It's New Years Eve....

and a fitting time for a New Years post!

What did we accomplish in 2009:

• Cart completed his first Marathon in the 2nd Annual Donna Deegan Breast Cancer Marathon
• We celebrated our 3rd anniversary along with Cart's parents for their 40th anniversary.
• Cart ran in the first ever MS Mud Run
• I started scrapbooking and making cards
• I celebrated my 28th birthday and had my 10yr high school reunion
• We were put in contact with a wonderful couple who donated their embryos to us that we adopted.
• We put a new roof on the house
• We took a trip to Seattle to visit my bestest friend Sarah and meet her little boy Wyatt for the first time and we met the wonderful couple and two of their little girls.
• We installed a brand new AC
• We went through the process for an FET and sadly our little embies didn't make it.
• I escaped reality to see Sarah in her new home in Northern Louisiana and had time to reflect and talk with her
• We had a quiet Thanksgiving
• We had a wonderful Christmas with our family and friends

And tonight we will ring in the New Year with Cart's bestfriend Dave and our godsons!

What do we hope to accomplish in 2010:

Family:

We always hope for our miracle and we pray daily for one. But we always remember that we have each other and make the most of it.

Home:

We have a few projects lined up for this year:

• Build storage in the garage (this is the first one of the New Year)
• Remodel the guest Bathroom

Our resolutions as a couple:

• Be better at the organization and clutter.
• Note where every penny is spent
• Weekly Menu Plans

My Resolutions/Goals:

• Lose another 20lbs this year by making it to the gym 3x/week
• Make a card for everything that requires a card....No Store bought cards.
• Try to make all gifts for the year
• Do at least one scrapbook page a week
• Learn how to sew
• Go back to school.

Cart's Goals:

• Run 2 Marathons and the MS Mud Run
• More DIY house projects (he thinks they are fun)

We hope that everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!

Scraproom

After everything that happened we decided to start focusing our time on "other" things than really trying to have children. The first thing on that list was my scraproom. Over the last month we painted my room, bought and put together new storage and this weekend built a desk. BTW, never demolish your craft/scrap room 2 weeks before Christmas if you still have gifts to make. That was a bad idea.

Today Cart and I went to Tar.get and Ho.me De.pot to get all the materials needed for the desk. I really like this Pot.te.ry Ba.rn desk

While I was googling it I found Jenny's DIY how to on this very desk. We made our own modifications, used her size but changed a few things. One thing we did to ours at her suggestion was back the shelving with wood to make it sturdier. Here are a few pictures of our project. Once it is completely finished I will post how we did ours step by step. Thanks Jenny for the guide :)
This is Cart putting together the shelving

This is Cart and his Dad putting the backing on the shelving

The view of the shelving with the top piece upside down on it.

We wood filled all the holes for a smoother finish

From the doorway the desk almost painted with the first coat. I'll be working on the how to post in the next few days.

Merry Christmas

I am very blessed this Christmas. I have a wonderful husband whom I love dearly and a great life. God is truly amazing and one day he will bless us even more. For now we are content and happy.

I wish all of you a truly blessed Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Christmas with Friends and Family

Last night Cart and I went to the H's for Christmas with the H family and Cart's parents. Cart's parents and the H's have been friends for years over 30. The H's son D is Cart's best friend and his son is our godson...but we consider all the boys our godchildren.

When we get together with the H's it is a great time. Lots of laughs and stories of times past. It is a great time to spend with them. This Christmas gathering is a tradition and when I met Cart I was invited that Christmas. Back then it was a progressive dinner in which we traveled from house to house for food and gifts. At each house was a different food...appetizer, dinner, dessert. It was lots of fun. Over the last few years as D's family has grown with the 4 boys it is much harder for the progressive dinner. So we all gathered at D's parents house for dinner, fellowship and gifts.

We had a great time. Cart's parents and the H's are a hoot. And when Cart and D get together well lets just those guys are special. I talked with D's sister V about doggies and lots of fun stuff.

It takes us a little bit to get through gifts. All the boys went first so they would have their toys to play with as we opened gifts and talked. We had 10 adults to get through and it is lots of fun.

Tonight we are doing Christmas with my dad and stepmom and we'll have family events on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

I hope you all have a very happy and blessed Christmas!

Christmas without Kids

This won't be a somber post. But a fun one :)

This is our 6th Christmas together. In those 6 years with it being just us no kids we have NEVER been able to keep gifts a secret until Christmas.

Our first Christmas as a couple we gave each other our gifts on Christmas Eve after church. Our 2nd and 3rd Christmas we did the same thing. Now on our 6th Christmas together we couldn't even keep it until then.

We've already exchanged gifts. For us that is Christmas without kids. Right now all the money we'd spend on kids we spend on each other. So come the time when we have kids we may each get one gift from the other.

So what did we get for Christmas?
Well I got Cart a new PS3 with 2 games he wanted. He'll also get a garmin foot pad for running (when it is in stock).

Now what did I get? A sewing machine, Photoshop, a new cartridge for my cricut, and lots of scrapbooking stuff! Oh and a new patio set for the deck! But we've been waiting since summer for that particular set to go on sale.

I still have a few stocking stuffers for Cart left to give him....well actually buy him so maybe that will wait till Christmas!

The postive note is we can't keep secrets from each other.

Weekly Menu Plan

We were so busy this weekend that we forgot to do our menu plan so we are just "wingin" it this week. Cart is a little lost on this aspect so hopefully we'll get through it.

Great Weekend

We had a very busy weekend around here. When I went back to work after my 2 week hiatus I changed my availability. I now only work Monday through Friday and the 1 Sunday a month I am required to work. So I now have off every weekend with Cart! I'm loving it.

Saturday my mom came over and we had a baking day. We made lots of cookies and bread. It was a perfect day as it rained NON stop all day. While mom and I were baking Cart painted my scraproom. I love the color, especially with the white baseboards. I'm starting to think crown molding in that room. Afterward Cart and I braved the rain to go exchange our movie at block.buster.

Sunday we did our normal grocery routine and managed to only spend $33. I love those weeks, considering our weekly budget is $75. Then we put the lights on the house and then relaxed. I had a farewell dinner with some girls from work at a Japanese restaurant and it was yummy. Afterwards I went to Bru.sters (an ice cream place) and in the middle of December the line was ridiculous. Cart and I were so exhausted from the weekend we crashed early! But, didn't sleep well. So let's talk about the weather.

Remember in October when we had our A/C replaced! Well we actually had to use the A/C yesterday because the outside temp was upper 70s low 80s but the humidity was crazy. So I turned on the A/C to our usual of 76. It stayed 78-80 in the house all night. We were extremely hot while trying to sleep. Thankfully the company was able to come out this morning and found a small leak of refridgerant. He is currently finishing up and our house will be cool again especially with the 80 degree temps we expect today.

This week will be busy trying to get my room back together so I can finish Christmas gifts before our extended family Christmas get together on Saturday.

Blog Award: Honest Scrap

Our Filipino Bambino has awarded me this awesome award. I love her blog and her little boy is as cute as can be.



Here are the rules I must follow, upon receiving this award:
1. Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.
2. Share “10 Honest Things” about myself.
3. Present this award to 6 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.
4. Tell those 6 people they’ve been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving.

Now for my "10 Honest Things" about myself

1. I'm a very fickle person. I can change my mind a lot. Which also makes me very indecisive about things

2. I'm a Bartender and I love what I do. I love meeting new people and hearing about their lives. Sometimes it makes my life seem quite boring.

3. I'm a POAS (pee on a stick) addict. Yes OPKs/HPTs yup that's right. But I like OPKs better because it's the only time I see those fabulous 2 lines.

4. My family is filled with drama and well I try to keep out of it thus ignoring my family at times.

5. I want to move out of J-ville and into the mountains. I'd settle with South Carolina or Tennessee, but I can't convince Cart on this move just yet.

6. I have just 3 semesters left to get my degree and I just can't bring myself to go back and finish because I want to be a SAHM and don't think spending the money on a degree serves a purpose.

7. I love to travel. I love going to new places and exploring the area.

8. Cart and I both have laptops and it is a funny site when we are sitting side by side in the evening on the computers. Yes we are silly and message each other on FB.

9. I used to be able to eat anything I wanted and not worry about my weight. Now not so much.

10. I love fall and leaves and would love a large pile of leaves to jump into.

That was very very random...

Now the 6 bloggers I must tag:

1. Life According to Leah

2. Journey to our Wonderful Baby

3. Wallace Family

4. Womb for 1 More

5. Life {Sweet} Life

6. Cents to Get Debt-Free

Decking the Halls

We have finally decorated our house just a bit and I thought I'd share some pictures. We didn't put up everything and are actually getting rid of some things this year. I just wanted to share a few pictures. We still have to put up a few things and the lights on the house but these are the main decorations.

Our beautiful Tree
My favorite part: The Mantle with Nativity and Kinkade Christmas artwork

The "breakfast bar" with Nativity and other decorations.

Weekly Menu Plan

Last week didn't go exactly according to plan. We followed the plan on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday we didn't have the Ham Steak, Cart had a craving for winds so we went to our favorite wing place for dinner. Thursday we decided on leftovers as we were both tired. Friday Cart had a lean pocket and I had soup that was in the freezer. On Saturday we put our Omaha Steaks on the grill. And today we are sticking to burgers, corn and beans.

For the week of Dec 7th through the 13th here is what we have planned.

Monday ~ we each fend for ourselves.

Tuesday ~ Ham Steak/Mac N Cheese

Wednesday ~ Pot Roast, Sweet potatos

Thursday ~ Pork Chops

Friday ~ Leftovers

Saturday ~ Country Ribs (this is also my baking cookies day)

Sunday ~ Breen with the girls for dinner Cart leftovers.


Also, I have started a Out of Debt blog. If you are interested to follow that specific journey please email me and I'll send you the link. Those blogs will be seperate as family won't be invited to that blog.

Why Me?

One of the ladies on the IVF board I belong to made a post about "why me"? Which is a question a lot of people going through IF often ask. This is what she posted

"why me?" to "what now?" "Why me?" is a question borne of frustration (which we all have been); "What now?" is a question filled with expectation. "Why me?" anguishes over why a situation happened; "What now?" anticipates what God will do next. Focusing on the what instead of the why fills us with hope. If we focus on what rather than why we will discover our answers will be much more satisfying."

When she posted this it really made me think. I've been angry with God lately and asking why me/why us. This is my own personal struggle and one I don't share with anyone close to us. Because it is my struggle and one I need to work through. I actually felt she was talking to me. So instead of being angry with God I'm going to rejoice in what he has given me/us and ask What Next?

Right now this is What Next entails:
We will pursue adoption. I'm still very fascinated with the Philipines and every time I read about another blogger's little boy who they adopted from the Philipines I'm even more fascinated. Am I saying we'll adopt from there, no not right now. Could we, maybe. We have talked about adoption and that we want to pursue it but not now. We are taking time for us and to focus on us and our marriage. Many people don't realize what IF does to a marriage. Sometimes it breaks it down and others it makes the marriage stronger. For us it does both, more of the stronger though.

Before we even consider adoption we want to be as close to being debt free as possible. This would take us about 4yrs and would leave us just our mortgage. Before Cart and I got married the pastor who did our marriage counseling during the financial discussion recommended Da.ve Ram.sey's Total Money Makeover. I've read the book in the past and we've applied some things but didn't fully take it on. We'll be totally taking it on come Jan 1st. We are taking baby steps in December to get us there but we'll officially be there come the beginning of the year.

When we do consider adoption we'll consider all aspects: international, domestic infant, foster to adopt? We had previously chosen international because we didn't want to face the heart ache of a birth mom changing her mind or a child being given back to their parents. But now that I've seen others go through their adoption journey and it be happy I am more optimistic and hopeful. Also we've faced so much with IF that I think we can handle anything.

Right now we pray that God will bless us with with our own little miracle.