your prayers and thoughts you've sent our way. We will looking at a D&C next week. Hopefully testing taking place very soon, too, so we can figure out what's going on from here.

Small step

We got the results of our hormone counts from yesterday, and it was well within the healthy range. So now, tomorrow I do another blood count test. The count WILL go up and then it's just another step. Thanks for your support, girls!

NOT GIVING UP

Hey girls -

So what's the harm in holding out some hope? Some research behind me, talking with some nurse friends, etc. and there really is more hope this time than last. I'm not bleeding, cramping and there was a yolk sac. It is possible that my baby isn't as far along as we thought and could just be hiding in there! I know that there are good chances that this could go wrong, but I'm not willing to give up yet. Not this time. Say lots of prayers please - and hold on to the hope with me a little longer. . .

Not good news

Hey girls

I went for what I thought was a normal amount of spotting. And came out, shocked, frustrated, and devastated. It appears we're in the same boat again as last time. There was a yolk sac, but no baby. Another blighted ovum is what they're expecting it to be. They're not 100% sure. They said that the fetus could be developing late. However, it's not very hopeful at this point. We are looking at the possibility of a specialist next time to see what is going on to make sure this doesn't happen again. Something's happening at implantation, it seems. Please keep us in your prayers. Needless to say, we're totally crushed. There is a shred of hope, but it's just not looking good.

Send some prayers and I'll update later. . .

So this morning I had some spotting. It was brown, not pink or red like last time, but still different. I called the doctor, because little things make me cautious right now. They said it would be fine and to call them if anything changed. I couldn't get it off my mind and I'm going int to check to make sure everything's ok. I know. I'm a crazy, stupid pregnant person, but my peace of mind is worth it! I'm hoping to get an ultrasound, too, since I've had "spotting". I'll update later. However, if you read this Monday before 3 - send prayers my way around 3 o'clock.