Last blog post??

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving 2012 is already here and gone. Before we know it, Christmas will be here and then New Years...and then Brooklyn not too long after that! Wow!

We've had an exciting and fun week so far. Monday, we had a 4D ultrasound done before my regular appointment. I was so excited to get a sneak peek of what Brooklyn actually looks like! She's still got some fattening up to do, but we can tell who she's going to look like! The consensus is that she either has my nose or my sister's nose, so everyone has been saying she looks "just like me." I'm horrible at looking at babies and deciding who they look like, so I'm just going with everyone else's opinion. Guess we'll find out soon enough anyway! During the ultrasound, Brooklyn put her thumb in her mouth, smiled several times, stretched her head back, and put her hands in front of her face. So cool! I forgot to ask how big she was, but I'm assuming she's right around 2 lbs. Here are some of the best pictures we got. The whole time, she was nestled up close to the placenta, so we couldn't get a great shot of her whole face, but the pictures are still good...

Having sweet dreams :)

Long fingers!! She got that from both of us...

I'm glad we ended up doing the 4D ultrasound. It's not covered by insurance, so we had to pay for it, but it was definitely worth it! Knowing that I had the chance to see what she looks like was too hard to pass up :)

Tuesday, I had the pleasure of doing a 2 hour glucose tolerance test. They test everyone between 24 and 28 weeks for gestational diabetes, so this was the time! The morning started off badly when I got there at 7 AM, and I was already #26 in line for lab work. That meant I got to wait for over an hour just to get started. Basically, they drew my blood and made me drink this nasty sugary gatorade-type drink. Then I had to have blood drawn again in an hour and more blood drawn another hour after that. This was a fasting test, so I couldn't eat breakfast or anything else until I was completely finished. By about 10 AM, it was almost time for the last blood draw, but I was feeling horrible by then. It had been like 14 hours since I'd eaten anything and had nothing to drink but that sugary drink. Recipe for disaster! I finally left around 10:30 AM and ate something, but the whole rest of the day I had a headache and just felt terrible. I'd heard that if you fail the test, you have to do a 3 hour test the next time with an even MORE sugary drink, so I was hoping and hoping for good results. Luckily, they called Wednesday morning and told me I passed!! Glad to have that behind me :)

Yesterday, of course, was Thanksgiving, and it also marked 27 weeks along! This year, I have so much to be thankful for. We have the best church family, physical family, and friends. We have a baby on the way, and I've had a smooth, easy pregnancy so far. We have a comfortable house to live in and good jobs. God has really blessed us!

I wish I could post my 27 week picture and some of our Thanksgiving pictures from yesterday, but unfortunately Blogger is not my friend anymore. Actually, I guess it's Google. Apparently, I've used up my 1 GB of storage for pictures on my blog, and you have to pay for additional storage. Boo! I'm too cheap to do that, and I don't want to delete any old pictures, so I may be creating a new blog soon. I guess it's a fitting time to make a new blog since it soon won't just be "Trav + Erin" anymore! :)

Stay tuned for the latest! If I have to create a new blog, I'll link to it from here :)

Blessed

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, here are just a few things I'm thankful for right now...

1. Gotta start off the list with Travis. We've been married almost 4 years, and it's been awesome. It's pretty cool to think about how far we've come since we first met in Tuscaloosa...all the places we've lived, graduating from college, starting our jobs, buying a house and getting settled (still working on that part!). He's a hard worker, always offering to help others, true to his conscience, a good example, and just fun to be around. Especially during tough times like this year has been, he's been a great support. I'm lucky to have him!

2. I'm also blessed with great family, both mine and his. I don't think you ever really appreciate what your parents do for you until you leave home, and that was definitely the case with me. It took moving to Tuscaloosa for me to realize how much my mom and dad sacrificed for me. Thank you, Mom and Dad!! I'm especially thankful this year for my mom. She's been a trooper through chemo so far and a real encouragement to me. I'm also thankful to have some pretty awesome sisters and a new brother too. Love all of you! And, I have a wonderful mother-in-law, Cheryl, who is definitely my mom away from home! Thanks for everything you do for us!! :) It would take a lot of typing to list everyone in our families by name, but I'm definitely thankful for all of you. We're really blessed...

3. Would it be silly of me to mention Felix and Gabby in this list? Those kittens just bring so much joy into our lives! They are entertaining and a lot of fun. They definitely love us...that's for sure! And, even though Travis wasn't crazy about cats before we got them, I think he's changed his mind about these two. It's been really neat to watch them grow from skittish little kittens to adventurous and playful bigger kittens. They are best buds, and I'm really glad we got them!

4. We're also blessed to be part of a great church at Kelly Spring Road. It's awesome to be part of a group that really enjoys being together and worshiping God together. We're always encouraged every time we are there, and when we're out of town, we definitely miss being there! If you live in the area and are looking for a great group to be part of that is trying to follow God's word, please come visit us!

5.Finally, I'm thankful for fall and the holiday season in general. The weather is perfect, football games are played every weekend, and it's the perfect time to get together with family and friends. This time of year always makes me stop and reflect about all of my blessings, and I can't help thinking about those who aren't as fortunate, either financially or health-wise or whatever. It's a time of giving and reflecting, and that's what I love about it. Thinking about everything you have should make you want to help others who don't have as much as you do. Last year, we went to the mall and chose an "angel" off the Angel Tree to buy gifts for, and I'm hoping we can do the same this year. It's funny how your idea of Christmas changes from when you are young. As a child, all you can think about is what gifts YOU are going to get that year, and as you get older, you tend to think more about what you can give to OTHERS and how you can help OTHERS. I guess that's called growing up.

I'm currently teaching the K-1 Bible class at church, and tonight's lesson is about Moses and the burning bush. When God told Moses about His great plan for Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses started making a bunch of excuses and trying to convince God that he wasn't the right guy to do the job. Of course, God wasn't convinced, and with the help of Aaron, his brother, Moses went to Pharaoh and did just what he thought he couldn't do! Many times, we make excuses for not doing something that we really could do (and I'm talking to myself here, too). We're too tired, too old, too inexperienced, too busy, etc. Even if it's just something "small", it may mean a lot to someone else. This holiday season, let's do what we can to help others...

My encouragement to you today is to stop and think about all of your blessings and how you can use them to help someone else. No excuses!

Erin

Hospital Time/Mom Time

I spent too much time in the hospital this week.

So did my mom. Unfortunately, she was the patient. I was just an employee/visitor. Between working Monday, Tuesday and today (Friday), and staying with Mom on Wednesday and Thursday, I think I've had enough of the hospital for a few days!

The worst thing about chemo is all of the side effects that come along with it. I would venture to say that losing your hair is no big deal compared to some of the other stuff you experience, right Mom? By the way, Mom is really rockin all of the caps and hats she's gotten! She's pretty much got something to match every outfit :) She doesn't really even need to wear them though...I think she looks great going "natural." I thought it would be really weird to see Mom without hair, but I'm just used to it now, and I don't think twice about it.

It may be sad to lose your hair, but at least it's not uncomfortable/painful like some of chemo's other side effects. So far in Mom's case, those have included a horrible rash (which we're still not really sure what that was from), mouth ulcers, loss of appetite, "bathroom issues", fatigue, and other stuff that I'm probably leaving out. Learning about cancer and its treatment in nursing school was helpful, but it doesn't really hit home until you or a close family member are going through it. I don't even think that as a nurse having a patient who has cancer can really show you what it's like to live with it on a daily basis. I've learned more about breast cancer and chemo since July than I ever wanted to know!

When you're on chemo, you're at a much higher risk for infection than the general population. This is because chemo targets the rapidly dividing cells in your body. This includes cancer cells as well as some of the body's normal cells. Any rapidly dividing cell is going to be affected. This is what causes unwanted side effects in the GI tract. It also causes your white blood cell count to drop. Since the white blood cells are what fight infection, when the chemo "hits" them, your risk for infection goes way up. This is why chemo patients should check their temperature every day (cough, cough...MOM!).

Tuesday night, I was talking to Mom on the phone, and she was telling me about the weird rash she was getting and how she didn't feel good. I asked her if she'd checked her temperature that day, and she told me that she didn't "feel like she had a fever". She checked it just to satisfy her pestering daughter, and what do you know...it was 100.4 and then 100.6 on the second try. Doesn't sound like an incredibly high fever, but it is to someone on chemo. I ordered her nicely to call Dr. Bondly (her oncologist) because she was supposed to call when it was over 100.4 I think. So, needless to say, Mom ended up spending 5 or 6 hours in the ER at St. Vincent's Tuesday night and two more nights in a room on the oncology floor! When they checked her blood work, her white blood cell count was 400. To put that in perspective, the normal range is usually around 5,000-10,000, so Mom pretty much had NO immunity. Her temperature when they checked it in the ER had risen above 102 also. Pretty scary. Luckily, she had no signs of infection anywhere, but they decided to keep her in the hospital for some antibiotics until her count got back up to normal. I spent most of Wednesday and Thursday with her as her "personal nurse". Hey, someone had to keep her from scratching her rash and make her walk laps around the halls a few times a day! I'm sure she was glad to see me go...haha :) She finally got discharged this afternoon, and she sounded very glad to be going home to her own bed.

Mom has really been a trooper throughout this whole process so far! I think I would be feeling sorry for myself and complaining a lot, but she continues to be positive no matter what bump in the road she encounters! I'm lucky to have such a great mom! Even if it means spending my off days in the hospital, I'd gladly do it for her!

Love you Mom!!


Erin

Thankful :)

I'm writing this from the living room of my parents' house. Mom and Jenn are on their way to Tuscaloosa for the Iron Bowl. Dad is at Granny's house. And Travis is sleeping upstairs.

Yesterday was a fun day! We had Thanksgiving lunch at Granny's with the Palmers. Gran came along too, so that was nice. We ate too much good food, watched football, and looked through the Black Friday ads. Travis and I decided not to get out with the crazies this morning to shop. He did find some movies online that he may order later, but that will probably be the extent of our shopping for today. 

For a few minutes, I'm going to try to take a step back from The House Hunt to be reminded of how blessed I am. It's too easy to be consumed/stressed out about finding the perfect house for the perfect price. But we wouldn't even be house hunting at this point if Baugay hadn't been generous enough to let us live with her for a little while. We are so thankful for you, Baugay! And we also wouldn't be house hunting if we both didn't have good jobs right after graduation. I'm thankful to have a nursing job where I don't have to work nights, weekends, or holidays. We've both got awesome families and friends that encourage us and inspire us to be better people. We have each other. We're going on 3 years of being married, and I still am convinced that I couldn't have found a better guy. And, most of all, we've got a great God watching over us and taking care of us. 

So, when I'm obsessing/stressing over finding a house, please remind me of how much I have to be thankful for!

Just a few updates on the house hunt, in case you're wondering...


1. We got pre-approved for a loan on Wednesday! We also found out that we would qualify for twice the loan amount that we'll probably need...now that's crazy! The pre-approval lasts until February 22nd, so if we don't buy before then, we'll have to get pre-approved again.


2. I think we've ruled out two of the four houses from my last post. We went back to see two of the four on Wednesday afternoon, and that helped us cross one of them off the list. 

So long! :(

Now, I loved this house from the first time I saw it. It's got great curb appeal and a great yard, and it's in a great neighborhood. However, it has some downsides. The owner lives in Virginia, and the house has been a rental house. The home is 9 years old and has the original appliances, roof, HVAC, and hot water heater. It has new carpet and paint, but the paint looks like it was slopped on the walls without any care at all. There is water damage in the master bathroom and possibly in the guest bath. And there are other minor things that would need to be fixed before we moved in. The owner is supposedly "very motivated", but even if we got a great deal, I'm just afraid all the fixing up we'd have to do would cost a lot more than we planned for. 

Bye, bye!

This house is in great shape, but it's a lot smaller than the others (only 1650 sq ft). The biggest negative to this house, though, is the neighborhood. I'm afraid we would have a hard time re-selling it in the future. 

As for the other two...

Maybe??

 

 I still like this house a lot. It has been meticulously maintained. I'm talking...new roof, stove, microwave, fridge, carpet, paint, HVAC, vinyl windows, hot water heater, insulated garage door, kitchen sink, dishwasher, vinyl flooring, bath countertops/lighting/mirrors/fixtures, etc. It is practically a new house that just happens to be 16 years old! The only things we would need to do would be re-paint (for personal preferences) and fix a couple of other minor things. 
 

Dream home = reality??

But, as of today, I think we're leaning toward this house. It's probably in the best location of the four. It's brand new, which is really appealing. It's my favorite from the outside, and it has a great view of the mountains. We think it would probably re-sell the best. We LOVE the floorplan. It has a sitting room in the master bedroom and a huge laundry room. It's slightly more expensive than the others, but not by a whole lot. 


We'll see. I'm not going to stress! Repeat, I'm not going to stress! Whatever we end up in will be awesome, I'm sure. 


Ok, time to get ready to watch the Iron Bowl!! Roll tide!!