My last day...

Today is officially my last day of work before I go on maternity leave. I am taking an extra week off to get ready for Will's arrival, as I think I have mentioned in my previous post. 2 more hours left exactly. I am not 100% positive that I will return to this job after my maternity leave is up. I have a pretty strong assumption that I am probably not going to be returning and this is my very last day at a job for a long time...that's insane to think about! I have been working ever since I was 16 so this will be a new experience for me...being a SAHM. Hm...funny I haven't really thought much into that today until just now as I pound out this post.

I am pretty excited to start this new journey...with 2 kids! I'm a little nervous that I will get "bored"...I know, I'm not going to get bored....but I just don't want to get myself stuck in that SAHM "funk" ... Being surrounded by kids and no ADULTS to hang out with...I better invest in some friends in Columbus... :o) THANKFULLY my sister in law lives there and my precious cousin is only 15 minutes away in Auburn! I have a feeling I'll be calling her over everyday to come and "play" ... aka help me out! haha I'm almost SURE she won't mind to come play with Reagan and Will. She loves kids! Anyways...I'm ready to take on this adventure full steam. Please pray for me. haha

8 more days and I'll be posting pictures of our little boy!!! I am SO excited! I can't believe it's almost time. Since Chad can't be there with me at the hospital, I am really praying that God will guard my heart from any loneliness. I know I'm going to feel it to some extreme...but I just really don't want to be overwhelmed with that feeling of being lonely. It's not like he can help it anyways. What he's doing is probably the BEST thing for our family and I could not be ANY prouder of him than I am right now! Maybe on graduation day...lol but other than...don't think so! :o) He's just really done extremely well and I have always known he would do well in the military. He's completely bummed about not being with me too, but I told him that he had to be strong for me like I have been for him since he's been gone. I also have to keep reminding myself DAILY that I am an Army Wife now...NOTHING is guaranteed anymore...& I am not the 1st woman to have to give birth to a child without their soldier next to them. I'm just thankful for God's timing because if he would have been gone during Reagan's birth and everything that happened with her...I don't know what I would have done. I know he would have been able to come home....but definitely not for the whole 2.5 months she was in the hospital....So for that, I am thankful! I just continue to pray that I'll be able to hold little Will right when they get him out and not have to wonder why he's not crying yet or why they have him in the corner of the room with 5-10 hospital personnel surrounding him sticking stuff down his throat and what not. Please pray with me for that as well. I know my family has been. They haven't told me that but I figured it's kind of an "understood" assumption. :o) (Thank you guys for praying for me!)

Well...as this day comes to a close and I begin to pack up my desk for the last time, I just want to say how thankful I am & have been for my job. I have been here for almost 4 years doing different jobs and have enjoyed (mostly) every minute of it. I wish I didn't have to leave and I could just transfer to a different campus wherever I go, but it's not possible. If it were not for the position I currently hold now I would not have the opportunity to learn as much as I have about a variety of different job related things and even people. I have definitely met some very interesting characters working here. haha! I will miss my co-workers and the daily grind we go through together daily. I will NOT, however miss our lunch room food (& their RIDICULOUS prices). LOL.

So for now, and probably until February 24th or 25th (I'll be bringing my laptop with me to the hospital so I can update!), I will wrap it up. Thanks for reading and thanks for praying! Keep on doing it. God Bless.

15 days!

So. I now have 15 more days and counting before Will (FINALLY) arrives....I honestly can't believe how fast this pregnancy has seem to be! Reagan has definitely kept my mind preoccupied....along with a little thing I like to call the ARMY! LOL. I have been soo wrapped up in that as well. Making sure paperwork is turned in and things are getting done that need to be...I feel like my job is NEVER done and if you are a fellow Army spouse, you understand!

See, I am such a "list" person and the Army lifestyle just does not work for people like me! People like me, who LOVE to be organized (but somehow just can't find the time...hehe) and have a list for everything under the sun (I even stick post-its to my steering wheel...just like my momma!). It just really is NOT possible with the Army. But I am slowly learning to just literally take one day at a time and have faith that everything will work out as long as I am doing everything I can to get it worked out. It's hard....

So...15 more days...FIFTEEN! Speaking of the Army..and 15 more days...I learned yesterday morning that Chad can not be with me during my delivery...(yes, I cried ALL day yesterday! Even when I went to my weekly OB appointment) he could only be here for it if there were serious complications with my pregnancy or birth (Praise God there have not been any major complications and I pray there won't be on delivery day as I have mentioned in my previous post.) We will be videoing for him and taking LOTS AND LOTS of pictures...(like we wouldn't do that any way!) I was planning on videoing if he was here or not so that worked out! March 12th he graduates and we will all be there (2 weeks out of surgery) to cheer him on! We are so PROUD! Also, we hope he'll be able to come home a couple of days after Will's birth to spend some time with us before he graduates! So we are praying for that as well...will you join us? It would be SUCH a blessing for him to be here to meet his new baby boy for the 1st time.

Oh Dear Father, Please allow Chad to be able to come home even if it's for an hour or 2 before he graduates so he doesn't have to wait 2 whole weeks to meet his son!

I am more than ready to meet this little man. I can't wait to see what he looks like. If he'll have red hair or not...like his big sister or if it'll be brown or blond! :o) I can't wait to put him in his going home outfit, the same one his daddy wore when my in-laws brought their first-born son home for the 1st time 27 years ago! How sweet will that be! Precious moments.....

I am also EXTREMELY greatful that my supervisor has approved for my maternity leave to start a week early! I requested for that because I just feel EXTREMELY unprepared for this baby. Having Reagan running around and not getting home until after 7 p.m. it's hard to get anything done! SO I hope that week I'll be able to accomplish a LOT and rest a little bit more! :o)

Just call me the "Fried Chicken Queen"...

22 days....I only have 22 more days until Will's arrival. I must be honest with you, I am a little nervous about this whole "2 under 2" deal. But on the other hand I feel completely blessed! Oh, how I truly wish he wasn't due to arrive until maybe mid April (this would give us some time to get settled somewhere instead of having to move his sweet little 2 week old self an hour and a half [thankful we don't have to travel by plane any further than that b-c an hour and a half drive TOTALLY beats a plane ride with 2 little ones ALONE.....can I get an AAAAMEN!?]) Other than that...God's timing is just amazing, isn't it!? I look back on my life within the past several months and just think how blessed I am to serve a God who knows what's best for me and my family. I praise Him for that & for his perfect Will (His plan...and our new son! JUST saw the connection there!) These past 8 months have been a roller coaster of emotions but praying fervently daily has been my refuge!

We are praying so hard to be able to actually bring this little boy home & NOT spend 2.5 months at Children's Hospital this time. Although, I do LOVE Children's and their ENTIRE staff, but we would MUCH rather spend the first 2.5 months of our 2ND child's life holding him the DAY he's born (not a month afterwards) and allll the days remaining. There are no complications to make us worry about not being able to bring him home the 2-3 days prior to his birthday, but there were also no complications with Reagan, that we knew of, until she came into this world. So I ask you to just pray.

February 24th is THE day he'll be here (if all goes to plan....) I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 AM and surgery is scheduled for 7:30 AM. We are not sure if Chad will be able to be there yet. We are still working on that. I have to call Red Cross well in advance (like next Monday!) so that they are able to get all his paperwork squared away and get approval from the commanders or whoever they get approval from. But...here's "the thing", Chad will be right in the middle of "FTX" (Field Training Exercise) and this is a mandatory thing he has to complete in order to graduate. He only has to complete 72 hours of it...soo this, too, is yet another thing we are praying super hard about, that they will be compassionate enough to work something out where he is able to finish up FTX and able to be at the birth of our son. Oh how devastating it'll be for me to not have him there...ESPECIALLY (hopefully) being able to actually have a "normal" birth-DAY, being able to experience that first night with Will in the hospital room and learning to actually nurse him and just having all that to experience with my husband and our new baby would just be soo joyous for me! so please, help me to pray for this.

On a much lighter & mouth drooling note..... Just click here, you won't regret it!

That's right Ladies & Gentlemen...I made that last night! First time EVER frying chicken and it was a successful experience! My husband will be SO proud of me! It actually looked JUST LIKE the picture...go figure! :o) I have ordered this woman's cookbook after hearing such amazing things about her food and I figured my husband would L-O-V-E me for it! (Although, he is THE cook in our family..I have a feeling that will change here shortly!) I feel like I owe it to him to learn some yummy dishes so he can just relax when he gets home from work and enjoy the aroma of this great food swirling around our kitchen! Oh how wonderful....(and all of a sudden I get this mental image of me wearing a dress wrapped in a cute apron and high heels, kids playing calmly in the living room, table set...the whole stepford wife thing....umm..NOT SO MUCH! Reality check...Sweatpants and a t-shirt please...I'll have make-up on, at least!) :o) But seriously..if you haven't jumped on this Pioneer Woman bandwagon...GET TO JUMPIN' SISTER! She posts recipes on her website..DAILY! so have fun! Print them out...order her book and make your husband or man in your life happy for a change! I dare you...Like I said, you won't regret it! :o)

so for now, I'm off...I'm extremely exhausted today and SO WISH I could just crawl in my bed and go to sleep...but alas! I am at work and the previously mentioned is impossible at this moment in time...but oh, honey...when 8:00 pm rolls around...you better believe that I will be in my bed....or at least trying to chase Reagan around to get her in the bath tub! Wish me luck....

God Bless, Ya'll!