Hormones!

I have been waiting for the first outburst of hormones and it finally came last night. I picked up Jonathan from work and we stopped at Taco Bell on the way home. I have been really wanting chicken quesadillas lately. So that is what Jonathan got for me. When we got home, I sat down to eat and Jonathan said, "What's wrong." I looked at him and tearfully said, "It doesn't have any chicken." I knew it was the hormones crying, but I just couldn't stop myself.

I went to my ob nurse visit today, I still haven't gotten to see the doctor, anyway, she said that I have to take only mildy warm showers because I might hurt the baby. What a bummer, I love hot showers! Jonathan said he is going to turn the water down to prevent any temptation.

Big News!!!

I can finally blog about it! I am pregnant!! I took a test on my first late day and it was faintly positive. The next day I took two more tests, faintly positive. So I called the doctor and they gave me a test. After 16 hours of waiting, I finally got their results--positive!

So I started calling family. I called all of my family except for my mom and mother-in-law. Jonathan wanted to tell them in person, which I thought was a great idea, but it was hard to keep it in.

We went down to Austin Sunday night and I had to keep the secret until lunch on Monday when my mom came over. We wrapped up a newborn baby outfit for each mom and put a print out from my pregnancy test on top. We told them that we had a late Mother's Day gift for them and they had to open them at exactly the same time. Needless to say they were very excited.

I haven't had any cravings or sickness yet. I have had a reduction in my appetite, which worried me. But thanks to the internet, I found out that was normal. When I am hungry, I have to eat right away or I get this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I am hoping to get to see the doctor by next week. I am going up there to set up the payment plan with my insurance today. Who knew that you had to pay for having the baby before you could even see the doctor?

By the internet calculations, I am about 6 weeks pregnant. So that would make me due around January 28th, but we'll see what the doctor says.

I will update more often now that I am home for the summer.

Happy Mother's Day!

Here is a belated Happy Mother's Day wish. I tried to write this entry yesterday, but my computer froze and I lost it. We will see if it works today.

Sunday we went to church and heard the traditional Mother's Day sermon, then we made Mother's day cards in our Kindergarten class that Jonathan and I teach. After church Jonathan asked me where I wanted to go for lunch and I decided that I really wanted Romano's Macaroni Grill. Since we live in a small town, we do not have one and so we were planning to go Austin for lunch.

Jonathan got called into work right after we left church and we headed over there so he could look up a part for a customer. It was a parts emergency if you will. Bryan and I got to drive a gator around. I let him sit in my lap and steer. He was doing very well and I complimented him. Then he said that he would get back in the passenger seat so we could turn around. He then told me, "See Becca, you're a good driver too!"

After we left John Deere my allergies were really acting up so I asked Jonathan if we could just grab Taco Bell and head home. I though maybe we could go out to dinner that night. While we were waiting in the drive through line Bryan said, "Since I am going to live with you forever can I start calling you Mother and Father?" We were a little floored and said that we would love it if he called us Mom and Dad. We assured him that he could still call his Mommy Mommy and that he was lucky because he had two Moms and Dads.

Jonathan and I were planning on talking to him about that exact topic later that day, God took care of that! While I was talking to Debi that afternoon Bryan overheard me talking about adoption. He said, "Oh man I have to be adopted." So Jonathan and I sat down to talk to him about the adoption that evening. He said that he though adoption was bad, but he didn't know why. He then explained that adoption meant that you had to go and live with another family--he would have to go and live with someone else, not us. :( We quickly explained that we would be the ones adopting him and he wouldn't have to live with anyone else.

Then we read him a kid friendly book about adoption and talked about it a little more. He was obviously a little overwhelmed because he was acting very silly. He did call me Mommy once yesterday. That had a nice ring to it!

A musical week

Monday was our choir field trip. We took the kids bowling as their reward, had lunch at a park and then headed to 2 nursing homes to perform. The kids did really well and all of the residents were very excited that we were there. Needless to say I was exhausted after Monday. The field trip wasn't all that stressful, but just knowing that you are responsible for 45 kids is stressful!

Wednesday morning we did two performances for our school. The kids did pretty well, but not as good as I had hoped. Thursday evening we performed for parents and friends. That was their best performance yet! I was so proud of them. I wish I could show you pictures, but I don't think I am allowed to without written permission from the parents, so you can just imagine me standing in front of some kids.


Today the Oklahoma Christian Band came to my school and played for our kids. We were the last stop on their recruiting tour. It was so good to see Heath and Fletch. I recognized one other person, but I can't remember his name. I got to play on Oklahoma ! and America the Beautiful. Wow it has certainly been a while since I have played!

MEDICAID!

I just checked the mail and we got approved for medicaid for Bryan! I am so thankful!!! It will only be until we adopt him, after that we no longer qualify, but 3 months of free therapy instead of $300 is great! I told Bryan that it is free for him to go to the doctor now and he asked if we could use the money to buy a skooter for him. Kids! :)

Progress is good, I think

Bryan is really having a tough time lately. He has really been acting out. The therapist says that as he starts to realize that he will be with us forever it scares him. He is kind of in a roller coaster as he starts to learn how to trust adults. We are going along fine and then all of a sudden he panics and "tests" us. At least this is not the normal "testing that kids do," but it is still challenging. Bryan is testing to see if we will love him even if he is really bad.

So in a weird way, it is a compliment that he is lying, stealing and being moody. The therapist, we'll call her Kate, said that he seems to be bonding with us at warp speed. He even hung on to our legs the other day like a two year old. It was very strange, but Kate said that he has to go through these stages to reprogram his brain.

He has been doing baby talk too. I told him that he could do it while we are at home, but in public it is not appropriate. He likes to call me "Boo Boo." So we are taking it one day at a time and we are seeing that he has made a lot of progress. Please keep us in your prayers.

Catch up continued

We went to the zoo over Spring Break with my sister and her family. We had a lot of fun. Here is a picture of the kids. Look how enthusiastic Marjorie is (lower left corner).

Bryan took most of the pictures so they have bars in front of them or fingers covering them. Here is a good one of a hippo.

Random picture: Bryan often likes to play with his clothes hamper when it is empty. Our friend Tim was over here one evening and all of the boys decided to play aliens with their hampers. It was probably stinky in there!

Bryan also had his first baseball game. Here are some pictures. He is on the Hawks. His team says a cheer before every game. I was explaining this to my mother-in law the other day, I said their cheer is, "Hawks, hawks see us soar!" Bryan quickly corrected me, "No, Becca its, 1-2-3 hawks, hawks, see us soar!"

Catch up

Well we have had a lot happen in the last couple of weeks. Jonathan's car died and we had to buy a new one in a weekend. Luckily we had enough savings to pay cash for the car and did not acquire a new car payment. It is a blue Honda Accord similar to the white one below, but the doors were not what was represented. We were really disappointed when we got there to buy the car, but we decided that somehow we could live with normal doors.

We will have to sell Jonathan's car. It has a cracked head and whoever buys it will have to know how to work on cars. I guess we will put an ad in the Thrifty Nickel or something.

We did have an Easter with snow and I finally have some pictures to show you. I had to wake Bryan up early on Sunday morning to play before it all melted away. Unfortunately we were in Austin during the snowfall so we didn't get to see that, but we did enjoy the drive home with all of the snow on the sides of the road.

Here is our snowman, notice the Easter candy that we used for the buttons and eyes and the branches with leaves for the arms.

Here is a picture of Bryan in the snow

New car

We got a new car this weekend. Bryan especially likes the cool doors.

Update

We have found out that CPS cannot offer any assistance with our adoption of Bryan, but we are still in good spirits. We feel like God has taken care of us through this whole process and he will continue to do so.

We talked to Bryan's mom about the adoption and while it was hard for her, I think that she understands its necessity. Jonathan and I are really ready to have everything finalized and we are hoping that it will be a swift process. From what I have read online, family adoptions usually have less red tape.

Please keep us, Bryan and my sister in your prayers as we go through this process.

We hope that all of you are doing well! I will post on Bryan's first baseball game soon.

Away

I'm so sorry guys. I'm so behind on my blog! I haven't even talked to my sister about her new puppy even though she called me 4 days ago! Please bear with me and enjoy this picture while I am away.

Spring Break

We had a very good Spring Break. I got to hang out with my mom Wednesday morning and evening. I got to see an old friend from high school and I am officially an adult because she helped me open a retirement savings account. I also got to hang out with my sister and her family while we all went to the San Antonio zoo. Then one of my nephews came back to Temple and spent the night. It was nice to have some one-on-one time with him.

I can't believe the week is already over and I am back to the grind tomorrow. I don't really have much to say except, yuck! I hope all of you had a nice time too.

Our Soma

Our preacher, Toby, was talking about "Brave New World" in his sermon. I read it in high school, but I don't really remember it. He was talking about the fact that these people were controlled by a pill that they called their "soma." They would work all day and then when they got off work they were handed a pill that made them happy. One day they were denied the soma and they were angry and didn't know what to do.

Toby brought a TV up on the stage and told us that in our society the TV is our soma. He challenged all of us to spend an entire week without the TV. He said that we needed to give God time to work in our lives and not just give him our leftover time. Jonathan and I haven't followed through completely, but we have reduced our TV time this week. Last night we went out to Jack in the Box for dinner then headed over to Wal-Mart. I can't remember the last time that we all went shopping in an evening during the week. It was nice that we didn't have to rush home to get Bryan to bed.

Then when we got home we turned on our new jazz cd's and danced in the kitchen. It was a blast. Bryan and I were fighting over a turn with Jonathan. Then Jonathan sat down with me at the table to try and figure out how to sew up the crotches in all of his jeans. He seems to always break the crotch in his jeans at work. I am tired of the holes, but didn't know how to fix them. I have a sewing machine that my mom got me (Thanks Mom!) but I haven't used it a whole lot.

So Jonathan and I started by figuring out how to put some more thread on the bobbin and put it back in. After a call to Mom and consulting the manual, we figured it out. Then we started on the first pair of jeans, the needle broke. So we got to learn how to load a needle. We were successful and we sewed up the first pair of jeans. It doesn't look really pretty, but I think it will work.

Little League

So I know that it has been forever since my last post, but Spring Break starts tomorrow and I have some free time on my hands so here goes. Bryan started little league baseball last week and I quickly discovered that Belton is serious about baseball!

We went to the parents meeting for our team and the coach was talking about how he would always play every single child in every game because he felt that it was important. He said last year some parents took their kids off of this team because they thought that the bad kids should sit on the bench and let the good kids play, what is this, the major leagues?

I am very thankful for our coach. He is a very nice man and seems to be a man of God. He is very kind and patient with the kids and he seems to really know what he is doing. They did drills the whole practice that I was at and there was very little time when the kids were standing around. He even invited Bryan over on tomorrow to practice hitting. I think that this will be great for Bryan socially. Oh and God answered a prayer. There are a total of 16 teams in his division and out of all of them, his best friend ended up on the same team as him. God answers prayers!

The flu shot doesn't always work

I have been getting the flu shot every year since I became a teacher. I do work with a lot of snotty-nosed kids who are sick a lot. Not their fault I know, but its the truth. Well I have been struggling to get over a sinus infection for 2 1/2 weeks and Tuesday night I started running fever. I was shivering so much that I couldn't sleep. So I went back to the doctor and he said that I had the flu on top of my sinus infection. Great!

So my experience with the flu has been all sleeping. I slept off and on for about 30 hours before I started to feel better. I am still a little tired, but I am up and around and even cleaned the kitchen this morning.

Jonathan has been absolutely wonderful while I have been sick. He wouldn't let me get out of bed because I needed to rest. He made 2 trips to the grocery store after he has worked a 10 hour day and picked up Bryan from daycare. He fixed me soup and eggs. What a great hubby.

Precious

Tonight I came home and did not feel like making anything special for dinner, so I pulled out a voila meal and VOILA! It actually turned out to be really good so as Jonathan was putting his bowl in the sink, he said, "It was really good babe, thanks for slaving over the stove." Bryan piked up and said, "Yea Becca thanks for sleeping on the stove." Jonathan and I laughed so hard!

On another note: We got new living room furniture today. We got a loveseat, chair and entertainment center. We had to get the loveseat because the couch was way too long and we finally decided that our living room is just really small. But it looks nice so we will be happy. Pictures to come...

I found out that I was "annoying" :(

I am posting for Scott. He sent me a text message yesterday telling me that Karen's birthday had come and gone and it was time for me to update. So here goes.

Random thoughts:
The headband! I recently rediscovered the headband, I know its from the 80's, but it is very sensible. I can simply put some mouse in my hair, throw a headband on and I'm ready to go! It did make me realize that I have a big head though. Monday I wore one all day to work and it gave me a headache because it was a little tight. I had to make a run to Wal-Mart to buy the extra large size.

Bryan is starting to expand his vocabulary. He has been using some big words. Here is an example of a recent conversation.

Setting: Becca and Emily are sitting in the living room talking about her quilt when I hear:

Bryan: (yelling from the kitchen) "Becca you are annoying me!!!"

Becca: "How am I annoying you?"

Bryan: "I have been yelling your name and you didn't even listen!"

Becca: "Oh you mean that I am ignoring you."

Bryan: "That's what I said."


Last night I got to go to a tupperware party at one of my friend's houses. So Jonathan had her husband and some other guys over. Jonathan just got a new surround sound system for Christmas. His wife really loves him. This would have been the perfect opportunity to show off his system to the guys. But unfortunetaly he had to unhook it last week because we bought a new entertainment center and we had to clear the area (Our TV is sitting on our coffee table, its a nice look). But because of ice and other complications we have still not recieved our entertainment center and it was not here for the guys night. Maybe next time. I could tell this morning when I got up that guys had been in my kitchen. Everything that they had used was left open. I'm glad that we don't have ants.

Well those are all of my random thoughts, I hope you enjoyed them!

Happy Birthday Karen!

Today is my sister's birthday! Her blog is linked to the right if you want to check it out. I hope that you have a wonderful birthday Karen.

Adventure with Grandma

This is a story that one of my friends forwarded to me. It is very sweet and helps us remember the real Christmas spirit.

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!" My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her world-famous cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus!" she snorted. "Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous, cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten- dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.

I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs.Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that BobbyDeckerdidn't have a cough, and he didn't have a coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!

I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that. "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes," I replied shyly. "It's ... for Bobby." The nice lady smiled at me. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it --Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

I still have the Bible, with the tag tucked inside: $19.95.

Merry Christmas

Hello out there!

Well I know that it has been over a month since my last post, but better late than never, right? Last night we had our Festival of Choirs. Five elementary schools got together and our choirs all sang on one stage. It was really awesome! I got to conduct the piece that our choir sang by themselves and my coworker got to conduct a piece that all of them sang together. She did really well.

Today Bryan and I had to wake up early to go and pick up our car. Jonathan gave us a ride on his way to work. Bryan suggested that we get donuts for breakfast on our way home, I gave in. We came home and worked on our Christmas shopping list and then headed out to Wal-Mart. I bought most of our gifts today. I haven't bought Bryan or Jonathan's presents yet. I couldn't buy Bryan's today because he was with me and I have to go to Austin to get Jonathan's present. I hope that he likes it! I would say what it is, but sometimes he reads this.

Tomorrow we have a Christmas party to go to at church. We are both supposed to bring a white elephant gift, $5. I'm not sure what to get, if you have any suggestions, let me know. The boys usually buy gag gifts, but the girls usually buy normal things.

I have been thinking about laminate flooring a lot lately. I think that it is because our carpet is so stained and I'm really tired of it. I'm a little nervous about laminate flooring though because you can't just vacuum it. I might have to buy one of those expensive swifers, I've heard that they work really well. I hope all of you have a wonderful Saturday.