5 little fingers

Yesterday, I had another doctors appointment getting me ready for Wednesday, the doctor wanted to do a quick scan just to make sure the baby was doing well and ready.

This is one of the first images we saw...

the little peanut in there waving to us as if to say:

"hi mom! I'm here and I'm fine. don't worry, everything is gonna be okay"

I seriously feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

(I must say, I was also slightly relieved to know that we do have atleast 5 fingers. hopefully there's another five fingers and some toes in there somewhere too!)

just stuff...

{a little of what we've been up to...}

can't get enough of these...

did you know that these little furry green things have more

vitamin c than an orange and more fiber than an apple.

really, they do. and they're yummy.

and i'm loving this.... perfectly, deliciously tart.

Reading this. still unsure if i like it.

LOVING, LOVING, LOVING THE SUNSHINE.

mid-seventies and sunshine is about as close to perfect as it gets in my book.

Stressing about...

Girls Camp.

It's times like this that I don't like being in charge.

Feeling a bit like this....

I can't seem to get enough sleep and I'm always tired.

Feverishly keeping my eyes peeled for a perfect deal on one final summer vacation before our two becomes three.

crossing our fingers and praying that dr. m will give us the go-ahead.

We are hard at work on the final push to finish all of our lingering projects from our 2+ year remodeling project.

And by "we", I mean CJ. I haven't done a thing.

He does good work and I really heart him.

We (and this time, by "we" I mean me!) are counting down the days until sno-cone season begins.

Without a doubt, one of the best parts of summer.

And mostly, I've been spending lots of time day-dreaming about

the little peanut.

We're crossing our fingers that we'll know if it's a she-nut or a he-nut in just a short week or two.

one of the "glass half fulls" of being "high-risk"...

extra appointments, extra procedures and extra ultra-sounds.

And lastly, I am anxiously anticipating the upcoming weekend of showers to celebrate the upcoming arrivals of both her and her.

I couldn't be more excited for either of my two Amy's!

{the little peanut and other good news}

Had another doctor's appointment today...

They did another ultrasound to make sure things are ok...

We listened to the lub~dub...

The cute little peanut is growing and has a strong heartbeat...

...AND...

the doc told me not to feel guilty for craving diet coke.

(haven't had it for nearly 3 months... and these last 2 weeks, I've never wanted it more!

Besides... isn't lent over anyways?)

He even told me (much to CJ's dismay) that I could drink diet coke every single day from here on out and everything would be fine.

It's not something worth feeling guilty about.

I probably won't go that far, but I really miss it... especially believing I couldn't have it.

Now, just because I can, I probably won't want it.

On second thought... that's just crazy talk.

I'll definately still want it.

(But don't worry CJ... just in moderation!)

I couldn't be happier about how things went today.

April Fool's Day Joke?

I think Mother Nature went a bit too far this year.

Don't you think?

Thank You---

Thank you so much for all the kind and thoughtful comments, emails, phone calls, flowers, balloons, text messages & cards. I can't begin to tell you how very loved and blessed I feel!

I had so many people calling who were just as shocked as I initially was and I realized that I forgot an important one in my list of "believes"...

Do you believe in beating odds that seem impossible?

It was almost exactly a year ago when we were told by a reproductive endocrinologist that we had less than a 1% chance of ever conceiving on our own. We were also told that based on several factors (including the results from many comprehensive tests to determine my ovarian reserve, as well as my known cervical issues), that we were not good candidates for further fertility treatments unless we considered using an egg donor.

It took nearly another entire rollercoaster year,
but we did it and we did it on our own!

It was a year filled with much heartache and frustration. It was probably one of the hardest years of my life. Although we never doubted that there was a plan for our family... we really struggled to understand what it was.

I could not be more thankful for all that this year has taught us about ourselves, each other, our marriage, our faith and our most sacred desires.

It was a year that consisted of "taking a break", a year that had us attending education classes and beginning the application process for adoption, a year that educated me on alternative medicines (I'm a big fan... you can't argue with success), and a year that ultimately had us scheduling an appointment with yet another specialist for a 2nd opinion (and boy did it feel good to be able to cancel that appointment) but most of all it was a year that reminded me that the Lord has a plan for my life and things that he needs for me to learn along the way. Often, the plan that He has for us and what is really best for us might be very different than the one that we may have already mapped out for ourselves. I have learned this many, many times in my life and I'm thankful for yet another reminder.

I don't know what the future holds for us, but I am confident that there are great things in store for us and that these are lessons that we needed to learn.

Plus... I really like being that >1% statistic!

BELIEVE!

(and thanks again for your love, support and prayers!)

Do YOU believe?

Do you believe in miracles?

Do you believe in answers to prayers?

Do you believe in tender mercies?

Do you believe in un-expected surprises?

Do you believe in a loving Heavenly Father? One who knows us, knows what we need and challenges us to help us grow?

Do you believe in success & joy, even after much failure and heartache?

I DO...

Yes... that's a picture of a baby!

And YES... that baby is growing inside of ME!!!!

(can't you tell by my ear to ear grin?)

THIS IS THE HARDEST SECRET WE'VE EVER HAD TO KEEP!!! It goes without saying that we are overwhelmed and surpised, humbled, in awe, over-the-moon excited and more grateful for this miraculous blessing and opportunity than two people could ever possibly be. SO YES...
The C*K*J's definately believe in all of the above!

(eta: OCTOBER 2010)

It has been a long, difficult and interesting road that has led us to this point. There are several factors (the least of which is my age) that have quickly categorized me as "high-risk", so any positive thoughts and prayers are encouraged and very appreciated!

(I knew that I was gonna like 2010 more than I did 2009. It's gotten off to a pretty good start so far!)

So Cal...So Fun

I somehow talked CJ into "suprising" me with a quick trip to Newport Beach to meet up with my dearest Aimo for a few days! As always, it was a blast and just the getaway I needed. It was surreal for us to realize just how far we've come and how different our lives are from the good 'ole single days (she married an amazing man and 3 kiddos a year and a half ago and is now 3 months aways from welcoming #1/#4), but rest assured we can still have a good time. Now, it just consists of lots more "relaxing" (aka...mid-afternoon naps), planning our days around what fabulous restaurant to go to next, much earlier bedtimes, evening trips out in public in our jammies rather than our fanciest get-ups, whatever movie is on cable and lots of great conversation. I can't wait until next time! XOXOX

{TWO THUMBS UP}

round two...unsupervised

I just might be getting the hang of this. This time I was on my own, with yet another new recipe... (I have about a half dozen I want to try in my effort to find the perfect one for me) My loaves still need a little work on shaping... but give me a little more practice and I will be crossing this off my 2010 resolution list and getting my mom to sign off on my personal progress project!


Warm wheat bread fresh out of the oven and a steaming hot bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup was just what this winter day needed.

Adventures in Babysitting...

BY THE NUMBERS:

8 - number of days
4 - number of children we were responsible for
3 - number of different schools they attend
2 - number of times we got toilet papered (the joys of a beautiful teenage girl)
186 - the number of paper hearts I cut out and/or colored this week
5.62 - the number of times I watched "UP" this week
7 - number of days that CJ got a hot breakfast
0 - number of days that CJ usually gets a hot breakfast
6 - the hour of the morning that I got up each day to get everyone fed, ready and off
27 - the number of times we were awoken in the night to screams and/or crys of a 4 yr old
1 - the number of nights that we woke up to a 4 yr old in bed with us
1 - number of bandaids used (that's pretty good, eh?)
3 - the number of Valentine's boxes that we mod podged
6 - the number of nights that we read "pinkalicious" as a bedtime story
22 - episodes of spongebob I caught atleast parts of
2 - number of days I cried (and neither had much to do with babysitting)
1 - number of days that I recieved fantastic news
1 - number of days that I recieved heartbreaking news
15 - loads of laundry I did (about 12 more than I'm used to)
4 - number of strikes I had on our bowling adventure
1 - night that I got atleast 6 continuous hours sleep
22 - times I cleaned up spills
2 - number of times I had to sweep the kitchen floor each day
418 - dirty, disgusting little boy socks I picked up throughout the week (atleast it seemed like that many)
13 - loads of dishes throughout the week
16 - PB & J sandwiches and sack lunches I made
44 - sweet 4 yr old's hugs and loves
43 - mean 4 yr old's tantrums
1 - hellacious evening spend at an elementary school fundraiser dinner
0 - number of days when someone didn't have a lesson, practice or game to be to
4 - number of dentist appointments I had to take kids to
2 - number of early morning (like 6:15am) piano lessons I had to get kids to
93 - number of times CJ made everyone laugh
1001 - times I was thankful for CJ
2 - creepy phone calls
4.5 - gallons of milk we went through
3 - loaves of bread gone
3 - number of nights we ate banana splits (our peace offering)
5 - number of days that CJ took a load of kids to school
7 - average number of times that I wiped the kitchen counters each day
8 - number of days that I thanked my Heavenly Father for tender mercies and patience

WE SURVIVED...



...but it's sooooo good to be home!