Oh how I have waited for this day

Hello, everyone it is Wed April 27th my sister Amanda is coming home for a few days.  I know there are so many people out there that are not close to there family or they have been spread all around, so that it is normal to them, but our family has always been in the same area, so for one of my brother's or sister's to move away is so hard. My sister and I are the same age; our parents meet when we were both 5 yrs old and our parents came to see quickly how different we were. Sometimes it was a good thing, but while we were little for the most part it was CRAZINESS.  We fought alot but we had great moments of playing and always finding something to explore on the farm.  Once we got older things got easier for us and every time we were together, we made the most of it, and now here, we are and have not seen each other in a few months so I will make the most of every min. I get to spend with her this weekend.  We are in the process of getting the final touches done for her wedding so this should be fun.  I also have 2 brothers and 2 other sisters, and 2 sisters from marriage I love each and everyone of them so much.  So just a little reminder no matter what your difference's are with your brother's and sister's be thankful you have them and do not spend your time angry, or arguing with each other.

Nick's First Easter review

Hello Everyone I hope you had a great Easter, we enjoyed every minute of family time.  As my previous post said Nick rolled over for the first time but then hated being on his stomach so don't know if he will do that again. Yesterday we started our day out at my In Laws Nick was loved on by his me maw papaw and Aunt Sam, with toys and stuffed animals.  We had brunch with them and it was delicious growing up we use to eat breakfast for dinner and that was so good because not very often do you actually get to eat a big breakfast.  Then we took Nick to go see his uncle, cousins and his papa and a few other family members.  we had bbq yummy but the greatest part is we were going to go swimming and as soon as I put his swim suite on he got so excited, but then we got to the pool and it said CLOSED FOR SEASON.  Who closes a pool for a season I could understand for cleaning. Well any ways it has ended up being a great first Easter.  Our lil family has also now acquired a new dog it is a girl she is so precious I just hope things with her and out other dog Tank get better they get along but she is a puppy and wants to play alot where Tank gets tired of playing.  Well everyone those are just random things that have happened.  This is going to be a great week my sister Amanda is coming to town and I cannot wait.  Yall have a great day.

the day before easter something new happend

I hope everyone is having a great weekend, we are starting out right now at my momma's Nick is having fun yelling at his cousin.  he is tired but so excited he wont take a nap but just means he will sleep well tonight. Nick received his first easter basket it had a bath sponge teething ring a bib and some suckers lol.  Nick also did his first roll over today.  I think he got jealous because his cousin could do it so he started to do it to look cool, but then he noticed he was on his stomach and he was not to excited about that.  well I am going to go hang with the family will let yall know how tomorrow goes it will be the first time for Nick to go swimming so we shall see how that goes.  Everyone have a great Easter and be safe.

1st Easter

As Easter is getting closer, I am getting excited, but dreading driving everywhere to see family.  I will be so excited once we get a home and then some of the holidays can be at our home, so we will not have to drive to everyone's houses.  However, I am excited to get to go see my Momma.  It has been a little while since she has seen Nick. Now he is doing some crazy things so it is going to be exciting seeing how he and my nephew that are only 1 month apart act around each other.  

The down side to this holiday is, this will be the first holiday that my sister is not here with us. However, I will get to see Amanda in 1 week that is so exciting since she has moved to NC it has been really rough, even though we do not talk as often as I would like I think about her every day and hope she is doing well.  I could never imagine moving away from all of my family, but I know when you love someone so much then where ever they are is where you belong.  So I have to accept that she moved away to be with the love of her life.  We will just have to make the most out of what time we will have when she is here. People always remind me she is already married but I tell them no she is not.  Maybe she is married according to the military and by law but not in my mind.  Once that big day comes then it will be real to me. 

So our plans for our first Easter is going to see my Momma in Cove on Saturday, then to the in-laws Sunday morning for brunch and then to my dads for bbq dinner.  I enjoy every moment made with my family, because with out them I have no clue where I would be.  I love each and every one of them, and am so blessed to have the in laws that actually really make me feel like a family member not someone that just married into there family.  Well that is my thoughts for now hope yall have a great day.

what is going on today

Well this blog is going to be short and sweet, work has been crazy, but what is new.  I got word that we got over the little speed bump with the house thing. They accepted our bid but then decided they were going to open it up for a bidding war that closed at 5pm on Monday.  We received the e-mail around 3:30 on Monday so had to kick it in gear. Today I received word that no one else resubmitted a bid on the home so we are ready to go, just have to wait for the sellers to sign the paperwork.  The road to getting those keys is going to be a long road, but we are prepared to walk it. 

6 Months today

I was so happy to wake up this morning to another beautiful day.  Then I realized it was the 19th that means today Nick turns 6 months old.  I cannot believe how fast time has gone by, and the next thing I know we will be celebrating his 1 yr birthday.  I am a little emotional today, but it is a reminder you must slow down and enjoy the moment you have each and every day.    I still sometimes feel like I am in a dream when I look at him, I never thought I would have a son, and if you ask anyone I always said, there was no need to have kids I have plenty of nephews and nieces.  I was the Aunt that loved to take the kids but was excited to give them back.  I never knew there was a love like this out there, and I love that the lord blessed us with a love that will never fade.   I think everyday of all the things we can do in the future with Nick, for example I will not have to borrow one of my nephews or nieces to go see kid movies, Chris and I will be able to go to the zoo with him instead of feeling like we are the only grown people at the zoo with out a child.  I look forward to all the little steps Nick will be taking every month I am blessed to have a happy baby that loves to smile and laugh.  Last night while I was trying to feed him, he just kept laughing and all I could do is laugh back at him.  I would stop laughing and he would look at me. Then laugh wanting me to do it again.  When they are so young, it is hard not to laugh when they do certain things, but you know you will not be laughing once they get a little older. Well my work day is about to start, and yesterday was a busy day and had a curve ball thrown at us with the house, but hopefully we work through it today and get further along in the process. I hope everyone has a great Tuesday. 

Making A home.

Chris and I decided it was time to buy a home and put the money we spend in rent towards a bigger home.  We started the process about 2 months ago and found a few homes, but then we found the one we fell in love with.  It has been a stressfull getting everything figured out, but we got approved and will be closing on our first home June 1st.  I have always pictured owning a home that our kids will grow up in and not have to worry about moving from one place to another.  I have such a hard time going to sleep at night because all I can think of is all the things I want to do now to make this house a home.  Now the fun begins of packing I look around and think wow how did we get all this stuff, so I think it is time to do a clean house sweep and things I have not used the 4 yrs we have been in our duplex needs to go.  Well I will keep yall posted on how everything is going.  Thanks again to all my family and firends for always being there for us.

The first 6 months of becoming a parent

The first month of Nick’s life was really rough, I was trying to breast feed but then noticed he was not eating so had to start formula.  Then he kept doing this really weird thing and no one was really for sure what was going on, so one night during a feeding he had an episode and it scared the lights out of me so I rushed to the hospital, and come to find out our little boy was having seizures.  As a parent all I could do is ask my self what did I do wrong why is this happening to my son.  We were transferred to Dells Children's hospital where we spent a week doing testing and many medications to see why he was having them.  They were unable to find anything in the test but they had seen he had a little bit of blood on his brain and thought maybe that is what was causing them so we started medication to stop the seizures.  The Dr instructed us that we would leave him on it for about 2 months then do another test and wing him off the meds.  While he was on medication, everything was fine.  We then started transitioning him into his own crib in his room it was hard on me at first but he was sleeping through the night from 10-8 in the morning so for him it was great. He was growing so quick and doing something new every week it was so amazing.

At 4 months, it was time to see what the test said and if we could wing him off the medication, so we went back to Dell’s, got word that the test was great, and we could start winging him off the meds.  It took 4 weeks to wing him off. Then one day I took him out shopping with me and he was asleep, and the next thing I knew Nick woke up and was in a full-blown seizure I was so scared and could not believe this was happening again I hated that he had to go through this.  That is when I realized we were all truly blessed with a great big family, they have all been there to help Chris and I get through this pain and uncertainty of this situation.  The Dr just told us to put him back on the medication, but I wanted to know why this was happening, and the Dr. just kept saying we might never know.  I battled with this for a few weeks and wanted answers but then had to just come to an understanding that we might just never know and all we can do is pray that he grows out of them.

Last month we were admitted to Dell's again for further testing because, we were not sure if he was having seizures or just doing something new.  The Dr wanted to see what we were seeing and test him to see if they see any seizures and to just confirm the medication is working.  We went in on Wednesday, and of course, what we were seeing was not happening that day so Dr decided lets keep him a few more days.  Sure enough, he started doing what we were seeing, and once the test came, in the Dr. confirmed, they were not seizures and that the medication is working.  Dr. is hoping that by the time he is 1yr he will just out grow them, but for now, we just have to give him medication.

Nick is a few days shy of being 6 months, and time is flying by way to quick, but he always seems to amaze me with his personality.  He loves to hear noises he can make, and put anything he can find in his mouth.  It is so amazing how some days he will look just like me then other day he will look just like Chris.  He loves food and playtime.  I recently took him out to the farm I grew up on and had so much fun I can not wait to take him there when he is old enough to ride on the tractor and explore the pasture with me so I can tell him stories of  growing up out there.

I thank the good lord every day for everything he has blessed me with, my family, friends, my husband and my son most of all.  I know that no matter what the out come of Nick's seizures is we will work through it and make sure he grows up just like any other child. I continue to pray that he will out grow them so none of us have to experience it again.

In the Beginning

Chris and I meet Sept. of 2006, we hit it off and knew that we were both in it for the long run. By 2007 Chris asked me to marry him and of course I said yes, we took 1 yr to plan our wedding.  Thanks to all of our family we had lots of help on what to do and how to do it we had a small wedding in my home town of Jarrell.  It was wonderful and fit Chris and I so well. We spent our honeymoon in New Orleans.  I loved the town so much but was so over weight I was not able to walk to far which left us limited on what we could do, but we still enjoyed our time as newly weds.  In the first year of marriage Chris and I traveled alot. Chris and I also discussed if we wanted kids or not and we both kept saying we didn't want kids we would rather travel, but inside really we both were open to kids.

In May of 2008 I decided I wanted to make a life change for myself and my future so I decided to have the gastric bypass.  For people who may not know what this is it is a surgery that obese people can get qualified for to have there stomach cut to help lose weight. This is not a permanent fix to obesity.  You must go through drastic measures to get approved.  I was on a diet that consisted of all liquids through out the day, and one meal that consisted of chicken, or fish and a green vegetables.  I started this diet in Sept the weekend after my birthday, and stayed on it till Nov when I finally was approved and had my surgery.  After recovery everything was so different, I had a new out look on life and something I never had which was energy I was ALIVE.  I started my battle at 350lbs and in this first year I had alot of work to do not only controlling what I was eating, and exercising, but figuring out why I let myself get so unhealthy.  Weight loss is a big mental game and you have to beat it to achieve your goals you can not let the game beat you. Towards the end of that first year after surgery Chris and I had decided we would let the lord decide if it were meant to have a child or not.

It was now time for our 2 yr wedding anniversary and I had lost almost 200 lbs and we decided to go back to New Orleans, I had made Chris aware he should prepar himself to walk alot, because I was ready to explore.  We had so much fun and sure enough walked everywhere, the day before we were going to leave I got really sick and thought it might of just been all the walking and partying we had done, so I just took some meds and took it easy.  I told Chris I was not feeling well and then we realized that something more might be going on, but we were going to wait till we got home to see if I was pregnant.  So we woke up to leave and I didn't feel any better, so I slept the whole way home in the car because I felt so nauseated, sure enough got home took the test and as I went to set it down Chris ran over looked at it and started yelling OMG! We’re going to have a baby.  I somewhat freaked out and told him to calm down let me read the instructions and well sure enough it was positive. Chris and I knew right then that our life was going to change, and we were ready for what ever was thrown at us.

My pregnancy went great, I did not have morning sickness I was just so tired all the time.  Then the second trimester picked up and I had energy.  Then the day came to see if we were expecting a boy or a girl.  Chris wanted a boy and I wanted a girl, and when Chris seen that we were having a boy he jumped up in joy and we both cried. Towards the end of my pregnancy I got tired again, but never did feel bad or sick, then we went in to the doctor on a Friday for a check up and she told us to expect a baby any day, so then the anxiety set in and all I wanted was to see his beautiful face.  On Oct. 19, 2010 I woke up around 2 am and my back hurt so bad I just cried called the hospital and they told me to come in so they can check me out and give me some meds for the pain in my back, so I woke Chris up and told him we had to go to hospital so they can help my back.  When we got there the nurse checked me out and told us that we would be there for awhile because I was in labor, I never even knew what a contraction felt like so I was extremely lucky, but having back labor hurt so bad.  The moment the nurse told us we were going to be staying Chris just started calling everyone.  We were so excited but nervous knowing our precious boy would be here at any time.  Labor was so long, but my family tired to make the best of it, but since I didn't ever feel contractions it made the waiting part pretty easy and fun.  Then finally the time came and Nicholas James Nolan joined our life.  I will never forget the moment they set him on me I never knew you could love someone so much, everyone went crazy with joyful tears and when Chris seen him the first time he had just as much joy as I had and you could tell he loved his son more then life itself. 

Well that is how Nick joined our lives and the journey continues each and every day.  Thank you for taking your time to read a little about how our family started.