The Never-Ending Renovations

So we started renovating our house back in May and it still is not finished and I have no idea when it will be...aaahhhh!!! Our plan for the kitchen was to have the cabinets painted black and change out the hardware, tile the kitchen floor, replace the kitchen sink and faucet, and get new counter tops. Here is where we are on the kitchen: the cabinets are black but the paint scratches off every time you touch them! The painters are to come back and fix them but aren't sure when they can get back because they are so booked! The counter tops got here this past weekend and are somewhat on...some parts cannot be screwed down because the people who built the cabinets (back in the 70s) put the old counter tops on and then completed the cabinets so now you can't screw one side down because of the way they are built (too hard to explain, but trust me on it...JoeDan, my dad, and I worked forever trying to do it!), the tile will PROBABLY be laid in two weeks...which is about a month past when we were told they would have been laid originally! We are currently walking on sub flooring since we already ripped the linoleum out a month ago! Here are the pictures of what my house looks like right now in the kitchen and what the back room looks like with all the kitchen stuff piled up in it!

Our beautiful kitchen floor...I'll give you the number to our interior decorator!!!


This is an up close picture of the new counter top, the brink wall, and the painted wall in the kitchen. We think it all blends really well together. I just hope the tile looks good with it too! It will be a while before we get to show the finished product :)


This is the room in the back of the house. Thank goodness we have this room and that it was mostly empty at this time. We have used it as a storage/catch all room recently. Everything in the hall closets, kitchen, and part of the bathrooms are back there right now since we can't have anything on the floors because of tiling...of course this stuff has been back there for about a month because we didn't want to put it back after we knew the tiling was pushed back since we would just have to move it again.


The kitchen sink is leaking and we have to have a plumber come this week. This means we have no sink to wash dishes in and no dish washer right now...fun :)

Okay, here is what we planned for the bathrooms: 1/2 bath - retile floor, replace cabinet and faucet, put in new base boards. So far, we had the floor finally tiled today and we'll be able to put the cabinet in shortly...we'll be out of town this coming weekend, so hopefully we can get the cabinet from my parents' house (my dad sells them and got us this one for free!!! Thanks dad!) and install it and then it will be done. Here are pictures from earlier and then today:


Where the cabinet/sink and toilet used to be...we need them back. JoeDan is in my space in the other bathroom!


The sub flooring, which we had to put down ourselves because the old one was rotten from a leak in the toilet...we had to pull up two sub floors, which were pressed wood, which when wet is pretty much saw dust...I was miserable!


Bathroom floor laid today!!! Can't wait to get it finished! At least it is STARTING to look like a bathroom again!


One of the guest bedrooms piled with all kinds of stuff from the bathrooms...or at least it used to be a guest bedroom!

Main Bathroom - replace tile in shower/tub; replace faucet; replace tile floor; replace counter top; replace sink and faucet for sink. Here is where we are today - The tile has been put up for the shower walls and will be grouted tomorrow. It looks great and we are so excited to be able to shower again! We have been taking baths for two weeks now...baths are okay when you want one, but not when you HAVE to take one...baths are never fun for guys! As of last Thursday, we also had no faucet going to the tub and had to fill the bathtub with the shower head (one of those what you can pull down to was your hair, the dog, etc.)...it takes 30 minutes to fill the bath tub! I can you say pure hell!!!! The floor is to be tiled tomorrow and also grouted (I think!). Because the grout has to dry over night, we can not take a shower or bath for the next two days...we will have to wash off with wash cloths at the sink (the only sink we have might I remind you since the one in the 1/2 bath is gone right now and the kitchen one is out of order due to leaking!). That should be interesting to say the least! The counter top is suppose to be ready tomorrow (they called today), so as soon as we can demo the other one out and find some strong friends to help us put it in (granite is SUPER heavy), we'll have that room pretty much done!!! Here are pictures of this room:


The counter top is somewhere under there...this was before school started and when we still had other sinks to use!


The hardworking man of the house taking down the drywall around the tub (I helped, but there are no pictures since I was taking them and couldn't do both!)


The drywall coming down...check out the beautiful 1970s tile...now you know why we are renovating!!!


Drywall is gone! Notice we still have the old faucet (hot and cold are separate). We had to have a plumber come in and change it to a single handle faucet because no one sells the two handle ones anymore...imagine that!!! You'll see the other one in the next photo!


Finally tile!!! Though there is no grout yet (should be tomorrow!), we already love it! Can't wait to take my first shower this week!!!!


Up close of the tile and the border!


Yes, that is a toilet in our bedroom! It is suppose to be put in the 1/2 bath tomorrow...hopefully it will be!

Needless to say, we currently live in a live version of the movie "The Money Pit", but hopefully it will be worth it in the end! I'll keep you posted! Pray we make it through the rest of these never ending renovations :)

Sheryl Crow Concert

On July 23rd I got a call from my aunt asking what I was doing the next night and of course I didn't have much going on because it was right before school was starting and I was trying to get my house cleaned up (that didn't happen obviously!). So, I told her I didn't have anything going on. I figured she was going to ask if I could come down and watch her son, Ben. But, to my surprise she asked if I wanted to go to the Sheryl Crow concert with her! Without any hesitation, I answered, "YES!" Sheryl Crow is one of my all time favorites and I knew the concert was that night, but also knew that we were trying to renovate the house and didn't need to be spending our money on concert tickets. So, obviously I was so excited! I had not been to a concert it what felt like forever! Our seats were great and we rode in her convertible to the concert and got to park in the garage under the Somet Center. I felt like a kid again and like a V.I.P. It was a wonderful night! Thanks Deana!!!

Sophie's First Birthday

Sophie's first birthday was on July 20. It was a great day! Ashley was such the super mom getting everything together, getting Sophie dressed after her nap, and playing hostess all at the same time. Sophie loved having all her favorite people there, but seemed somewhat overwhelmed when it came time to blow out her candle (the bigger kids helped with that!) and eat her cake. She never took even one bite of her cake. She just stuck her finger in the icing and tried to give everyone else a taste of it! She's a great sharer! Below are some pictures of the day. Enjoy!
Sophie and her cake

Sophie and Mommy!

Sophie and all her birthday presents!

Beautiful birthday girl!!!

How time flies...

It is hard to believe that my niece Sophie will be a year old on Sunday. She has grown up so much and has such an awesome personality. For some reason she just laughs and laughs at me and thinks I am so funny, which I don't mind at all!!! We seem to have a very special bond. Ashley laughs and says there is no reason for her to be around when I come down because Sophie and I neither one give her any attention because all we do is play and laugh with each other. I can't help it. I am totally obsessed with this child!! If you have met her, you know why! She is just a wonderful, happy little girl! It is hard to call her a little girl instead of a baby, but I guess that is what she is. She seems to think she is so big and wants to be so independent. The only time you can hold her is if you have on jewelry (which I put on especially for her!) or if she is tired. It tend to get her up before Ashley has a chance when I spend the night just so I have the opportunity to sit with her and rock her in the morning. She is always in such a good mood when she wakes up and is so happy to see you when you get her out of the bed. My heart just melts! Below are some pictures Ashley and Neal had made of her in her birthday dress and with a cake (which was suppose to look like a big cupcake, but Ashley says it turned out looking more like a mushroom...she's having someone else make it now!!!). Enjoy!

4 years and going strong!!!

It is hard to believe that JoeDan and I have been married for four years, but it's true...today is our anniversary! When I think of all the ups and downs that we've been through: me going back to school, stressing over getting jobs, trying to have a baby, and everything else in between I realize that we have been through so much together...and I can not imagine going through it all with anyone else! I am so blessed to have JoeDan as my husband and I'm sure I do not say that enough. I am so thankful that God allowed us to cross paths when he did too so that we could get together young enough to enjoy some of the young, fun college days together. We laugh all the time about how crazy we were, yet all our memories we have shows us how much we have grown up since we started dating. It makes me happy to know we grew up together and will continue each year to continue to grow. We have so much more to do and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us. I look forward to fulfilling our dreams together...it is very exciting!

Test Results Are In

Okay, I know it has been a while since I last posted, but I haven't had much to say. It's been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster lately, but hopefully things will finally be looking up! I had my last doctor's appointment on May 30 and that is when my doctor drew lots of blood to check my clotting, if I have any abnormalities, etc. that might be causing my miscarriages. The results came in yesterday and this is what she found...I have a MTHFR mutation, which in simple terms means that this mutation affects how my body uses folic acid. My body needs more folic acid than a normal pregnant woman would need. Because of this, I have to take (I started yesterday) four times the normal amount of folic acid and a baby aspirin each day. This should make it possible for me to carry to full-term! This is such great news. I was so afraid that I either had LOTS of things wrong that would make it really hard or impossible to have a baby or on the other end they would find nothing and we would just have to try again without any help. Either of those findings would have been heart-breaking. Luckily, what was found is something that can easily be worked with and more common than I realized. I have heard of several people (since I had my miscarriages) that have this same mutation and have taken the extra folic acid and baby aspirin and have had healthy, full-term babies. Actually, we have a family friend that went through this recently and is now 18 weeks pregnant, so this gives me hope! Obviously each time a woman gets pregnant it is a gamble and you just don't know what might happen, but at least we know this will help our chances and makes us less nervous to try again.

Please continue to pray for us and we'll let you know how things progress...obviously I won't be announcing any pregnancies until we are a little more "in the clear" next time. I may be letting everyone know I'm pregnant and what we are having at the same time :)

Am I Really 30?????

So, my birthday was yesterday and I turned 30! Thirty, really??? I sure don't feel 30...I don't THINK I look 30...but, what does 30 look like???? Yes, my body has changed...my boobs aren't where they used to be, my butt isn't the size (or shape) it used to be, and my eyes keep getting worse, but with that said, I still can't believe I'm 30. It doesn't depress me at all, but it sure sounds weird. At least when I was 29, I could still talk about being in my 20s like 29 was right beside 21. Now, I am in a whole new category. I'll even have to check a different box for surveys! This is going to take some getting used to!

I've talked to relatives and they've said that their 30s were their favorite years. I sure hope I will be able to say the same. The past two days have been great. I look forward to seeing what the future will bring with this new title!

Update

Although I know I should be in be resting right now, I just can't seem to do that. I'm not sure the meds are working like they are suppose to...JoeDan says I'm bitchy...but that is pretty normal!! I feel like I could run a million miles right now and I am pretty sure these pills were suppose to help me relax and sleep...oh well! Pain meds have never worked right for me...I was a crazy woman when I got my wisdom teeth pulled!

Now for the update on how today went...My D&C was scheduled for 11:00 this morning. I was suppose to be there at 9:00 and get registered and all the paperwork done before surgery and of course I misunderstood where it was scheduled and went to outpatient surgery instead of ambulatory surgery and I wasn't on their list. By 9:20 and after walking to the complete other side of the hospital, I finally got registered and only had to wait about 15 minutes in the waiting room...thank goodness!! My nurses were great, although they couldn't get the IV in my first vein and had to do it a second time and it hurt like crazy. I thought all-in-all I did okay...until the Chaplin came in to talk to me. I have never wanted to hurt a holy person before today, but I came very close to killing this woman. She made me cry so much and all I could think was when is someone going to come in a save me from this crazy woman. She told me that I should have named the baby and I should have a funeral for it when I get home...don't I get to make those decisions and get to moarn in my own way??? She wanted to know all the details of both times...is it really necessary to bring that up right before I'm about to go in for this already tramatic experience??? Needless-to-say, all I could do was lay on the hospital bed and cry and I guess that was a sign to her to keep talking and tell me how much she is there for me...again I really thought I might kill her and if anyone heard what she was saying, they might have let me off scott free!!! Thankfully the nurses came in and had to put the IV in and saved me from this weirdo. I'm sure she probably thought I was an atheist or something, but at that point I really didn't care what she thought. I had already talked to God and he had comforted me...obviously I had to talk to him again after she left!! I told the nurses not to let her back in...and I sware it wasn't five minutes later that I heard the nurse on the other side of my curtain say, "Actually, she would rather not see you again. She's pretty emotional." I think that nurse should get a raise!

The surgery itself went really well and the doctor said that my body had already begun the process of detachment, so the surgery was not as extensive as it usually is. I was probably only in surgery for about 20 minutes or so. I went under and came out of anesthesia great.

Please know that your prayers are still needed as I know my physical and emotional state will be a rollercoaster for the next few days. I love you all and will talk to you soon. Thank you again for being in my life. You make it much easier to get through the tough times and much more fun during the good ones!

Sad News

I write this with a very heavy heart. I am very sad to tell you all that I found out yesterday that I lost the baby. I started bleeding yesterday afternoon when my mom and were out shopping in Hendersonville and I called Ashley and she met us and we went to Summit and she did an ultrasound to confirm what my body was already telling me. As some of you know, and I know others would not have since it wasn't public knowledge, this is actually my second miscarriage. I had a second ultrasound at the Medical Center here in Bowling Green to officially tell what Ashley already had and I am scheduled for a D&C on tomorrow (Monday) morning at 11:00. I am going to also have several tests to hopefully find some answers as to why I can so easily get pregnant (only took one month the first time and two months the second time) but not stay pregnant. These tests can't be run, though, for about 6 weeks because the pregnancy hormones must be completely out of my body before they can be run. Please pray that they find something through these tests to help JoeDan and I find some answers as to why we are going through this and how we can prevent it from happening (if that is possible) next time. Pray that it is something that is easily fixed and not something that is nonpreventable.

I am happy to say that our spirits are not as down as they were last time and that we truly feel that we will one day be the parents that we know we are meant to be, whether that be through biological or adopted children. I am so grateful that you all are in my life and your prayers are much appreciated. I am not in a state to want to talk right now, but did want my friends and family to know what was going on. Please, if you have told any friends, family, etc. tell them what is going on. This is not something I am trying to hide. I would much rather them hear this from you than to not know and run into me and congratulate me and/or JoeDan. I don't feel that we could handle that.

I love you all and will talk to you soon. In time, this too will pass and we will have wonderful things to look forward to again. We just need time to heal and talk to the doctors to see what our next step is...there has to be an answer! I just know there has to be!!!

Dr. Visit and update

Well, this visit was pretty uneventful. I just met with the doctor's assistant and got all my paperwork done and lots of blood drawn. My mother-in-law went with me since JoeDan has no clue about his family's health history. We were in and out in about 45 minutes. I had to weigh...not fun! I've already gained 6 pounds...this is not looking good! I guess I'm going to have to start exercising a lot more. I don't feel that I'm eating too unhealthy. No midnight runs for ice cream or anything like that. I really haven't changed my eating habits that much, except paying more attention to getting all my vitamins and calcium. Guess I'll just have to watch everything closely and make sure I am not one of those women that gains 70 pounds. I would die!

My next doctor's visit is Wednesday, April 23 (my last day in my 20s!). JoeDan will go to this visit with me. We should get to hear the heartbeat, which will be amazing! I am ready for an eventful visit that helps me to know that I'm really pregnant. Other than gaining weight, I don't really feel that different. Still no morning sickness, thank goodness! Most of my clothes haven't gotten tight...though some dress pants have, the lined ones that don't give any...I hate those pants right now...they are causing my work wardrobe to get really small! Thank goodness April has been declared "Jeans Month" at school. Teachers could donate $1 a day to wear jeans. I gave the full month's worth. I figured that would help me be able to wear regular clothes a little longer. I am going to go shopping with my mom for maternity clothes this weekend. It seems very strange! She says though that I need to have them in the closet and ready so I don't wake up one morning and my tummy has popped out over night and nothing fits. She says she can remember that happening to her and it was very depressing and frustrating. I definitely don't want to have to go through that.