Full Of Love Christmas 5x7 folded card

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"Meet Us" Monday

**On Mondays, I would like to take the time to introduce you to our little family. This is the day that I will share our story- who we are, how we met, the experiences in life that have formed us into who we are today. So, join me on Mondays….and Meet Us!**

Today, I’d like to introduce you to my most precious girl. On January 1, 2003, I had the great joy of becoming a mother for the first time. At exactly 7:20am CST, the most beautiful little girl entered the world- but not without some drama first. Little did I know that she would quickly grow into a little girl with a flair for drama- maybe her pregnancy and birth was a foretelling of things to come? Ha-ha!

My pregnancy with Little Miss was not easy. By week 7 of my pregnancy I was throwing up non stop, by week 12 I was admitted to the hospital and by week 14 I had lost 25lbs. I had a condition, be it a condition that affects only 4% of pregnant women, but hey, leave it to me to be that small minority, known as Hyperemesis Gravedarum. In layman’s terms- I had severe morning sickness. And not only did I have Hyperemesis Gravedarum- I had severe Hyperemesis Gravedarum! Long story short, I ended up losing 25lbs, being hospitalized for over 2 weeks, and a PICC line in (and hooked up to a TPN bag for 12 hours a day) for 6 weeks. Whew- and that was just the first 20 weeks!! We were able to get the Hyperemesis under control with the use of Zofran (oh God Bless the makers of Zofran), but I did go on to have other complications.

Little Miss’s birth was not any less dramatic than her first 20 weeks in the womb. What started out as a routine 40wk appt on December 31, ended with me being ambulanced to the hospital and being prepped for an emergency C-section! Talk about SCARY!! While at my appt. Little Miss’s heart rate dropped, and stayed, near 70. Now, if you know anything about a baby’s heart rate, you will know that the average range can be between 130-160bpm. Her heart rate down near 70bpm was frightening and warranted an emergency ride to the hospital. I’ve never ridden in an ambulance, let alone 9 months pregnant, barreling down the highway, lights and sirens blasting. That was probably the single scariest event of my life! But, Praise the Lord, we made it to the hospital quickly, they put her on an ultrasound scan, and her heart rate was back up in the 140 range where it should be. But, better safe than sorry- the Dr decided since I was full term, to keep me and induce labor. My beautiful Princess was born 13hrs and 20 min later- my precious New Year’s Baby!!

Today, Little Miss is 7 ½ years old. She looks just like her mommy- bright blue eyes and beautiful freckles covering her pretty little face. She has the prettiest hair- not blonde, not brown, but gold! She is smart- easily grasping new concepts in school, and at the end of first grade, she was reading on a 3rd grade level! (Yes- I am a proud momma!) She’s sweet and loving- but boy is she ever stubborn! (Hmmm…wonder where she gets that from?? ;) ) She loves the color pink, anything “princess”, dolls, dress up and reading. She loves to sing and play make believe. She has a vivid imagination- she just really has a flair for drama. She has an imaginary horse named Aleena (what did I tell you about that flair for drama!!) and hopefully soon, she’ll be able to take the horseback riding lessons she so badly wants. She has an amazing memory, better than I’ve ever seen on a 7yr old before. She loves to memorize Bible verses- which makes this momma very proud.

Sometimes, in her moments of stubbornness and disobedience, I just want to pull my hair out and run away. But, I don’t. I never could. I love my daughter- more than she will ever be able to comprehend- at least not until she has a child of her own. I look at her, and I thank God for giving me this reason to keep on moving forward in my life. When her father left me (yeah, that’s another post for another day!), my world fell apart. I didn’t know how I would move forward; I didn’t know how we would go on. But I had a reason- I had this beautiful Little Miss to take care of. I had these 2 bright blue eyes looking at me every day, giving me reason to move forward. I had two arms wrapping around my neck each night, loving me unconditionally, even on my worst days as a mother. And even today, she makes my life worth living- I wouldn’t want it any other way, but to simply be Little Miss’s momma!

** For more information on Hyperemesis Gravedarum, please visit the following link: www.helpher.org This is a vey real, very debilitaing disease and quite often misunderstood/misdiagnosed disease. The only way for this to be nderstood is for more people to become educated and more research to be conducted. So, please, take the time to educate yourself!! **

Counting my Blessings

I am a blessed woman. Sometimes I forget to stop and realize how blessed I really am. Today, I had a few moments that made me stop and realize how blessed I really am! Today, I realized again why I am marrying the man that I am- I was once again reminded how amazing he is, and how much he loves me! Keep reading...you'll think he is pretty amazing too!

1. My fiance willingly picked me up from work- even though it is out of his way to do so!
2. My fiance, knowing I had a really bad day, showed me I was his first priortity by canceling his dinner plans so that he could be here for me tonight.
3. My fiance took my duaghter with him to pick up dinner so that I could take a shower and unwind from my stressful day.
4. My fiance picked up dinner tonight so that I wouldn't have to cook and could have a night to relax.
5. My fiance sat and watched a movie with my daughter, showing her that she was special to him as well.
6. As I am typing this, I am listening to my fiance and my daughter read in the other room, as he tucks her in. I love listening to him and her share these special moments together- building a lasting "father/daughter" relationship- a stepping stone to our family....Becoming Blended!

In case you wanted to keep track

You know, just in case you wanted to keep track with me....





Yes- I am just slightly excited. ;)

I'm getting married

I want to start off this blog with letting you know, as if you already didn't know, that I'm getting married!! Yes, in exactly 224 days I will become Mrs. B!! (which is kind of funny, since I am currently Ms. B- in fact, the initial of my last name has never changed in my life- not once! I've always been a "B"!!) There are still days that I cannot belive that I am getting married! I want this blog to be a mix of wedding related items (since I am essentially planning and paying for this wedding on my own, I will have lots of DIY projects to post in the coming weeks/months) and I also want it to be about blending our families.

I know all about blending families, I come from a rather large blended family myself. When my mom married my step dad in October 1988, she had 3 children (2 boys and a girl (me)) and he had 2 children (2 boys). After they were married, they had 2 more children together (a girl and a boy). So, in case you weren't keeping track, I have 5 brothers and a sister!! (yes, I said FIVE brothers :) ) It wasn't easy to blend our families together- but we did it, successfully! We all made it out alive, growing up to be responsible, upstanding adults. We love our parents, we love each other. My parents did a remarkable job "blending".

We are going to have to write our own story of a blended family, and I know it won't be easy. I was previously married and have one daughter. My fiance, though he was not married, has one son. We will face our own unique challenges when it comes to blending our small family together. There will be high points and low points, this I know- but I honestly can't wait to walk that road with him.

In the weeks to come, I'll share more about myself- the journey I've traveled. I'll share more about the amazing man who asked me to be his wife. I'll share about our children, about the wedding plans, and sometimes I'll just share abou tthe mundane day to day things that make this journey in life "ours".

So, I hope you'll join me on my journey of ....Becoming Blended!