Looking Back at 2009!

I got this idea from my friend thanks Jacklyn.


January 2009
We were in the middle of cleaning up after our flooded basement, which happened a few days after Christmas. Thank heavens that is all over.

February 2009
Nothing really exciting, we had a nice Valentines day.

March 2009
We bought a new car! We love our car and it has been great for all the traveling we have done this year.

April 2009
Found out we were pregnant!!!!! We were so excited after almost a year of trying!
We also lost my Grandma Stuttman, it was bitter sweet. We knew she went to a better place but we were so sad to have her leave us.

May 2009
We had a miscarriage and lost our sweet pea. It was a very hard month for us. I needed to find something good that happened in May and I found two things.
One thing is I meet a new friend Jacklyn who also went through a miscarriage around the same time that I did. We were introduced to one another by Katie. I wish we could have meet under different circumstances. It has been great to have a friend to talk to everything about who knows what I am going through. When one of us is having a bad day we can call and vent to one another.
The second thing is my friend Katie got her son Grayden through adoption. He has been such a blessing in there life.
My wonderful husband got me tickets to see Kate Gosselin when she came to Michigan. It was great to meet her and listen to her talk about everything that was going on in her life.

June 2009
Josh and I had our second anniversary. Summer was in full swing, we love being able to live a mile away from the beach.

July 2009
My Grandma Evarts or Jelly Bean as I called her passed away on July 5th. At this point I was ready for the year to be over. Losing both my Grandmas and then our sweet baby. Josh and took road trip to WI for a wedding for one of my college friends Rachel. We made a little vacation of it. We visited a few other friends that live in Chicago area. We also celebrate our anniversary. Josh and I had a good time and really needed the time away together.

August 2009
Let the baking and cooking begin. I got on a baking and cooking kick shortly after our miscarriage I need something to keep me busy. So I started to find new recipes and began to make all sorts of things. This did not help our waist lines oops!
Josh and I also went to the coast guard festival which is HUGE in Grand Haven.

September 2009
We started off the month with my 27th birthday. Josh and I also went camping together for the first time. Josh was in a wedding for his friend Tim. My niece Emily was on Homecoming court she looked amazing.

October 2009
Leaves leaves and more leaves we seemed to have a lot this year.
ESPN was famous his name was in two newspapers for the most unique dog name of 2009.
For Halloween this year ESPN was a hotdog! He looked very cute ;)

November 2009
We got the go ahead to start trying again to get pregnant after a long 7 months of waiting.
I got to see the New York City Rockettes they were fabulous.
Thanksgiving Josh and I both worked so it did not feel much like a holiday.
I went shopping with my sisters and my niece Emily the day after Thanksgiving it was nuts but still a lot of fun.
Montague High School where Josh went to school made it to the state Championship. We went to Detroit to Ford Field to watch them win for the 2nd year in a row!

December 2009
December 10th would have been our due date for our sweet pea.
Christmas came and went Josh and both worked so it was seemed like just another day.
We got to celebrate Christmas with my family on the 27th. It was great to spend time with the whole family.


This year has been filled with many ups and downs for us. Josh and I have become much closer through everything that has happened.
We hope that 2010 will bring us new good memories.

Anne, This is how you made me feel on day 1, and every day since

Q & A

Well we only had one person answer to our question so....here you go!

I have a few favorite holiday traditions putting up the Christmas Tree is one of my favorite things to do and while we do it I love to watch White Christmas! Then to me it is finally Christmas.

I also love to make Christmas cookies!

Something I use to do all the time is going drive around and look Christmas lights. I have not done that in a long time.

What are some of your favorite Christmas tradations????

December 10th 2009 Sweet Pea

Today was supposed to be a day filled with...

Joy
Happiness
Small amounts of Pain
Hearing that baby cry when it comes to join our world
Being able to name our little one that we had waited 9 months for
Tons of kisses
Thousands of pictures
Many visitors excited to share in our special moment
and much much more



But today.... was filled with tears of loss.

Josh and I were apart today which made this day even harder on us. We made it through without each other.

I was not sure how this day was going to go, but I kept busy through out the day and tyred not to think about it.

I hope by this time next year we could be pregnant with a new little bundle of joy!

We know that God has amazing things planned for us.

New Age Wedding

Funny videos

???

A few months ago I told Josh I wanted to have 100 post's by the end of the year. So far we have 94 this will make 95!!! So I need something to blog about. Is there anything you would like to know about me, Josh or something in our life???


Nothing new right now.

Josh and I both worked on Thanksgiving. I got off from work early and got the chance to go bowling with my Parents, sisters, brother in-laws and nieces and nephews. The next morning @ 3:30 AM my sisters Barb and Lisa and my niece Emily and I went shopping on black Friday! We got a lot of good deals but more than anything it was fun to spend time with them.

On Friday My Dad, Brother in-law, nephews Jacob, Brandon, Josh and I all went to the Montague Football game at Ford Field. Josh's parents meet us there. We had a great time and MONTAGUE won!!!!! for the second year in a row. It was a great game!
I will post some pictures soon! I really do like going to Ford Field it is warm indoor football is the way to go!

Our Christmas tree is up and the house is all decorated!!! I love Christmas. Josh is going to put up the outside lights on Thursday then I will take some picutures of everything and post them.

NEW YORK CITY ROCKETTS!!!!!

A group of ladies that I work with and I went to see the Radio City Rocketts! They came to Grand Rapids for one night only.
It was amazing!!!! Here are a few pictures


This is how the show started. The Rockett Reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh!


My personal favorite the wooden toy soldiers!


The Rag dolls dancing with there toy blocks!


The way they move there legs amazes me!


The Rocketts as Santa!


The Nutcracker dance!


The live Nativity!



The Christmas Shine!!!

We got GREAT news today!!!!!!!

I was torn and kept going back and forth if I should post about this...but I decided that I would.

After we had our miscarriage in May, I had a D and C done. A few days later we got a call from Dr. G and she said that some of the test results came back abnormal. I had a Partial molar pregnancy. The placenta grows abnormally into molar tissue. The fetal tissue that develops is likely to have severe defects. Due to this complication we were told that we had to wait 6 months before we could start trying again. For the past 7 months I have had weekly then monthly lab draws to check my HGC level. Human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, is a hormone produced in the body during pregnancy. An hCG blood test measures the level of hCG detectable in the blood. Dr. G had told us that she wanted to mine to stay below 10 for 6 months. This was to insure that all of the mole was gone before we got pregnant again. On Monday I had my final draw and Dr. G's office call today and told me the great news!

Josh and I are asking for your prayers as we start this journey again. We are a very nervous and scared but have a great trust that the Lord has a plan for us. More than anything Josh and I want to be parents!

After over 7 long months, we can start trying to get pregnant again.

Wooooo Hooooo!!!!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is almost here...
Josh and I both have to work so we won't be able to go to my parents house for dinner. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. You get to spend time with your family, friends and having amazing food. Lucky I will be able to go over to my parents house after work at 8pm and see my sisters and there family's and have some food!
What do you and your family do on Thanksgiving???

Christmas Shopping

I try to be organized and last year Christmas kind of snuck up on me. So... this year I was not going to let that happen. For the whole year I have been keeping my eye out for Christmas presents for our friends and family. If I see something that I think they would like I pick it up. So far my plan has been working great. I just have remember where I put everything. For next year I plan to get a tub and label it feature Christmas gifts. Then I can put everything in there as I buy it.

Josh and I have had the last 3 days off together which has been great because that never happens. We have been doing some more Christmas shopping and I am very happy to say that I am almost done just a few more things to buy!!!! I also have made somethings for Christmas this year which I love to do!

Now I just have to convince Josh to help me wrap everything soon! He keeps telling me I have lots of time, but I am really liking the idea of having every thing bought and wrapped before Dec. 1st!!!

Have you started to shop yet???

Something I learned

I learned that if you are not satisfied with something, that MOST of the time people want to make things right. I had bought some cascade dish detergent from Target a few months ago when it was on sale and I had a coupon. I love to save money! I did not need to use them until a few weeks ago I always stock up when the deals are good. When I poured it into my dishwasher it was like water, all thin and runny. I thought that was odd I have never had a problem with cascade before. After I had run my dish washer, my dishes did not come out clean at all. I thought that I would try to run it again and maybe I needed to shake it up, well that did not work either. So I tried the other bottle same thing.
I was unsure what to do I looked on the back on the container and there was a 1-800 number to call so I thought I would just call and see what they had to say. I spoke with a very nice man who listened as I told him about how I was disappointed with there product. He asked me to find him the lot number on the back of the bottles. Lucky I had just thrown them in the recycle bin outside. After I read it to him he told me how that a batch had froze over the winter and then when it was shipped to MI it must have thawed and the chemicals separated. He was very sorry for my inconvenience and said he was going to mail me out TWO coupons for free cascade of my choice and size and kind.
Well guess what came in the mail today….? my two coupons for my FREE cascade.
I have always used the liquid, but right now as we speak I am trying the gel packs. If they work that is what I plan to use my coupons on and since I can get any size I am going to get two of the biggest ones I can.
So for me it paid off to tell someone that I was not satisfied!





Have any of you ever got reimbursed for something?

Nanny

In September I started to nanny for two very cute little boys. Every Tuesday I get to play with them. Austin is 2 1/2 and Charlie is 6 months old.





Austin eating his breakfast!


Charlie eating his breakfast!






Austin is such a ham when I get out the camera. He loves to play with trucks and cars.



I love this picture!


My little Charlie, he is my cuddle bug. He loves to play and watch Austin do anything. He also love to eat! ;) He is such a good baby.


I love to spend each Tuesday with these cute little boys. They are both so good and bring a lot of Joy to my life.

Thanksgiving...

...

Do you ever feel like you are out on your own just trying to get some where???

Wordless Wednesday (a little early)

Pround Parents!!!!

There was an article in the Holland Sentinel (our local newspaper from Holland) about top 10 dog names and then they listed the top 4 most unique and ESPN was number one. If you have time check it out. We are so proud of our cute little boy!

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/homepage/x1914253653/Molly-leads-the-pack-of-favorite-dog-monikers-in-Ottawa-County">


You will just have to copy and paste it I don't know how to make it clickable link.

Fall 2009

So now I feel like fall is here! The leaves have turned and have started to fall.
I have had my fall decorations out for a while which I love. This is a picture of our dinning room table. The pumpkin is my favorite fall decorations, my friend Heather gave it to me for my birthday last year. This year she gave me some super cute fall yard decorations I have by the front door.


ESPN was ready to go play in the leaves today.





I tried get some cute pictures of him, but he did not want much to do with that.


My boys!

Josh spent the morning blowing the leaves into a pile and then sucking them up.




I stayed out of the way and enjoyed my cup of coffee outside on this beautiful day!

What should ESPN be for Halloween?

So we have 3 choices to chose from please tell us which one you like best!






We will post more pictures and let you know which one we picked!

Are you thirsty?

A day to remember!

Today (October 15) is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Day. On May 4th 2009 we lost the most important thing in the world to us our sweet Little Pea. We were only about 10 weeks along. Today is a day for all the Mommies and Daddies out there that have lost there sweet babies. If you know someone who has experienced a loss please pray for them today. I have two close friends that lost there sweet babies. Katie you are an amazing Mom two your two sons... and Jaclyn I know you are going to be an amazing Mom!

This is the day that changed my life forever.

April 29th 2009 started off as a normal day I was at work keeping busy as I always do at the hospital. It was time for lunch, and to my surprise I was hungry, and like normal I had to go to the bathroom. When I was finished, I noticed there was a little blood on the paper. I froze. I could not believe it. Not knowing what to do I asked one of the other nurses on the floor who has two children, she told me to call my doctor right away. I looked all over for a quite place to make a phone call which was next to impossible. I called the office explained to them what was going on. They said everything sounds ok, and they were going to call the doctor and see what she would like to do and call me back. So after a good cry from being scared, off to lunch I went. A few hours later I got a call from the doctor office saying they wanted me to have some lab work done. They wanted to have some of the labs drawn on Wednesday and then some more drawn on Friday in hopes that they numbers would double. I left work early that day and went down to the lab had my lab work drawn and came right home, put my feet up and relaxed. On my way home from work I called Josh to tell him what was going on. I could tell he was trying to be strong. I was not scheduled to go to work until the following Monday so I had lots of time to just relax which is what I did. It was my mom’s birthday on Friday which was good because it kept my mind off things. On Friday night I got a call from the doctor’s office saying things looked good. My numbers on Wednesday were 4400 and then on Friday they were 6800 something. They did not double but they went up which was good. They told me to call the office on Monday morning at make an appt for our first ultra sound. I was so excited to see Little Pea. Monday morning May 4th I woke up and went to the bathroom the spotting was a different color this time more red with clots, I was scared. I finished getting ready and off I went to work. I start work at 7 am so I was just waiting for the office to open at 8 am. Once again I called the office told there the spotting had gotten worse and I needed to come in as soon as possible. So they told me they could get my in at 11am, I said I would take it. I called Josh and told him to meet me at the hospital and we could ride together to the doctor office. We went in and the ultra sound tech started the ultra sound. She could not see the baby very well so she had me use the restroom and then did an internal ultra sound. Right away we saw little Pea. I was excited, until she said she could not get a heart beat. I began to cry she looked for a long time trying to find something to give us hope that our baby was still alive. She then said she was going to have one of the Doctor’s come in and talk to use. She came in and said it could be two things, either we were not as far along as we thought we were because they baby was only measuring 6 ½ weeks and the heart has not developed, or that we had lost the baby. She wanted to order some more labs to see if those levels that they checked before were still going up. So back the hospital Josh and I went to have more lab work done. Then we drove home and waited. I crawled into bed and just cried. Josh’s mom came over to sit with me so that josh could get some sleep, because he had not slept from working the night before. Around 4 o’clock pm I got the phone call that would change our lives forever. The labs were back and the numbers were going down. We had lost the baby. The doctor has recommended that we have a D&C which was scheduled for Tuesday. Soon after, we got a call from the hospital to set everything up for surgery. I needed to be there at 2:30pm for surgery at 4pm the next day. The rest of the night I just sat with Josh and cried over and over. I felt so lost and empty. My Mom came up from Holland to sit with me so that Josh could get some sleep. Tuesday morning the phone rang a little before 8 am it was Dr. G calling to see how I was doing and make sure I did not have any questions about anything that was going to happen that day. I woke up Josh and we just spent the morning together just holding each other. 2:30pm came very fast that day. We drove to the hospital checked in and they took me back to my room. I got changed and waited for the nurse to start my I.V. Then the anesthesiologist came in and went over some paper work and gave me some medicine to make me relax. A little bit before 4pm Dr. G came in and talked with us about what she was going to do and explained the surgery. Then I was taken into the operating room. I slid over on to the table. They tried to give me some medicine to make me relax but my I.V. was not working. So 4 more pokes and they finally got one in. Then I took some deep breaths and I was asleep. The next thing I knew I woke up in the recovery room. Then I was taken back to my room to recover more and Josh was waiting for me along with my Mom. Around 8 pm we headed back to my parents house so that Josh could have some dinner while I rested some more. We got ESPN and were on our way back to our house in Grand Haven. The day was very long and very hard but I am so grateful to my amazing husband who was with me every step of the way. Ever since we have been home, I have been sleeping, crying and just not knowing what to do. I go back and forth from the bedroom to the living room. I feel empty, knowing that my baby is gone and I will never feel it again. I try to watch T.V. or a movie to get my mind off things and everything has babies on it, then I cry even more. Around the house we have baby things baby cloths, baby toys, books about names, what to expect when you are expecting, and the new maternity cloths that we had just bought. We also had congratulation cards from people that have found out that we were expecting. One thing that is very special is something that I had wanted for a long time was the Willow tree figurine of the expected mother, which my in-laws had just given me. Every commercial on T.V. is for a Mothers day which I was looking forward to being my first mother’s day. I have been in a lot of pain from the D&C which does not help. I keeping thinking why, why did this happen to us? Why after it took us almost a year to get pregnant would we lose this baby?



The frame says "A Miracle waiting to be seen"

Do you trust me?

Give it to Him...

Fall

What is your favorite fall thing to do....?

Wordless Wednesday!

September up-date!

I turned.....27 on September 1st! Josh got me my favorite cake red velvet with cream cheese frosting! It was Yummy!




We dog sat for our friends the Lubbers while they were away over labor day. ESPN was so excited to have his buddy Pacey for the weekend! They played hard and were all tuckered out.




Josh has been busy on Friday nights going