Reason to Rejoice

This day started REALLY early for me! I got up at 3:15 and went to Kohl's and got there about 5 minutes after they opened at 4:00. It was CRAZY!!!! I couldn't find the cookware set I was looking for and really was too tired and overwhelmed to think about it. I got what I needed and got in the line...it wound all the way around back by housewares! I got in line at 5 til 5:00 and I finally checked out and was in my car at 6:25. It was NUTS! I had seriously thought about going home after that but I was on a mission. It was still dark outside and my family was probably still in bed. So, I headed to Arlington because I needed to go to Hobby Lobby and I was hungry! I stopped at Bed, Bath and Beyond because they opened at 6:00. It was pleasant! No crazy people! It was nice. I got most of my shopping done there. I still needed to go to Hobby Lobby for a gift for my brothers. I went by Chick Fil A and then headed to Hobby Lobby with 15 minutes before they opened. I sat ...

Well, as some of you know this year I spent Thanksgiving Day with some friends at Texas Stadium in Irving watching the Cowboys play the Seahawks. Brice was invited to go too but he isn't much on crowds and just wasn't interested in going. So, we discussed it and he said it was more than fine if I wanted to go. He and Rachel took a dish and went to my granny's for lunch. Well, the game was SO MUCH FUN! We got there at about 10:45 and tailgated with turkey and all of the Thanksgiving goodies. It was great! Then we went to the stadium around 1:30. We found our seats (not too hard...they sit in those same ones every game). Then, we still had a good long while before the game started. Anita and I walked around the concourse the entire way around the stadium. I was checking out the food (and stopped for some Dippin Dots along the way). It only took us about 10 or 15 minutes to walk around. It was fun! The Cowboys played an AWESOME game!! They won...AND...I even saw...

This was prior to the afternoon in the ER..... We had to go to the mall for some shopping and wanted to beat the Christmas crowd to Santa. Rachel was NOT impressed with Santa. She was terrified and screamed. We tried to tell her that Mommy and Daddy would stay in the picture...she was not having it! I had to get a picture anyway!

I will likely do several posts about this past week. It will be hard to put it all in one. First....the heart "issues" that I previously posted about returned on Tuesday. Wednesday they got really bad and I called the doctor again. Brice was off work starting on Wednesday. The nurse from my OB/GYN's office called back and after assessing my situation, told me to go the emergency room. UGH! So...I did. They did and EKG, drew blood, and put me on the heart monitor for an hour. The blood work came back normal. The EKG showed some abnormality and the heart monitor did indeed show some irregular heartbeat. The doctor called my primary care doctor to see if she wanted me to stay the night for observation. They agreed that it wasn't necessary (boy am I glad)!! Anyway, basically this is the deal...I am having premature atrial contractions, sinus tachycardia, and irregular heart rhythm. None of these things are thought to be harmful unless heart disease is already...

And look how much she has grown!! Soon she won't be my "baby" anymore. Yep, I'm pregnant....and emotional!!!!

My heart flutters came back briefly at the beginning of the week but have gone again. Whew..... Rachel's doctor called yesterday and said that all of her test results were normal. She said she was a little surprised that her thyroid wasn't "off" because she was pretty sure that's what it was. Anyway, my baby girl is perfectly healthy despite her big-ness. We are on a pretty strict diet. No fruit juice at all. She can't have fruit snacks and she said to limit the french fries and fried foods. She said if she wants a snack during the day to give her fruit or veggies. Luckily my child will eat those! Her favorite food is tomatoes! =) It will definitely be an adjustment but we can manage. Thank you for everyone that has been checking up on us. Rachel is officially in her big girl room!!! It is mostly all decorated and looks just darling. She is getting too big for me. As I was taking stuff from her old room to the current one today we kept talking a...

What a crazy week we have had!! It started with us finding out that we are having another baby girl (see previous post). Then, I worked Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday I started having some heart "weirdness" where my heart would skip a beat and then beat really fast. It wasn't really severe on Wednesday so I went to sleep in hopes that it would just go away the next morning. When I woke up Thursday morning it was worse so I decided to call the doctor. I went to work anyway and got an EKG done which was slightly abnormal. I had an appointment at the doctor at 1:15. She said that she thinks I am anemic and put me on a prescription iron pill. She also told me to increase my fluid intake. I started taking the iron pills on Thursday evening and had the heart issues up until yesterday morning. I haven't had any more "spells" since yesterday morning. I guess the iron pills are working. I am VERY thankful..it was odd and now I can concentrate on other...

GIRL!!!! We had our appointment this morning. It was so good to see the baby again. I was so used to sonograms so often with Rachel and this is only #2 for this baby. I was anxious to see the face and how much bigger she has gotten. Everything looked great. The doctor said that she usually tells people that you can't see everything on a sonogram but that everything with this baby so far looks perfect. That is such a relief after my last pregnancy. The next few months will be crucial with blood pressures and stuff since that's when mine started going up last time. I have to say that when she showed us the girl parts (and I definitely know it's a girl) I found myself to be unexpectedly a little disappointed. The entire time I have said that I didn't care if it was a boy or girl but then I guess deep down I wanted a boy and didn't even know it. I am very happy but the initial reaction was very different than I expected. Daddy is happy and Rachel will be a g...

Here is a picture.... Pretty bad picture of me but I have been working all day and I am tired....

So...a lot of you know that I am now 20 weeks pregnant. I have my next doctor's appointment on Monday with sonogram first to hopefully tell us the baby's gender. I was going to post a picture to help with guesses but I haven't taken any. So....here is what all of the "prediction websites" say....it's another girl. My guess is that it is another girl. I don't have any reason to think that really. I just think so. I have had other people tell me girl too...again based on nothing scientific. However, I thought the majority of the time (until they told me it was a girl) that I was pregnant with Rachel that I was having a boy....so...we'll see! Honestly, I do not have a preference. I really wanted a girl the first time and I got her! So....I don't have any girls in my family and I think it would be fun for Rachel to have a sister but then again I think I would like to have a boy too. So...I really don't care at all. Names?? For those of ...

...when I am home alone!!!!??? Yep, ALONE..except the dog and baby in the belly! Brice is gone to a retreat with the church and I have to work in the morning so I sent Rachel to my Aunt Donna's to spend the night. After I left her with Aunt Donna, Tonya, and Justin, I went to eat Chinese buffet. Yes, I was the loser in the booth eating by myself but it was good and EXACTLY what I wanted!!! =) Then, I went to Kohl's. I got Brice a green shirt and me a red shirt to wear for our pictures on Tuesday. We are actually getting Rachel's birthday pictures taken then but decided it would be a good time to snap a family portrait or two for Christmas cards. Anyway, I also bought a Christmas present for a family member whose name I drew that I don't know very well. Got me 2 maternity shirts and a comfy pair of maternity pants. I still have my clothes from last pregnancy but I was quite a bit larger then. OH...and Kohl's was having a great sale and additional % off if...

So, as I have previously posted, I have been sick. I AM sick. I called the doctor's office on Tuesday to see what medicines I can take while being pregnant. I never was sick like this with Rachel so I honestly didn't know what was off limits. Anyway, the nurse called back and said I could take Sudafed and Mucinex, Tylenol for fever or pain, and any throat lozenges. I went and bought Sudafed. After taking it for about 3 days, I quit because it wasn't working. I thought I would go to Mucinex. I went to the store and there are about 3 different kinds of Mucinex. I asked the pharmacist which one I could take and she said it didn't matter. I went home and got online to research the substances found in this particular type of Mucinex to make sure it was on the "safe list." What I found was that it was perfectly fine to take but that SUDAFED is not! Basically the FDA has said that Sudafed taken during pregnancy, especially first trimester, is dangerous to...

Okay, so maybe I have been living on some cloud somewhere but I have just realized some things.... 1. My child...my first born...MY BABY will be 2 years old next Friday!!!! It's hard to believe until she starts throwing her fits...then she definitely seems like she is two! 2. It is November. Okay, so it is the 5th day into the month, I have changed my calendar and I have even written the date a few times but IT IS NOVEMBER!!!! Where in the world did 2008 go!???!! It just seems insane to me. Which brings me to... 3. It is almost Christmas! C H R I S T M A S!!! Wow.... 4. I am going to be the mother of two in a few months. Two kids....hmm...I am very excited, don't get me wrong. It was planned and all but things are going to be harder. Again, these are my realizations...revelations, whatever....don't say, "I told you so" or I might just...probably do nothing, but still.... 5. The Dairy Queen Blizzard might just be the best thing ever invented!!! Man,...

Some of you might be tired of hearing about this but it's my blog.... Jill Jarvis Attebery was called to her home in Heaven on November 2, 2008. Born in Lufkin, Texas, she was a graduate of Lufkin High School. She earned a B.S. in Biomedical Science at Texas A & M University, a B,S, in Nursing at Stephen F, Austin University, and a Masters in Nursing at the University of Central Arkansas. She loved her work in nursing and nursing education, but her favorite role was that of homemaker and supporter of her husband, Scott, as Pastor of Wyatt Baptist Church, Eldorado, Arkansas. She was active in music ministry, womenÕs ministry and discipleship ministry. She volunteered in many educational ventures such Pregnancy Crisis Education. She had a great passion for organizing and traveling on foreign mission trips. She was widely traveled in and out of this country. Prayers were sent up here and in other countries from people whom she had touched, She impacted old and young alike and made...

I am still very sad about my friend. Please continue to pray for Scott and Baby Bryce Attebery. Jill's funeral is Wednesday. I am sick. I have a cold. Of course, there is very limited things that I can take. Sudafed, here I come!!! Going to bed. Hopefully I will feel better soon. November is a big month.

A precious friend that I knew in college died this morning with injuries from a car accident that happened yesterday. Her name was Jill Jarvis Attebery. Please pray for her husband, Scott and their infant son (I believe that Baby Bryce is only about 3 months old). It is so devastating. Jill was so full life and always had a beautiful smile. She is with Jesus and for that we can rejoice but it still is hard to understand when these things happen.

I was going to wait to post until tomorrow. Here it is 3:12 in the morning and I am posting on a blog. I woke up with a burning belly and took some medicine. I am now waiting for it to kick in so I thought I would type a little since sitting upright feels better than laying down. Anyway.... Apparently, Grand Prairie and Irving had small earthquakes on Thursday night (around midnight or so). I didn't know a thing until someone was asking about it....I was asleep and although some reported being woken up by it...not me! If only I was able to sleep like that tonight..... Brice came home early today...like 1:00 early. It was nice. I wasn't quite ready for the day as I had just put Rachel down for a nap and that's when I normally get a shower, etc. When he got home he said, "Let's go put together Rachel's swingset." So...we did. It isn't anchored to the ground yet but she did get to slide and swing some and was not happy when we made her come inside...