HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENN!!!

Today is my little sister Jenn's 17th Birthday...oh how quickly they grow up...she is getting to be so mature and responsible (well except for her room...typical teenager...ha ha). She is doing well in school and she is maintaining a job that she really likes. I just want to tell her how much WE LOVE HER AND WISH HER A SUPER WONDERFUL AND VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY...Oh and P.S. your present is on its way I promise!!!

Updates

Hello Everyone!! Just a few updates for you.

1) My Mom is doing ok! She goes to Stanford on Wednesday for another EEG and hopefully some answers.

2) I found out last week that my position at WSU has been cut. The department has the funding to keep me on staff until the end of June. After that they currently have funding to have a PT "office aid" for the next 2 years. THe problem is there is no guarantee that when the State Legislature Votes on the Budget that they will allow the department to keep that funding. We wont have answers on this until May or June.

3) Faith is still growing by leaps and bounds. She is soooo close to walking. Today we even through a temper tantrum while standing up. Faith's Daycare Director Cassi and I are betting that by Easter she will be walking. That is one month from Thursday!!!

4) My Sister Sarah and her Family got baby Micah and he is sooooo cute. I am so jealous that my family has all gotten to spend time with him. I want to see him in person sooooo bad. Oh well I guess I will have to wait until the end of May.

5) We are still planning at this time to come down at the end of May and visit. We are planning on being there for 2 weeks, as we usually try to do so that we can see as many of you as possible. I will again be setting up a "schedule to see us so let me know if you want to see us whiler we are there. The main reasons for our visit is that My sister Stephanie is graduating from Turlock High School and Catie (a special extension on our family) is graduating from Pitman. We are very proun of both of them.

6) Pregnancy Update- I am doing pretty good. They finally found out what is causing all of my pain. It is not just the pregnancy as We had originally assumed. It is a Fibroid Tumor on my uterus. Right now it is nothing to worry about. As far as they can tell, based on blood work and visuals it is binine (i know that is probably misspelled). It is about 4cm and will continue to grow. It causes me a lot of discomfort but is completly manageable and for the most part I can function, but there are some days were the pain is almost unbearable and I cannot stand to do anything. These days are few but they happen. The Dr. says this is perfectly normal. There is not any harm to baby right now, as it grows we will have to watch it because they can have a tendensy to slow or completly stop the blood flow to the uterus. At that point we might have to do something about it, until then they will not do anything while I am pregnant because there are too many risks at putting me into premature labor and delivery and harming baby. The Dr says that there is a high chance that I will have to get it removed within a year of delievering the baby. Other than that everything seems right on. Baby is very active and very healthy according to the tests and ulrasounds. We will find out what we are having sometime at the beginning to middle of April. Trust me everyone will know when we know!!!

6) The last thing is that this last week we got word that the Diatetic Internship that is linked to Garratt's degree is being cut immediatly. This means that all the students currently on the "track" to completle their degree at WSU prior to the 2012 cutting of the entire Diatetic program will all have to find another form of internship on their own. This may not seem like a big deal except that the Internship is required to finish their degree. It is also required for the RD licencing procedures. So be praying for us as we look into ALL the options for pursuing Garratt's degree. Our main focus continues to be that Garratt finishes school with the DEGREES HE WANTS not a different degree.

Well, That is it for now!! I pray that everyone else is doing good and that life is treating you all well!!! We will enjoy the pummuling of snow that we are getting and think of all of you!!

More Updates

So here is one good news and one bad news.

The Bad news first, after thinking that we were making progress and possibly had some leads on what to do, my Mom landed herself back in the hospital again. This time I am not sure what they are going to do. She was suppose to be going to Stanford tommorow for some extensive testing, but now I am not sure what the plan of attack will be. I have, so far, been, what I would consider, very strong with all this but I think I am reaching my breaking point. I am really worried about my mother and there is nothing that I can do. She told me Tuesday that she really wished I was there and I felt horrible, although I know without a doubt that she was not intentionally trying to make me feel bad. I really wish that there was someway for me to go down and see her but that is just not possible financially. Oh,well for now I PRAY from afar. Hopefully I will have another update on this situation for you tomorrow.


Now the good news. Most of you know that my sister, Sarah and Her Husband Josh have been in the "ADOPTION PROCESS" for just over a year. They found out at Christmas that they were finally in "Child Ready" stage. This means that they could get a baby at anytime. So they have been going to the screening meetings were they get to look through profiles of children that need a home. They were looking to adopt a Boy between the ages of newborn-3ish. The problem is this is a VERY popular age group so you have to act fast otherwise the child will have been taken already. Any ways they placed the situation in God's hands. They had one child a few weeks ago that they went for, the difference was that this child was a girl and she was from a line of siblings who had been placed in the foster care/adoption pool. There were some concerns that there might be problems or complications medically down the road. So my sister prayed about it. As of last week they had heard nothing. Then last Thursday, my sister got a phone call from Her social worker, there was a little boy, who was about 3 months old and needed to be placed as soon as possible. The little boys social worker was looking for a family who was ready and willing to take on this little boy. My sister immediatly said yes. They were thinking that the normal process for placement is 2-3 weeks. So, Tuesday they went to the "disclosure" meeting and got all the information. Then once they had said yes they want Him, the Social worker took them to the Foster Families home to meet the little boy. Usually you have to set this all up at a 2nd meeting a week later. The social worker also told them that this was a very quick case and that they wanted to place Him with my sister on Thursday if that was ok with them. My sister was thrilled. They spent a few minutes with the baby then had to go. Then today they are took my nephew to the foster families home to meet the baby for the first time. They thought this would help him to understand what they were doing. Then Tomorrow (Thursday) they will go pick the baby up in the afternoon. They are so excited. The court date is set for April and the adoption agency and the social workers are all very confindent that the judge will terminate all parental rights at that time and then my sister and brother-in-law will be able to file adoption paper work at the end of July for legal custody. So that is the story for now. I will post baby pictures as soon as I have them. I cannot wait. I got a text picture Tuesday that was from when He was 14 days old. He is so cute.

Updates

I am very sorry that I have not done any updates lately. Things have been a little hectic. Oh well here are some of the updates.

1) We finally got benefits. I am in the process of doing the paperwork and getting them all set up.

2) With our benefits, we went with Aetna, because of the "NATIONWIDE" coverage, then found out that there is no OB/GYN on the Aetna network within 35 miles of my house. This sucks. Although, I did find out that I can do a special form that allows us to see an OB/GYN here in town. I just have to get it approved. Not too hard, but it takes a little longer to get seen. It kinda sucks. Oh, well!!

3) I am going to be "VOLUNTEERING" at Faith's daycare from 12:30-3:30 everyday to help pay for her daycare. They needed the help and so did we. It is a win win situation.

4) There is NO sign of a let up of the hiring freeze at WSU. The Gov. of Washington released the hiring freeze on the state back in December, but Pres. Floyd is not even considering lifting it anythime soon, so as of right now, my job is looking pretty dim. So I am going to be looking for another job and seeing what happens.

5) The economic situation has taken it's toll on EVERYONE and we are no exception to that!!

6) Garratt is looking into taking 3 classes over the summer.

7) We are planning our trip to California in May/June. We will have to be back by Sunday, June 7th, because Garratt's classes would start on June 8th. So we are planning on Driving down Wed. May 24th and Thurs. May 25th and leaving on Saturday June 6th. This is the plan at this point. We hope to spend time with as many people as possible, we shall see.

That is about it for now. I will try to be better about posting updates more often and posting pictures more often, especially on Faith's sight.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL OF YOU!!!

A Must See- Fireproof!

Last night Garratt and I got a babysitter for Faith, went out for dinner alone (what a concept) and then went to a movie night at our church.

The movie: FIREPROOF.

The movie was done by: The producers and creators of the movie "Facing the Giants"

The Background of the movie: At work, inside burning buildings, Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighters adage: Never leave your partner behind. At home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules.
Growing up, Catherine Holt always dreamed of marrying a loving, brave firefighter...just like her daddy. Now, after seven years of marriage, Catherine wonders when she stopped being "good enough" for her husband.
Regular arguments over jobs, finances, housework, and outside interests have readied them both to move on to something with more sparks.
As the couple prepares to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb's father challenges his son to commit to a 40-day experiment: "The Love Dare." Wondering if it's even worth the effort, Caleb agrees-for his father's sake more than for his marriage. When Caleb discovers the book's daily challenges are tied into his parents' new found faith, his already limited interest is further dampened.
While trying to stay true to his promise, Caleb becomes frustrated time and again. He finally asks his father, "How am I supposed to show love to somebody who constantly rejects me?"
When his father explains that this is the love Christ shows to us, Caleb makes a life-changing commitment to love God. And with God's help he begins to understand what it means to truly love his wife.
But is it too late to fireproof his marriage? His job is to rescue others. Now Caleb Holt is ready to face his toughest job ever...rescuing his wife's heart.

My Review: A great movie. Garratt and I both loved it. It is really a movie for all but I would ENCOURAGE ANY COUPLES to watch it. It really gives you an understanding as to what True Love should be and how to respect and love your spouse. Garratt and I already decided that this is a movie we want to own. We also want to read the "LOVE DARE" (watch the movie for more information on that) and I want to read the book about the movie, I just like reading books that have movies with them it sometimes gives you another perspective. This is a great movie for couples who are struggling in their marriage, who are going through a tough time or even those who have fallen into the "routine" of life and have let their marriage fall to the back burner. Garratt and I have been through and continue to go through a lot lately and the one thing that we have is communication, but I think that this movie was still an inspiration to us not to forget to remind the other half how we feel about them and do something nice for them, no matter how small. I will say this again...I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!! It is very real and very well done.

Happy Birthday Garratt

Today is my wonderful husbands birthday. I will be nice and not tell you how old He is, lets just say He is 8 years older than me...HA HA HA! So today Garratt got to stay home with a sick child while I went to work, then He got to relax and have lunch, followed by getting ready for and going to work. Oh the life of a responsible adult. He told me the other night that He can hardly remember what a "ChildLike" birthday is anymore, I guess I will have to change that one of these birthdays. For now I will remind Him that He is a MAJOR part of our lived. He takes great care of Me. He is loving, caring, patient and understanding. He does the laundry the dishes and takes out the trash and recycles. In those little things He is my HERO. He is also great Father. He is a Daddy Jungle Gym, a human trampoline, and a cuddler when needed. He is Faith's Hero time and time again because He just takes the time to play with her, watch TV with her, dance to music with her and tuck her into bed at night. He is the first thing she looks for and calls to when we get home from daycare everyday and He is the last one she wants to see before bed. So on this special day, His Birthday we want to remind Him and tell everyone else how wonderful He is and how much WE LOVE Him and wish Him a SUPER WONDERFUL FANTASTICAL BIRTHDAY!!!

With Lots of Love from His Wife, Daughter and Baby!!!