Who needs AAA?

Beginning November 30th, I have been a magnet for all things wrong with driving.  My poor car is the same one my parents bought for me when I was in high school, BUT we have no payment and it still runs well...or did.

On that fateful day a nice young lady thought it was more important to talk on her cell phone that apply the breaks needed to stop her car from hitting mine.  After a few hours at the hospital making sure little man was ok and not suffering from the seat belt, I made it home only to begin my fight with her insurance company.  No worries, everything seems to be going more smoothly with this situation at the moment.

Next, I decided it was better to change the radio station going around a curve than watching the road, so I hit an inanimate object on my way to work less than a week later.  My poor car.  Seriously, this incident knocked the mirror right on off.

I thought my bad luck streak was over, but apparently the third time's a charm!  I went to start my car after work this Tuesday and she just decided to die.  Nothing.  No cranking.  No moving.  Nothing.  Did I mention it was in the 20s outside?  I called my dad to come help since Phillip was at work until 3 AM and it was only 6 PM at the time.  Who needs AAA when you have good ole DAD?!

While Phillip is in the process of repairing the irreparable, my parents let me borrow a van that they use for the florist.  Now, this should be amusing in and of itself since this is a HUGE Chevy Astro van complete with a sign in the window that reads "I'm delivering flowers and will return shortly."  I asked my dad if he was sure he didn't want the sign to put in another van while I had this one.  His response: "Nah!  Keep it.  You get to park anywhere with that thing!"  Oh bless him.

So I began my tenure with the trusty ole van.  I have to admit that I like being big.  However, I do not like being big on icy roads (I slid the other morning on the way to work...whole different story).  I left work one day and noticed that the heat was on but nothing was coming out of the vent.  I called my dad after fidgeting with the settings for a while to no avail.  I asked if there was something I needed to do or push that I hadn't seen.  Here's the conversation that ensued:

Me: Dad, the vents aren't blowing out anything in the van, but it says they are on high.
Dad: Oh, yeah.  You probably just hit a speed bump or something.
Me: What does that have to do with the heat?
Dad: Oh it doesn't really, but the fan just stops working sometimes if you hit a bump just right.
Me: Oh heavens!
Dad: There's a rubber mallet in the floor board there.  Just pull over, lift the hood, and start hitting the fan box until it comes back on.  I even made it easy to identify.  I marked the box with a X not too long ago.
Me: Thanks for the help there.

Needless to say, I did not pull over to beat the crap out of a van in the middle of Charlotte.  Fortunately, the van decided to remedy itself after having a little breather.  I love my dad for so many reasons.  Most of which include "solutions" to problems such as this one.

I'll have updates on life soon.  It's been a busy few weeks.  Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Little Bean Update

The day after Thanksgiving we had an appointment set up with my doctor and the ultrasound tech.  I was famished from fasting for almost 18 hours, but we were SO excited to find out what our little bean was.  So, with no further ado...

Phillip is beyond thrilled.  I am quite relieved because we already knew the boy name, the baby's heart beat is great, and it weighs right under what it should at the moment.  According to the pictures, he has long fingers and big lips (like his daddy).  He didn't want us to see his face for a while.  He kept putting his hands up every time the tech tried to get a profile picture of him.  I made my doctor happy by gaining a whole pound over the course of this pregnancy.  :-)  (I am sure Thanksgiving had nothing to do with this.)

Sandra and Steven got into town not long after our appointment and brought TONS of goodies with them, including this big baby foot in a bunch of balloons.

I will post more about our holiday later, but I thought this would be a great way to hold you over!

Thanks for all of the prayers!

Pearls aren't just for wearin'!

I have spent approximately the past four months living in my house, absolutely worthless as a housewife.  However, for the past week or so I've had some energy and my medicine has been effectively controlling my nausea.  This makes me quite happy!  

This past weekend I had committed to visiting Raleigh.  I had a shower to attend for my precious Bible study leader from college, Renn.   (P.S. - One of the cutest pregnant women I have ever seen).  One of my closest friends, Jenni, graciously played hostess to me for the weekend.   This included coming into Jenni's house and being welcomed with Snyder's pretzels (because they are the best) and caffeine free Mountain Dew (because this little bean has me drinking weird things).  It was awesome!  I was able to have lunch with my fabulous college roommate since she and her family are back from their years as missionaries in Thailand.  Unfortunately, most of my day Saturday was not a great feeling day, but I took meds and prayed for a better Sunday as I headed off to bed.

I always do the same thing on Sundays in Raleigh: go to Hope Community Church with Miss Katie.  If you live in the Raleigh area and don't have a home church, I highly recommend this one.  It has been so great watching the church grow.  When I first started going to Hope my sophomore year of college, there were only 50 or so people at the church and we met in a small building somewhere.  Now, it's a massive church with a following that just speaks to the power of God and what His committed followers can do for a community.

When I got home I realized that I had a LOT to do regarding my very neglected house.  Sandra and Steven are coming in on Friday, so I wanted to try to get what I could done.  I've been working on and off all week (it's amazing how sore and tired I get in such a short period of time).  Tonight, I decided to switch up my "tablescape" as Sandra Lee calls it.  I turned up some Josh Groban Christmas music and got to work (don't judge me, it's close enough to Christmas).

Normally it looks something like this:

I use another center piece, but these have frequented.  Aren't green roses fun?!

As of tonight, it looks a bit more like this:

I love our formal china, but must admit that we seldom ever use it.  So I thought this would be a fun way to break it out and perhaps force myself to utilize it.  I also did not want to spend money to completely change the look of our dining area.  I took a cost effective route.  Obviously, the china was from our wedding (almost 3 years ago).  Several months ago Pier 1 introduced these lovelies to the market.  Like any good Meredith girl, I snatched them right on up.  Granted, they were $4.95 each, but I didn't consider that pocket money because it was spent pre-baby.  :-)

Pearls aren't just for wearin'!  I am in love with these, you should be too.  I had to buy the napkins because I had none that would match our china.  I was walking through Target today picking up some last minute things for the weekend when I stumbled upon these beauts!  And for $3.99 a pack, who could resist?! 

The only remaining problem was the centerpiece.  I knew what I would use, but I had to prep this while Phillip was gone (spray paint had to be used and he says I can't do that and be with child).  I bought some pillar candles last year post-Christmas from Target, but never found a candelabra to use.  Earlier in the year my mom gave me a brass one from the florist.  She said they never used it and told me to do what I wanted with it.  My solution: spray paint.  Now, I love new things as much as the next person.  However, this cost NOTHING...and I like that more!  :-)  Not too shabby.

Opinions?  Reviews?  I think for a total of $7.98 plus tax, it wasn't too terrible.

Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!

Living Out Loud

Being honest is always something I've prided myself on doing.  My husband is much the same way.  Sometimes we are brutally honest, but at least neither of us are hiding behind a veil of secrecy.  This whole baby phase caused me to re-evaluate the way I approach honesty, and when/how we allow people in our lives to know intimate details.

The problem is that a lot of the fertility issues we faced prior to getting pregnant left a strong sense of guilt lingering over my head.  None of the issues were under either of our control, but the problems were with my body and not Phillip's.  I can't express how much guilt I felt (and still feel) over this fact.  Either way, I have been ashamed of our problems instead of rejoicing in them as a way to bring glory to God.

I had been quite fearful that people would see our blog or listen to our problems and judge me for them.  Perhaps that was an irrational fear, but I judged myself so I could only assume others would do the same.  I don't care anymore though.  I am slowly realizing that this is a part of our story.  I believe that our child will be all the more special to us for the struggles we had to endure.  Maybe this was a way God used to better prepare us for parenting.

In any event, I talked to Phillip and we decided to make the blog public.  If you know someone struggling, feel free to share.  I did not have many people to talk to during this whole battle and I believe it is because so many people endure it in painful silence.  (For those precious few, you know you are my angels and I don't know where I'd be without you.)  If we can be a beacon of light or hope, then I want to put our story out there (regardless of the consequences).

Thank you for all of your prayers and support.  Keep 'em coming!

P.S. - According to thebump.com, this week the baby is the size of an avocado.  :-)

Silver Linings...

I've decided to take a leap of faith and jump.  We've had a little secret for about 16 weeks now, and I've just been too scared to let everyone in on it for fear that something terrible might happen.  

You see, we're expecting (we find out just what we're expecting in 2 weeks, so have patience).  

There is lots more to this story, but I don't have the words or the energy right now.   We just wanted to ask for prayer.  I am still weighing less than I did before the pregnancy began, so the doctor is wanting me to gain weight (because the fertility drugs didn't make me gain enough, right?).  I just got out of the hospital tonight.  I have had a tough time with 24/7 "morning" sickness.  I don't want to get too sick because obviously that's bad for the little one, and they keep wanting to slap me in the hospital (like today).  However for the first time tonight, I was able to faintly hear its heart beat (this is big and has been problematic previously), so I decided it's a great time to let everyone in on our precious gift!

So, with that said I will post more later.  Please send up a few prayers for us and thank you for your faithfulness thus far.  Love you all!

Fall Festival

We love McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina.  It's a halfway point to Florence during our regular drives, so we always make it a point to stop and buy whatever is fresh and in season.  Since it's fall, pumpkins are in abundance.  This year we decided to make it down for the fall festival.  It was such a nice day!

This is us right before entering the corn maze.  Oh the fun we had.  I learned that my husband has severe ADD.  No worries, we eventually made it out.

 

The Stephenses led the way.  This provided ample opportunity for Phillip to throw and any everything he could find at Sarah.

I would like her outfit to be noted.  We were waiting on the hay ride back to the front of the farm after the corn maze.  How festive is this?  She only smiled because Sarah bribed her, but hey it was a means to an end.

Our niece, Logan, with her Grammy on the ride back.

The sight of this made me laugh.  Taylor is apparently in love with the way Lee's hair feels.  She sat on his shoulders and gently rubbed his hair like this for quite a while (and she's a heavy little one).

 We rode in this wagon around the farm.  The strawberries are already planted and ready for next year!

 This ice cream maker was awesome.  And yes, it is a John Deere.  Gotta love the country.

 Logan wanted a green pumpkin this year.

 Aunt Diane cooked a delicious meal for everyone on Sunday.  Anna, Sarah's sister, came over to partake.  She got to experience Mason's love for the water hose.  She was trying to water the lemon trees here, but Mason's head is in the middle of the planter biting the water. 

We hope you had a great weekend!  We did!

Update on Chuck

So I haven't been shopping of any sort in a long time.  I am not sure why this is, but I really have just not been motivated.  
 
I decided Target needed my company tonight.  I looked in the mirror, which revealed to me that a sick me is an ugly me.  However I couldn't breathe out of my nose, so sleep was out of the question.  I put my hair up, threw on a fleece jacket, and off I went (it's only a mile down the road). 

I love to look for potential Christmas gifts this time of year.  So I decided to head towards the toys as we have three nieces that we get to buy for this year.  Unsuspecting me thought it'd be funny to go look for Chuck the Talking Truck, when lo and behold I stumbled upon Matchbox's Stinky the Garbage Truck!!!

I'm sorry Chuck, but move on over.  If there is one toy that beats you it's Stinky!!! 

Talking Chuck

So many of you know our anniversary, my birthday, and Christmas all fall in the month of December.  We were discussing what we wanted to do for our anniversary.  Phillip then asked for suggestions on presents.  Now, I honestly cannot think of one thing I want (and typically don't care).

Of course, I then turned the table and began asking him what he'd like for Christmas.  (It's important that I insert here the fact that Phillip is 29 years old.)  His response: Tonka's Chuck My Talking Truck.  Bless his heart, but he'll never grow up.

Maybe I should take a vote on this, but I am almost tempted to humor him and buy it.  What do you think?

September to Remember

So sorry about our lack of communication via the blog.  September came and went before we knew it.  By the time it was over, we felt like we had survived a hurricane of mass proportions.  It was all so hectic; I can't remember what we did for the majority of the time.

I know one thing - COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS BACK!  Which means my husband has a date every Saturday with Dabo Swinney and his boys at Clemson.  I have actually not minded it as much as I anticipated.  I do, however, not like watching all day football.  We had a conversation about that.  Four hours of anything is enough (in my humble opinion).  

Now, the problem with Saturdays lies herein: Phillip had to work nearly every Saturday in September.  Fortunately, I have been pre-occupied so our lack of "dating" hasn't phased me in the least.  Phillip, on the other hand, is one tired kid come Saturday night.  

Several weeks ago we received a phone call from Florence informing us that Phillip's grandmother was found unconscious.  Not much more was told at the time.  We packed up around midnight that Sunday night and headed down to South Carolina.  We got there around 2 AM to something I never could have imagined.  

I've always said that if anything ever happened to Ms. Elwood, I wouldn't know how to handle Phillip.  He adored his Papa and Grandma.  He grew up next door to them his entire life (until some evil woman came in and had him move to North Carolina).  

Over the next three days I watched an amazing family come together in a way I had never seen before.  All of the trivial things were left behind to focus on the matriarch.  I have never seen that many people in an ICU unit before.   She had suffered, among other things, a massive stroke and hemorrhaging in the brain.

On September 22, 2010, Grandma Taylor was able to meet the Lord that she loved so dearly.  We came home to get clothes, make some arrangements, and come back to SC for the funeral arrangements.  This was the only weekend Phillip took off in September, but thank the Lord for a great company.  He was given three days of bereavement so he didn't have to use all of his vacation.  

The visitation was held that Thursday and the funeral took place that Friday.  I will say that watching Phillip and his family go through this broke my heart.  Phillip is a really big guy, but he's such a softy at heart.  I had no idea what to do with a husband that was completely broken.  His friends were amazingly supportive.  (I have never had so much delicious food in my life.)  Phillip took comfort in the fact that his grandma left behind an incredible testimony to God's provisional love (and that she was enjoying time with the husband she loved so dearly in heaven). 

The rest of the month was slightly bumpy, but we made it.  It's October and it feels FABULOUS outside.  Don't you agree?  I broke out the jacket this week.  Can't wait to carve pumpkins in a few weeks!


Thanks for being patient with us!  Happy fall ya'll!

August: The month of birthdays

This past weekend we packed up and headed to South Carolina.  Apparently, August is THE month for birthdays when it comes to Phillip's family and friends.  Phillip is scheduled to work every weekend in August, except this last one.  We decided to take advantage of this and head on down. 

Our first stop was a birthday party for Chris' niece, Carly.  Chris, for those of you not familiar, is Phillip's best friend...since diapers.  No lie.  Chris also had a birthday at the beginning of the month, but now Carly gets all of the attention.  We had such a good time catching up with everyone.  Carly is adorable.  We were surprised at how much she's grown since we saw her a few months ago.  I have been begging Chris to get married and have kids.  The McNairs make some pretty babies.  Carly is beginning to look exactly like her mama.  She's one of the most gorgeous babies ever.  We decided that since she doesn't live with us the best birthday present would be Melissa & Doug art supplies.  We even got finger paints for her to use on Uncle Christopher's truck.  Here's the birthday girl after the party (sleepy) with her uncle and mom.  Isn't she ADORABLE?!  I love those blue eyes!

After the party, we decided to go back to Aunt Diane's.  She was ready for the Pee Dee State Farmers Market, so she and I left Phillip to nap since his sleep schedule was quite messed up.  Now, I've tried to find comparable farmers markets around us, but they just don't exist.  I LOVE this place.  I loaded up on fresh cucs, squash, local honey from Pamplico, peaches, blueberries, homemade apple bread from McLeod Farms, etc.  Next time we're down the scuppernong grapes should be ready...we hope.  Those are free for the picking!  I had so much fun.  When we got back home I got to nap!  South Carolina is SO relaxing. 

Obviously Emma agrees.  It was post-bath, pre-bed time.  She was zoned.  The pjs are precious!

Phillip and Lee spent quite a few hours ignoring the rest of us and watching UFC.  Look at how happy Lee looks.  Quite disturbing, my friend!

FINALLY, Uncle Phillip decided it was time to play (conveniently before bed).  He became a jungle gym first. 

Then he started push ups with a 4, 5, and 10 year old on board.  They were intermittently watching A Bug's Life.  (Love the red face...nice P!)

You always have to work the arms.  Why not add a 5 year old for additional weight. 

It's always important to end a workout with a little cool down.  Look how happy the girls are with Phillip.  He's so good with little ones.

Cute Emma and Taylor decided to take a walk to the pond.  Gracie, of course, never far behind.  Apparently, she likes people her size. 

Emma wasn't too sure about Mason splashing around in the pond. 

I love this. Emma wanted the rocks.  Not sure why.  Lee was happy to oblige. 

Mason is a very patient dog.  Taylor, well, is not a patient little person.

Gracie does not do water.  At all.  Logan insisted that Gracie needed to swim.  Look closely, I don't think Gracie agrees with her opinion.

He took the pic, you'd think he would know to smile.  P.S. - Excuse the clothes.  You wear nothing nice to the pond.  I ended up getting quite soaked.  Lovely!

After the Stephenses went home, the girls took their baths and wanted to play Monopoly.  Phillip had loads of fun trying to explain to a 5 year old why she had to roll doubles to get out of jail.  The girls spent the night because Phillip's mom had her 40th high school reunion.  She broke curfew too.  We decided she was grounded this week.  (Mama Harris - you better stick to it or you get two weeks!)

Logan got bored waiting on Taylor to roll doubles, Taylor was tired of jail, so she began taking pics...of everything. 

I'm a great aunt.  Always teaching them the important things in life.  Obviously.

We had such a great weekend!  We want to wish a Happy Happy Birthday to Linda, Chris, Lee, Carly, and the rest of the gang!

And still we carry on...

I just realized that my lack of pictures is beginning to make this blog quite boring.  I will try to make up for this.  We are about to leave for a weekend of fun in South Carolina with Phillip's family.  I always have plenty to share after these trips.  

I wanted to update everyone on our current state of being post-doctor's appointment last Friday.  This past Friday was initially suppose to be the date we found out if we were expecting.  However, we knew going in that we were not.  Although I cannot say we were happy about not being pregnant, at least we didn't have to deal with the disappointment in the doctor's office.  God was definitely looking out for us there.  


We were able to spend our time constructively going over options with the doctor.  As much as I dislike most of the options, at least they are available to us.  We decided to stick with the course we are currently on for two more rounds.  Unfortunately, since the last round resulted in ovarian cysts and no little ones, I have to start taking an additional hormone along with a drug called Metformin.  I was none too pleased about this.  Phillip and I both told that doctor that we were aware of some of the long-term side effects from Metformin.  This drug is actually a diabetic medication, but when combined with clomid (fertility drug) it actually helps your body do what it should want to do naturally.  A few months ago I attempted taking the same thing, but after four days of what felt like a horrible stomach virus I digressed.  I researched it and it does cause liver damage if used long-term.  I will only have to continue taking it through the 13th week of pregnancy if anything results from this round.


This past round of clomid really sent us for a loop.  Apparently, it gives you all of the symptoms of early pregnancy without being pregnant.  Meaning I got to spend a lot of time proverbially praying to the porcelain god in our bathroom, crying over absolutely anything and everything, and being ridiculously tired.  Needless to say, neither of us are looking forward to adding two more medications and doubling the dosage of clomid this month.  


We are really hoping that everything will work out.  I have already started the Metformin again because my dosage has to be built up before I can start the clomid again.  Surprisingly, I get a little sick about an hour after taking it, but it hasn't been as bad as it was previously.  I have to gradually increase my dosage for the next two weeks (going from 500 mg to 1500 mg), so I really hope it continues as well as it has thus far this week.  

Other than the minor interruptions from medications, we are enjoying our month off!  I am sure that I will have lots of pictures to post from this month.  We are heading to SC this weekend, Phillip is working the other two weekends of the month, I am heading to Wilmington to visit Brandy and Will later in August, and then we get to spend the entire Labor Day weekend in SC with Phillip's family.  I love it when fall comes creeping up!  After this crazy hot summer, you better bet that we are more than ready for it too!!!


Prayer Requests:
*Phillip's work has him on 6 day weeks (approximately 60 hours) through the end of the month.  This wouldn't normally bother him, but the heat is really draining him.  Pray for safe keeping and lots of rest when he is at home.
*Drugs - My body doesn't like any of them and will typically display almost any side effect imaginable.  We are really hoping that despite the fact that medications are doubling and our prospects don't look any better now than they did months ago, I will react surprisingly well to everything I have to take.  
*Strength - This past round was tough because we both got our hopes up.  Although it was ignorant of both of us, it's tough to go through everything and not be a little hopeful.  Phillip has been amazing, but I often feel like he's the backbone for both of us.  I really want to be the support he needs because this hasn't been easy on him either.
*The Little Bean - I have gotten to the point where I don't have adequate words.  We just hope that he/she will know the Lord in an intimate way and long for a relationship with Him. We want to be a mirror to reflect that love to our child(ren).  


Until next time, thanks for the prayers and support. 

Organization 101

We have, on several occasions, cleaned out our garage.  When I bought this house one of the big selling points was the 2 car garage.  There are two garage doors, so when Phillip moved in the other side became his.  I believe I was crazy for assuming he'd use it for his truck.  I tend to stick to my side.  His has a one man boat, 4-wheeler, riding lawnmower, and almost anything else you can think any one man would need all housed on his side.

We were at Lowe's yesterday grabbing a few things.  We crossed paths with the organization department.  Anyone that knows me understands that organization makes my heart leap.  Anyone that knows my husband knows that he could care less.  Phillip said he knew where everything in his garage was (he found out this wasn't true when we began searching for one of his many tape measures).

Phillip picked out a bunch of Black & Decker cabinets, we ran home and measured to make sure they would fit on a wall, measured his tool box, ran back to Lowe's and began our journey.  I tried to bribe the Lowe's employees to come on over and help us put these up, but it didn't work.

This is how Phillip's side of the garage looked when we began.

 Here's the finished product. 

YAY!  The golf clubs, air compressor, lawnmower, and 4-wheeler obviously wouldn't fit in the cabinets.  Sorry the pictures are so blurry.  We FINALLY finished around midnight.  Phillip is quite proud of his newly organized garage.  (I believe I have converted him.)  It's nice, that feeling of accomplishment.

Eventually, we hope to get the floor and walls painted, but Rome wasn't built in a day.  We hope you all had a great weekend!

Blast from the Past

Phillip is at work, so I am positive he won't discover this post for a while.  A few weeks ago we went to Florence to visit his family for the day.  I had been wanting to take a gander at Phillip as a little one.  His mom was nice enough to bring over some pictures and scan them for me.  I got so many laughs.  I am missing a few that really cracked me up of Phillip and Lee, his cousin.  However, here is a sample.  (I am debating posting some of these on facebook.  Evil, I know.)

This is Phillip with his mom's father.  He speaks of him often.  I am only sorry that I never had the privilege of knowing him.  

Lee, Papa, and Phillip

Sadly, Phillip has never been good at sharing.  I'm not even sure this was his.  I think he just liked taking things from Lee.  

According to Mama Harris, this was one of Phillip's favorite toys as a tyke!

This picture is blurry, but so funny.  His mom said that somehow ice fell down his pants.  This is his reaction.

It's dark, but this is Phillip with Nicki and Jeff when they were little.

The boy has some hair.  A lot of hair.

Sometimes it can be kinda crazy hair.

At least he seemed to be a happy little one.

He still sleeps like this, except now his hand ends up over my face.  During a dream one time he ended up punching me in the ear.  That was fun.  Haha.  

Hope you all enjoyed these as much as I did!