My Happy Birthdays

Today is my 29th birthday!!! I wanted to just post this little timeline of my last decade because it's just amazing to me how much 10 years can change a person. 10 years ago from today, I was a waitress and I was single and not even remotely interested in dating. My 5 year plan was to do some world traveling with my dad for the next two years while finishing up my journalism classes. I then wanted to start nursing school and become a nicu nurse. (little did I know that the next decade would give me personal experience in the nicu with my own 3 preemies that would even more solidify that desire) I thought I would marry around age 27 or so and have kids around 30. I wanted a career more than anything else for my life. I wanted a family, but it just wasn't a priority. 

Anyways, I am so grateful God knows best and works things out for our good because I can't imagine if I had stuck to my plan and never married my husband or had our kids. I can't imagine I would have been near as happy or fulfilled had I finished my schooling and become a nurse and never had my own sweet little ones. Of course, the current "plan" is to still go through nursing school once Jaxon is in school (but of course, I now know as much as anyone that even that may change) but I just don't want to miss even a second of their lives that I don't absolutely have to. I am so grateful for a husband who works so hard and affords me the opportunity to stay home with them. I am so blessed with my life. If I had known back then what it would be like now, this is exactly what I would have set as my 10 year plan. Things may not have always been easy or gone the way I wanted, but the end result is exactly "everything I never knew I always wanted". (I've always loved that line from the movie Fools Rush In) :) Anyways, here is the timeline of my last ten years. I am so excited about this final year of my 20s. I am so excited to begin a new decade next year. I am such a blessed lady and thank the Lord so much for giving me the life He gave me!

In 2005, I turned 20 years old and kicked off this past decade of my life with an amazing trip to South Africa with my dad. 

In 2006, I married my husband, 

In 2007 I started working at our church and running the women's ministry, 

In 2008 I got pregnant with our twins, Aubree and Nicholas and we bought our first home. 

In 2009 I had the twins and got pregnant with my little Annabelle. 

(Aubree at about 12 hours old)

(Nicholas at about 12 hours old)

 (This is me actually only 5 days she was born)

In 2010, I delivered Belle making us a family of 5. 

 (Me and Belle in recovery. She is about 45 minutes old here. My big ole 9lb baby)

 (First Family of 5 photos)

 (Annabelle at 6 months old)

In 2011 we went through the most major changes in our family, losing our home, being out of work most of the year, a cancer scare with Nicholas and so many other things that made us into a stronger and more united family than ever. 

In 2012, we found out we were pregnant with Jaxon and then delivered him 3 months premature. 

(Me holding Jaxon at 2 days old. He was able to come off his breathing tube for almost a day so I got to hold him really early for a micropreemie)

In 2013, we brought Jaxon home from the hospital and went through the biggest change as a family ever that has once again, changed the entire dynamic and purpose of our family unit. 

(The kids in September. Jaxon is 9 months, Annabelle is 3 and twins are 4)

2014 is just over halfway finished but so far, we have become the ambassador family for March of Dimes, have joined several other advocacy groups and have been able to work with so many other families going through the struggles that come with having a sick baby or child- a mission that I intend to work with for the rest of my life. 

 (All of us at the beach in spring 2014)

This last decade has been hard and stressful and seemingly impossible at times but has been such an amazing ride! Today is the first day of my last year in my 20s. A lot of people enter their 30s regretting many choices they made in their 20s but I am so glad that I have no regrets and can look back on this past decade and be proud of all I have been blessed with and all that the Lord has given me the opportunity to do!

Oh Yeah!

Okay, so I knew I would not be very good at this...I did say so in my first post! I forgot until approximately 3 minutes ago that I was even a proud owner of a blog at all. I was simply captivated by one of my favorite blogs that I frequent- www.sewinginnomansland.com - (you all should check it out!) and thought to myself, I should start a blog like this one...oh YEAH!!! I already have one! So then after about 6 attempts at remembering both my account name and password, I cracked it and here I am once again!

So, I have not told many people simply because it is not anything and really nothing to tell but, now that it is over, I do feel a great sense of relief so I will share now! About 2 1/2 months ago we found a bulge on Nicholas' spine. It was soft and not attached to the spine that we could tell and at first we thought maybe Aubree had attacked his blind spot with a hammer or something but when after a week it had not gone away, we decided to just get it checked out to be sure. The nurse sent us to pediatrician, who sent us to x-ray, then back to ped., then to pediatric surgeon to ultrasound and back to surgeon once again. Okay, so that all was over the course of 2 months from appointment to appointment and everyone has to refer you to someone else. Hope nobody ever has to go through that many referrals ever again to learn that there is nothing at all wrong in any way! We are still waiting for the official final report, but based on the fact that the ultrasound tech we met with earlier today couldn't even tell if she was even taking pictures of anything and kept having me put the tip of my finger on the exact location of the bulge just so she could take the pictures of it...well, that just reassures me that it may just be that my baby got back-fat!  So...here's to pointless (but still strangely important) appointments and wasted gas, but most of all...a healthy little boy!

So that in addition to the fact that all three of my babies are healthy is pretty much where we are now.

My husband has been out of work for many months now but now his company has just started the next job he will be running which will start soon. I remember the first weeks he was out of work I thought I was going to go CRAZY!!! His being home threw off all my routines with the kids, my schedule with work and baby sitters and just the simple daily things like cleaning house and going grocery shopping. I don't even know when my lifestyle changed but sometime between then and now it did and now,  I am going crazy at the thought of him being back at work. I am not really sure how to function by myself all day now. I know I will somehow bc I did before, but things cross my mind such as, how will I go to the store with 3 kids? I know I did it before, but I just can't remember how I did it. Did the twins go in the back of the cart? Did I take the triple stroller? ...probably not since we never bought the car that fit the stroller. I know I never let them walk bc they were too young to stay beside me, but how did it happen? Maybe I always called my sister to come along as well. I do remember her being there with me some times. Was she there EVERY time? Well, she has a newborn now, I will have to find someone else. (keep your phones turned on Cheyenne and Hart girls!)- now they are defintiely going to block my number! The other thing I can't remember...my husband is the cook in our family. Not that it is ever hard to trump my cooking, but he is actually pretty phenomenal!! But I am having a hard time remembering how that worked when he was working. Did he seriously come home from long hard day at work to cook a gourmet meal for me and the babies? Did I ACTUALLY cook? I CAN cook some MEAN enchilada casserole, but I don't think we can eat that every day! OH! If any of you have some great EASY and cheap recipes, why don't you post them below! If you have seriously sat reading through all this mumbled ranting, then you can at least have some pity on me and send me those recipes. Not too many, my head gets overloaded easy when it's this late...10:43pm :)...just one recipe. Preferably chicken. None of those weird recipes like couscous (Jessica) or anything weird that I have to google just to figure out what section of the grocery store to find it in. Oh, and no pork. It's not a religious thing, it's my pickiness. (am I allowed to be picky when I am mooching off other people's cooking success?)

Ok, well, the point I initially set out to make above is that our life is at yet another pivot. Good thing I am the kind of person who always enjoys change, even the hard ones. I seriously feel like the only other thing that could possibly happen right now is finding out I'm pregnant. (don't go cazy there Nicole bc I'm NOT) It's just one of those seasons in life where God has you on this road that you think is heading in this particular direction and then suddenly, you realize you were never even on that continent! Everyone tells me that Joshua trees are only in the high desert and the promise land (ok, this really does link to what I was talking about before) and I thought, WOW! how cool is that!?! But then, I went to South Africa and while we were out on a safari, I saw Joshua trees!!! They were absolutely identical to our beloved desert trees! So life has been like this: I am out in the desert and I know it is either the mojave or the promise land bc the only indicators I have are Joshua trees, but then suddenly, I see elephants too! There are no elephants in the mojave Or the promise land!!! ...I'm in south africa! Do you get it? oh well.  If you've been there, you get it. I just can't wait to see all these new things unfold that the Lord is bringing into our lives!

I really wanna go back to South africa now. Ok, so maybe one day I will actually be able to blog about something that is understandable. Tomorrow I imagine (if I remember I have a blog) I will re-read what I have just written and think...I don't get it. Til next time, whenever it may be!