Staying Busy, Enjoying God's Blessings and Having Fun

Tommy got his new truck yesterday! We love it, and can't wait to take it out on a date night.

Things are going good. Yesterday I found out that my HCG pregnancy hormone level has now dropped to a 7.8. It needs to be at least at a 5, and then its considered a negative pregnancy. So next Wednesday will hopefully be the last of the bloodwork.

Today I registered for National Rally for Premier. It will be in TX. I am really excited about the training and fellowship. Point of Grace will be there, and I have always loved listening to them. I am about to go tan, pick Zoey up from obedience school (next Thursday is her last day of that, and I am sure she will be happy to get that over with), then I am going to do pilates and run with Ashlie. Hopefully the rest of the evening I can relax and finish reading "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". My goal is to be done with the series (7 books all together) before the movie comes out in July. I am about to finish book #2. Anyways, tomorrow is Friday. Tommy should be getting off a little early...I hope. I am also looking forward to hanging out with Brittney and Ashlie by the pool! Saturday is our Girl's Night at Rachel's house, and I am really excited about that! I am not sure what Tommy is going to do, I think he may go hang out with our friend Robby from S.S. I am not sure though. Sunday is my cousin-in-law Sarah's baby shower I am helping host. I am helping with decorations, food, and balloons. It should be fun. That night, Tommy and I are hoping to have a date night and go to Sammy's and to see "Land of the Lost".

Jamie is due any minute. How funny would that be if she went into labor Saturday night while we are all together??? It would be great. Danielle's pregnancy has FLOWN by! I can't wait for her baby shower as well. Skylar is so beautiful, and is growing too fast. Addie Grace is almost 1 year old. I can't believe it. She is such a beautiful little girl, and her smile and laugh melts my heart. Amber, we still need to plan our Zoo trip.

The S.S. class girls trip to the beach is in a month. I am not physically ready for a swimsuit. Ugh. I need to look into full body suits...or a beach moo moo haha. Oh well, it will be fun hanging out no matter what. Who cares if I look like a beached whale? I am trying to get myself decent. I have been dieting, and of course doing pilates and running with Amber and Ashlie. I have also been doing a lot of exercising on my pilates ball on my own. I just feel like I am getting nowhere. I guess I just expect immediate results. I have only lost 10 pounds in the last few weeks, which was mainly all the bloating from everything I have gone through lately. My goal is to get down to 115, which is what I weighed when Tommy and I met. Even 125 would make me more than happy! That's what I was for our wedding....and perhaps a little more realistic.

I start Hancock Bank on Monday! I will be working on Mondays, Thursday, and Fridays on Highland Rd., and then on Saturdays in Gonzales.

Hope everyone's weekend is a good one!

Love each one of you!

So glad its June!

May was an awful month! My goodness! Baby, job, and then Saturday, Tommy truck died. The engine is burnt up. Yep. On top of that, the most we could get for his truck was $500! Ugh. We had to take what we could get on it. You know, it never fails, God always, always, always has better plans for us, just when we think everything is going wrong. He has always provided for me and Tommy. Tomorrow morning we are going to be owners of a 2007 platinum Silverado, and it only has 14,000 miles on it. We are getting a WONDERFUL deal on it, and know the dealer that is selling it to us. We are so happy, especially Tommy. Plus, as of today, I have officially been offered the job at Hancock bank! I start on Monday! I have orientation at the branch at Citiplace (where Justin works). Its been such a great day. Hopefully June is a whole lot better than May was. I think it will be. The end of this month, on June 30th, Tommy and I will be celebrating 3 years happily married! I won't lie, its been a tough 3 years. We have been through a lot for newlyweds, but it has only made us stronger, closer, and even more in love. Lets see, 3 deployments, tremendous financial struggles, career struggles, loss of very close family members on both sides, vehicle issues, loss of baby, health issues with both of us, and the list continues. However, the list of wonderful times and blessings would take me eternity to write. Through everything, all the stress, all the hard times, and all the heartache, we have been happy together. That will never change. We have been so unbelievably blessed. Blessed beyond measure. Tommy is my rock, my heart, my best friend. I can't believe 3 years have already gone by.

Physically, I haven't been feeling too great tonight. I hope I am not being to graphic, but the bleeding has gotten extremely heavy this evening. I go for more bloodwork tomorrow. I am hoping that my level is at a negative pregnancy. I am so ready for this to be over with. I want to know that everything is good, and clear, and that I have passed, or am in the process of passing everything. That has been the hardest part...knowing that I am still carrying this baby, which I know can never be. I am so ready to be healthy again. So I still need more prayers. Also, my family on my mom's side needs lots and lots of prayers too. When Satan attacks, he doesn't just try from one angle. He throws it on heavy. But we know Who to turn to. We know Who has been through it all and is carrying us every step of the way.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things!

Spending time with my wonderful husband

Loving on my sweetheart, Zoey

Faith/Church

Family and Friends

Premier Designs Jewlery

Movies




The Twilight Series

The Harry Potter Series

Hydrangeas
Shopping

Good Food


My home




Traveling

Dance

Africa and Texas!

Things have been really busy lately. Which is good. I am trying to keep my life right now filled with fun and productive activities and good people. Tommy is working 8 straight nights right now. He is on day 5 right now, and works until Friday. He will have the weekends off for the next month or so. I can't wait for that.

Tomorrow I go for an interview at Hancock bank. The position is for a part time teller. The pay per hour is better than what I was getting at Copart, and I would only be working 3 days a week. That gives me the flexibility I really want, so that I can do more with Premier Designs. Say a prayer for me!

Speaking of Premier, on Thursday I leave for a retreat at the Draper's home in Fort Worth, TX till Sunday. I am so excited about this. It is all expense paid, except gas and traveling food. While there, we are going to have incredible training, a tour of the home office and factory, along with shopping. Its going to be so nice to get away. Ashlie, Angelle, Jeanne, and Terry are going also. We are all riding together, which I am also so excited about. They are all so much fun. I seriously don't think we stopped laughing once the entire time at rally.

Tomorrow I go for more bloodwork. So far so good. Last week's bloodwork showed my levels still dropping. Bleeding comes and goes. Hopefully in a month I will be cleared of everything. This waiting is the hard part.

Sarah left for an Africa mission trip yesterday. She will be gone for 3 weeks. She just got there today. They got to spend a day in London, and she sent me a text saying that she had a blast there, and got to see Buckingham Palace. Yeah, I am jealous....about London and Africa. This is going to be an amazing experience for her I know. It will be life changing, and I can't wait for her to get back home and tell the stories she will have. Just please keep her, along with the other 15 students she is with, in prayers.

Well, I hope everyone's week/Memorial weekend is good. I will post pics of the retreat when I get back.

God bless!

Good Days and Bad Days

I guess it can be expected. This weekend was fun. I was able to hang out with friends, and family. I stayed busy. I think that is why I have been able to act strong. I haven't had time to think. Yesterday morning (Mother's Day) was a little rough...but it got better as the day went on. I was good until last night. I was over at my in-laws house spending time with them. Well, when I got there, my niece Ailynn (she is 3 yrs old) ran up to me and said "Lele, how is the baby in your belly?". Keeping my composure, I just answered "Well, Ailynn, the baby in my belly is now in heaven with Jesus". "But why Lele"? So I answered in the best way I could think at the moment "because very soon, Jesus is going to put another baby in my belly". She responded with "oh okay. Well, Lele, I am going to have a baby in my belly in September, but I am going to get married first". I couldn't help but laugh. Brittney felt terrible. It really didn't bother me. I have been able to talk about it fine. I just can't help but feel so sad about everything, and feeling like I got everyone's hopes up. When leaving, Ailynn told me "Bye Lele. I love you, and I love the baby in heaven. Take care of that baby in heaven Lele." Okay, so that broke my heart. But its all true though. I have complete faith that one day soon, He will bless us with a child. I think today must be one of those days where I don't feel like moving off the couch. I have just been in a blah mood. You know, friends truly can make everything brighter. Just when I was starting to get down today, Jamie Estess dropped by to visit and bring me flowers for Mother's Day. It was so good talking to her. I know yesterday was a bitter-sweet day for her, and she still thought of me. I have truly been surrounded by the greatest of friends, and the most wonderful church. Our S.S. class has been cooking for us, and raised an offering for us. I can't even express how greatly overwhelmed we are right now to have the people we have in our lives. I want to be so emotionally strong, but what I am learning, is that I can only be strong for so long. Its okay to break down every now then. Its okay to think about it. Our family, church family, and our friends have truly been a blessing. God puts people in your life for a reason, either to minister to, or be ministered to.

I hope everyone's Mother's Day was a wonderful one. May your week be filled with blessings.

Hanging In There

Last week was such an aweful week. Probably the worst week of my life. The past month in general has been rough, and very emotional. May is a new beginning. This week was really good. Each day gets easier. I got to spend a lot of time with Tommy, family, and the most wonderful friends. I have been pretty strong, and have tried to keep myself really busy. That seems to help. Tommy was off Tuesday-Thursday, so we had lunch dates, and shopping trips. We did yard work, and other fun, but productive things. Last night was girls night at the Melting Pot. It was so yummy, and so wonderful to hang out with some of the best friends ever. See pictures below. Tomorrow is Justin's birthday party, along with Jamie's shower. I am looking forward to hanging out with the girls again, and seeing Jamie get all kinds of presents. In other good news, healthwise, I feel good. Bleeding has almost stopped. I went for bloodwork on Monday and Wednesday. On Wednesday, they said my level is dropping, which means the methotrexate is working on keeping this from growing/bursting and is dissolving it. So we will keep on praying that the level keeps on dropping, and that my tubes get cleared of this, so that in a couple of months we can start trying again. I am already praying for a very healthy and normal pregnancy for next time.

Hope everyones weekend is great.

He Gives Me The Strength I Need

So I am sitting here at home. Mom just dropped me off from a day at the hospital. I am finally able to loose it and cry. It feels good to finally cry. I have held in the sobbing and the grief as long as I can, for 8 hours to be exact. I didn't want to loose grip of myself at the hospital. It was so hard to be strong. I am now by myself, just me and God. I can finally cry "why" out to Him. Deep down, I know why. It wasn't my time to have a baby. This baby wasn't meant to be. I know it was not my fault. I know "these things happen". I know that I have so many wonderful prayer warriors and friends that are surrounding me with love. None of the answers make it easier. No matter what I tell myself, and what anyone says, I wanted this pregnancy to work. I had my blood work done at 8am this morning. Mom and I went to Cracker Barrel to kill time and eat a good breakfast. After that, we headed back to the hospital for 10am to meet with my doctor and get my test results. My levels were at 623. It was not even close to what we were all expecting. It needed to go up by 2/3 from what it was on Wednesday. She said that by looking at my levels over the last couple of weeks, she knew that this pregnancy was not a normal one. Even I knew this deep down. This type of heavy bleeding, cramping, low levels, and clotting isn't normal. She then sent me to see a radiologist to get an ultrasound to rule out an ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside the uterus). Unfortunately, they were unable to rule it out, because they found the fetus in my left fallopian tube. Of course, the fetus cannot survie outside the uterous, and it also risks my life. If they had not caught this in time, it would have eventually burst, and rupture my tube, which would call for removal. Instead, they sent me for more bloodwork and then sent me to Oncology where they give chemo treatments. They reason they sent me there was to give me a treatment, a shot, of a medication called Methotrexate. This is used in the treatment of cancer, along with ectopic pregnancies. This prevents the the growth of the egg, and rapidly diving cells. It dissolves the tissue. This route was the best choice. It was either that or surgery, or wait until it burst, which could cause me internal bleeding. The medication also preserves my fertility, so I can still get pregnant. Now, my chances of having this happen to me again is higher than most people, but I have a greater chance of having a healthy pregnancy later down the road. So, its said and done. Hopefuly this medication works. Hopefully I don't end up having to have surgery. Hopefully the bleeding stops soon. I have to go for more blood work twice next week, and then once a week after that until my levels drop. After my level is back at a negative, then they are going to do a dye test in my tubes to make sure that I passed everything and to make sure I have no blockage in my tubes. If I get cleared after that, and after a normal cycle or two, we can try to concieve again. We are hopefully looking at trying again toward the end of the summer. I think by then, I will be ready physically and emotionally. There is a huge void in my life now. I know I was only 7 weeks along, and my situation could have been a lot worse, but I can't help but feel grief like none other. In two days, I lost my job and my baby. Thats a lot to deal with. God will get us through this. I do have faith in that. HE holds me, and my future.

I know I have told ya'll this time and time again, but Tommy and I really do appreciate all the thoughts, concerns, prayers, visits, calls, texts, and the list continues. We have truly felt the prayers and the love.