Shopping!

My mom had a $10 Bucks from Old Navy to spend and she was kind enough to give it me to get some Maternity clothes. Man there are cute clothes.....but expensive! So every little penny helps. Here is what I got:


I am a huge dress person! I am sure it has something to do with wearing a dress or skirt everyday to school growing up for 13 years....they are just so comfortable to me. Hopefully these and the other clothes I will get in the future, will help me get through the brutal humidity and heat this summer!

Other Exciting News.....

Our baby is the size of a blueberry....doubling in size from last week! I can't believe it is only that small. I feel like I am feeding an ELEPHANT! It's hands and feet are forming from it's growing arms and legs....so cool! We get to see the baby in 2 weeks...I can't wait!

On Sundays, Zach and I usually attend the Life Teen Mass at 5; that way if Zach has to work in the morning, he can still come or we can still sleep in :) But this past Sunday, the entire teen community and our Pastor Monsignor Talley prayed over me and our baby, to keep us safe the rest of the pregnancy, in a Anointing of the Sick ceremony. It is so nice to know that the people around us care so much about me and our baby. Thank you so much for praying for us!

A Little Bit of a Scare

Friday, I had a pretty scary day. I woke up fine with my typically "have to eat right this minute" feeling or I am going to die and then went into the basement to watch a movie and hopefully fall back asleep before I needed to start work. I took a nap and then had to use the bathroom. The minute I walked in the bathroom and sat down, an overwhelming feeling came over me....Very Quickly. I broke into a full sweat as if I had just ran a half marathon and was nauseous, hot, light headed, and weak. I am pretty sure I blacked out for a little bit after all this and then I came to and remember standing up. That was the last of it. The next time I woke up, I was under the kitchen table in the basement and my head was THROBBING like crazy. I am not quite sure how long I was out or how I got under the table...but I then walked over to the the couch and blackout again...I think. Very Scary for me. I know that fainting can be very normal for pregnant women, but the way my head was hurting completely scared me to death.

Friday was Zach's first day at work, so I called my Dad as soon as I could make my way up the two flights of stairs to my phone. He rushed me to the Gwinnett Medical Center ER. There I realized that my head was bleeding and started crying like crazy.....those hormones! They got me checked in, filled out the paperwork, and I was put into a bed. They ran some tests and found everything to be fine...Thank God! But I did have a gash on the right side of my head, where I guess I hit the corner of the table. I had to get 3 staples and a tetanus shot. Not fun! But Zach was able to meet me there and hold my hand through it.

I was able to leave about 3 hours after arriving. I thought I was sore then. Friday's soreness compared nothing to Saturday's soreness. A couple more pieces of the puzzle came together. I had a bruise on the top of my right eyebrow and the back of my left shoulder hurt too. I think the place the shot went in though hurt more then anything. I definitely felt like I was beat up! Sleeping is pretty tough and restless because I sleep on my back or my right side, of course. But everything is okay and that is all that matters. I go back on Friday to get the staples taken out. Until then, I am taking it easy!

Please keep all of us in your prayers!

Call Me "Old Fashion"

I am so excited that we can finally talk to everyone about our little one. Keeping it a secret for those 2 weeks was so hard when you want to tell the whole world! But now that it is out and we have been discussing things with everyone...I am finding that I am a little "Old Fashion" in some of the things I want.

One thing that I am SO excited about is that Zach and I decided to wait until our baby's birthday to find out if it is a Boy or a Girl. I have gotten mixed reactions on this, but we have really thought the decision through. One reaction was..."I hope you like yellow." I definitely thought of this because if we have a shower for the baby...the guests won't know the sex. Then I thought about how many things that are essential for the baby that have nothing to do with gender...stroller, car seat, diapers, wipes, bottles, lotions, and the list goes on and on. My close family friend also reminded me that in their day when you couldn't find out the sex, you would get everything that was most important for the baby at the showers and then when people visited after the birth, they would bring clothes. I thought that was a good point. Now with bedding....you all know how much I love decorating! So, before the baby is born, I of course will pick out the bedding for each sex and then once the baby is born....I have amazing sisters that can run out and pick the bedding up before we get home :) But overall, the reactions have been..."That is so cool...no one does that these days!" My favorite reaction was from Kimberly. She asked if she could come with us to the ultrasound so she could know....Cracks me up!

Another thing that I am big on is not planning out the birth. I feel that if I make specific plans that if anything goes wrong or different that I will be disappointed. I really don't want to feel like this so plans are not being made. I would love to have the baby naturally...but I also have never gone through this and might be completely crazy for thinking this way. The one thing that I have been told though about having a baby naturally is that the recovery is so much easier....which I love the thought of. But we will see in 8 months.

Another reason I could be called "Old Fashion" is that nothing would make me happier than to be home with our baby to raise it from Day 1! I know that some people's situations don't allow this and I was scared that ours wasn't either. But the situation we are in at this time will allow me to stay home and it thrills me. God is good and so are my parents. At Zach's new job, their purpose for hiring him is to train him to grow Bentgrass and learn the Canongate way and then in 15 to 18 months, move him into a Superintendent's position at another course they own. That means that we don't know exactly where we will be after his advancement...which also means that we can't even think about buying a house until then. Because of this, we will be staying with my parents and we are going to SAVE, SAVE, SAVE. Some of you may think the thought of living with your parents again would be crazy.....but for us it is a huge blessing. Because we will not have to spend our money on housing right now, I will be able to stay home. I am looking for a part time job in the area to make a little bit extra to save....but as we all know too....jobs right now are kind of scarce. But it would be nice.

So if you want.....you can call me "Old Fashion" :)

Pictures from the Weekend

The onesie I got for Zach to tell him the news!

Our first ultrasound

Ian's 5th Birthday was on Monday. We brought him some cupcakes, balloons, noise makers, and party hats to celebrate!

The Newest Member of the Family: Tucker Logan

So Little!

He has beautiful blue eyes and the funniest facial expressions.

FINALLY

I don't know if any of you have looked up the Bible verse at the top of my blog, but here it is:

"For I know the plans I have for you,"

declares the LORD,

"plans to prosper you and not to

harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I love this verse because it really speaks volumes to me. I am a "worry bug" when it comes to certain things....I obsess. It is a very negative trait of mine and this verse calms this part of my personality. When Zach was looking for jobs, I, by luck, came across this verse and I felt like it was speaking straight at me. I had been praying and praying over our situation...trying to find guidance and the direction we were supposed to go in....and then I realized....He already knows and has already planned this for us. After I surrendered and put my trust in Him...Zach got this job...coincedence...I think not. So, I have been trying to remind myself of this verse anytime I stress or question where we are at in our lives or wonder why certain things happen in our lives.

With that being said, Life can be crazy and fun and exciting and insane all at the same time. This past month has been all of those things for me and Zach. Since the beginning of February, I have lost my job, found an internship in Atlanta, we have moved everything to Atlanta, Zach found the perfect job in Atlanta, Zach has moved to Atlanta, and we are having a baby.....

That is right.....We are having a BABY!

We could not be more excited! Although we had been trying and loving the idea of starting our family, we decided it would be best to wait a little while for life to calm down. Well, God had a different plan for us and our little one on the way.

I found out through a home pregnancy test on March 10th that I was indeed pregnant. Not able to even breathe from tears of joy, I called my sisters and let them know the news....and cried some more! Then I packed up to head to Gulf Shores. Longest 6 hours of my life! But it was so nice to have 6 hours of quiet time to imagine and dream about what is to come. I got a little onesie to surprise Zach with. He opened the gift and looked at the onesie for a while and then..."Really?" and I said "Yes" and then..."Really?"...and I said "Yes!" He did this a couple more times and then I pulled out the test to show him and to confirm in his mind that I wasn't making this up.

I scheduled an appointment with my doctor in Gulf Shores for March 11th. I am going to miss small towns for this reason...I called the day of and made a dr. appointment....that is non-existent in Atlanta. I went in for the check up and was reassured again that I was pregnant...What a great feeling! After meeting with the doctor, he asked me if I would want to come back the next day for the first ultrasound....HECK YA! He said they didn't normally do ultrasounds this early, but since we were moving and wouldn't be there, he would do it. I was so excited! After the appointment, I called Zach to let him know everything went ok and they confirmed the pregnancy and he still said....."So you really are pregnant!"....he cracks me up! Zach and I went the next day and saw what was the very beginnings of our little baby. I measured 4 weeks and 5 days and the ultrasound only showed a black sac. The technician said she could not even believe we could see that this early. I was on cloud 9...still am!

Our expected due date is November 14th. Zach has already brought up his thoughts on the date....he said, "Well, as long as the baby doesn't come the weekend of the 7th...I'll be good." I love that he thinks he has a say in this, but the 7th happens to be the Alabama v. LSU game. I am just excited the baby will be here for his/her 1st Ironbowl....Roll Tide!

We have slowly but surely been telling our family and friends. We wanted to tell both our parents in person. We had to wait until this past weekend to tell them since Zach was still in Gulf Shores. We told my Dad on Friday night....my Mom Sunday after Church and Zach's parents on Sunday after we drove to Berry. What an awesome experience!

Our next appointment is scheduled for April 13th! I will be 9 weeks and we get another ultrasound! I am so excited!

Please keep Zach, me and our baby in your prayers! It is going to be a long...Hot...summer :)

A Little Bit of Everything

It is official! Zach now lives in Georgia....YAY! It has been a really long week, but Zach is finally here!

Baby Tucker was born on March 19 around 3:00. He weighs 8lbs and is 20 inches. From what I have heard, everyone is doing great! Thank you for praying for them and continue please :)

Zach and I are relaxing the ENTIRE weekend! We have nothing crazy planned....no alarms necessary...thank the Lord. Sunday night, we are heading to Berry to meet Baby Tucker. I will take tons of pictures so you can see the latest edition to the family.

I am pretty excited about Twilight coming out tomorrow...hopefully there will be a copy left for me to buy. I cannot wait for New Moon....November can't come soon enough!

Taco Mac is also calling our names this weekend....WINGS! They have the best wings and I have missed them so much! And we are also going to my favorite restaurant, Dominic's, on Sunday to celebrate Zach's new job with my parents....YUMMY! I am going to eat very well this weekend.

Kiss Me....I'm Irish!

To celebrate the wonderful day of St. Patty, Zach and I went to the Mobile Symphony on Saturday. The guest performance was by Mithril, a celtic band that is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! We had so much fun. You would not have been able to find one foot in that theatre that was not tapping to the beat. Not only did we get to hear authentic Irish music, but the concert also featured the Pensacola Pipe Band....which included a ton of Bagpipes! They were quite a sight.

This is a clip from youtube of the actual performance. So great!

These were two of my favorite songs! Hope you enjoy and don't forget to wear Green or you will get pinched! Here is one of my absolute favorite Irish Blessings for you to carry with you today too.

May God be with you and bless you.

May you see your children's children.

May you be poor in misfortunes and rich in blessings.

May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.

Update

So it has been a pretty crazy week so far, but good. My internship is still going great. Barbara has been asked to design a home, a 14 million dollar home that is, and told me yesterday that she would like me to help. I don't know exactly what this means (paying or not) but, no matter what, it is a great experience that I will be able to put on a resume! SHe has invited me to visit the home with her next week. I can't wait to see what 14 million looks like...can you even fathom that?!?!

Zach and I have a fun weekend ahead of us. A couple months ago, we purchased tickets to the Mobile Symphony, obviously not knowing how our lives would completely flip by March. The symphony is playing in a Celtic theme for St. Patrick's Day, which I am super excited about. I am counting down the days until the 20th! Even though we have really only been apart a couple days at a time, it still is not very fun.

Please keep Holly, Jared, Ian and New Baby Cordes in your prayers this week. Holly goes to the doctor tomorrow to get an update on her progress and they are going to schedule a date to induce. She is thinking it will be the 19th! Very EXCITING!

That is all for now. I hope you all are having great weeks!

God is GOOD!

I first want to thank all of you for praying for Zach and me.....this last month has been crazy and without your prayers it would have been so much worse! But I am so happy and proud to say that my amazing husband will be moving to GEORGIA at the end of March!

God is GOOD!

Zach interviewed with Hamilton Mill at Canongate this morning. Hamilton Mill is located north of Atlanta, only about 40 minutes from my parents house; which works out really well. I can not even really express how happy I am right now....you pray and pray and pray....and hope for the best.

God is GOOD!

Zach will be heading back to Gulf Shores for the next two weeks and should start with Hamilton Mill on March 27th. He is so cute....he has been singing every song that comes on the radio...even Beyonce "Single Ladies"....and smiling like crazy. We just got done celebrating with my dad at lunch and we are going to Kimberly and Cory's tonight for more celebrating!

So thank you all again for thinking and praying for us....but please continue because someone else needs a job now!

Skype Me!

I absolutely love Skype. Since we live so far from our family....especially Kaitlin right now...it has been so convenient to talk through Skype. Zach gets so excited when we skype Carly and Katie Beth....he is so cute. Tonight, Kaitlin, Chrysti and I all talked to each other through Skype on a conference call....SO COOL! It is like we were all together....even though Ally kept asking "Where are you....why can't I see you?". Unfortunately, while on conference calls, you can't use video, but still great. After we all talked, I got to talk to Chrysti and the girls and see them on webcam. It was so good seeing them. They grow so fast...it makes me so sad to only get to see them every couple months. So now....much more often. I would suggest to everyone, if you have family or friends long distances....get a webcam and use this program. It is free and AWESOME!

Love Dare

Unfortunately due to long distance....my love dare will have to be put on hold :(

First Day

My first day at my internship was literally a dream come true. I enjoyed every moment of it...to the point that I competely forgot to eat until I got home around 5:30. The drive to Atlanta was a disaster due to the snow and ice...but the ride home took 40 minutes...Perfect! If you are thinking this is horrible.....believe me....it could be much worse! My internship is with To The Trade Only. TO is a service for designers to find exactly what they are looking for quickly...time is money. TO has a huge database full of every resource within 100 miles of Atlanta for their designer members to use. Also TO puts on events for their clients to network. Today, I was helping Barbara, the CEO, go to upscale showrooms to get them on board for their event in May....so fun! And I learned a ton. One reason why I was so interested in this internship is because everyday is different and I would get to meet a ton of designers, as well as sales representatives in large showrooms and store owners of design items. Let's hope that the days to come are as great.

But please keep Zach and his job search in your prayers. Also keep us in your prayers as we are separated. Although we both know that the separation will be beneficial to our future and is short term, it doesn't make it any easier.

New York 2

Tuesday night we went to see Avenue Q. Zach has been wanting to see this show for a while so I thought what better time than for his birthday. Before the show, we ate dinner at Juniors. Juniors is known for their cheesecakes. Unfortunately, we didn't know this before and we got a banana split...still amazing. The show was absolutely hilarious! A very good pick.

Happy Birthday to YOU!

Wednesday, we headed to Connecticut to see the Kettell's. It is always so nice to see them; I miss them so much. Since we visited last in September, Julie and Keith have welcomed two more to their family, Quincy Adair and Alexander Patrick. They were so precious. Sydney has grown so much and is ALL girl. She was so fun to play with and she is so funny.

Alex

Sydney

Quincy

Overall, it was a great trip and much needed time off. I start my internship tomorrow....please pray. We are still looking for Zach....more prayers please!