The Yaggie Family

Catching Up....

2011-11-07T13:53:00.004-05:00

A lot has happened in the Yaggie house since I last updated. Landon is almost 22 months :( Blaine is loving his new job. I am busy with work, starting a photography business, and keeping up with Initials, Inc.

We are looking forward to the holidays and spending time with our family and friends.

Here are a couple pictures of the past few weeks. Enjoy!

18 Months

2011-07-22T16:06:00.002-04:00

Landon is now a little over 18 months. He's growing up so fast. He needs to slow down just a little bit :)

We've been busy this summer..Landon and I were in a car accident early this summer. Landon came out of it unharmed and I only had a few bruises and some bumps. My Jeep ended up being totaled unfortunately. Therefore, we recently bought a 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan. I never would have thought I would be a van driver...but I love it. It's got so much room. And a lot of really cool features.

We've been busy with trips to the Indianapolis Zoo, Columbian Park Zoo, Indianapolis Indians game, New Buffalo Beach, Children's Museum, and Francesville. I can't believe that we have less than a month left before we go back to school.

I need to savor these last few weeks before it's back to the busy lifestyle that I oh so enjoy...ugh..

Craziness in the Yaggie household...

2011-04-27T20:14:00.002-04:00

It's been a crazy month.

I'm going to give you highlights because, to be completely honest, I'm too tired to type paragraphs about everything.

~Meg had spur of the moment surgery to remove a large cyst on her ovary.
~Blaine put in his 2 weeks notice at McCutcheon.
~I made a sudden trip to Immediate Care...
~Blaine started his training at Tate and Lyle North :)
~I had a CT Scan.
~Landon had his doctors apt to recheck his hearing. He passed with flying colors :)
~We have a new baby NEPHEW!!!
~I was referred to a Lung doc and scheduled for breathing tests
~We finally found out what is wrong with me and I'm going to be just fine...

Needless to say, it's been kind of a crazy month for us. Things are going well for us now though. Blaine started his new job and is much happier. We have new things to talk about and it's way more fun to talk about a new job than to hear him complain every night about the same people mistreating him all the time. Landon is changing everyday. He's so busy.

We finally found out what's been going on with me. I have Sarcoid. It explains why I have had so many joint aches and pleurisy. It's kind of hard to explain but it's not life threatening. I'll be fine. It should go away on it's own, but my doctor wants me to come back in 4 weeks to check everything out to make sure. :)

Landon had his 15 month check up this week. He weighs 24lbs. He's eating everything in sight, running everywhere, constantly keeping us on our toes, speaking so clearly it's awesome. He says tractor, juice, socks, Ma Ma, Da Da, Papa, shoes, horse, dog, up, ball, mine, no, uh oh. night night, bye bye, hi. I can't even remember all the words because he's talking so much now. He's slowing starting to learn how to drink from a cup. He puts his hands together when we pray. :) Is a big help at dinner time. He will take plates and cups over to the table when we ask. My baby is growing up so fast. I want to cherish every minute. He still likes to snuggle with mommy. And I don't mind either :)

We welcomed Carson Levi Ripberger into our family on Monday, April 25!! He weighed in at 7lbs 11oz and 21 inches long. :) We are going to go down to see him this weekend. Makenna said she wanted us to come to their house so Landon could play with her while we played with Carson. We can't wait!!

Anyway, that's kind of a little glimpse of what's been going on in our lives. Hope everyone is having a great week :)

Tired of this snow....

2011-02-10T07:35:00.002-05:00

Blaine is back to work after his back surgery!
Landon is finally starting to get over his ear infections!!
And, I'm ready for SPRING!!!!

We've been keeping busy over the last month. Blaine had back surgery on January 13. Therefore, I had to do all of the heavy lifting around the house. It wasn't as stressful as I thought it was going to be. Filling the wood boiler wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and it gives me a sense of appreciation for all the Blaine does for us. He is an amazing man that takes care of his family. Landon and I are so thankful for all Blaine does for us. Blaine doesn't sit down and relax very often so it was hard for him to have so many restrictions. But it did really well for the most part! :)

Our little boy is already 13 months. I swear this last month has flown by. I can't believe how fast he's growing. We had his one month well baby visit. He weighed in at 22 lbs 2 oz. We went back a week after for his ear infection check and he weighted 23 lbs 5 oz. It's crazy how much he gained in just one week. He's walking and running all over the place. He's got 7 teeth and is working on another one. We were on our way home last night and Blaine and I were talking about how quiet our car rides were just a few short months ago...my how things change. He's becoming so vocal. I just wish I knew what he was trying to say.
His new word this month is tractor. You can imagine how happy Daddy is with that one! :)

More later. Landon just woke up and we need to get out the door so I'm not late for work..

Have a good week.

Happy 1st Birthday Landon!!

2011-01-08T10:05:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to my adorable little boy :o)

You have changed my life in ways you will never know. I'm so blessed and honored to be your Mom. You amaze me everyday and I love to watch you try new things. This past year has been one that I will remember forever.

You are now walking all by yourself, almost completely off of formula, drinking perfectly out of a sippy cup, completely off of baby food, sleeping soundly throughout he night, saying Ma Ma, Da Da, waving goodbye, blowing kisses, playing patty cake, dancing fool. I just love you so much.

Happy Birthday Spud. Mommy and Daddy love you so much.

Landon's 1st Snowman

2010-12-30T20:51:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-30T15:02:00.000-05:00

My favorite little boy :)

2010-12-30T12:56:00.001-05:00

Daddy's little boy

2010-12-30T12:43:00.001-05:00

Photoshop

2010-12-30T12:33:00.002-05:00

2010-12-29T12:00:00.002-05:00

We've got a little boy who is on the move. He's walking more and more everyday. Although, for some reason when we get around the rest of our family, he tends to freeze up :) I'm sure he will start running circles around us pretty soon :)

Blaine went back to work on Tuesday, so that gives Landon and I time to spend together T, W, and T. We are enjoying cuddling and watching Mickey Mouse.(at least I am)

I'm going to be sad when Christmas Break is over on Tuesday. But, it will be good for all of us to get back into a normal routine.

We've been incredibly blessed this Christmas season. I'm so thankful for all of our family and friends. This year has been a major roller coaster for our family. Thank you all so very much.

2010-12-29T07:20:00.002-05:00

Where did my little boy go? He seems to be changing so much everyday! I can't believe that his first birthday is in 10 days. Holy cow!!

Finish up the final touches for his big birthday bash haha.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T20:24:00.005-05:00

My newest addiction:

I've been wanting to buy a nice camera for a long time. I don't see the point in spending all kinds of money on professional pictures of Landon, when I could do the same things at home.

So...we did it...there was a really good deal at Barry's Camera Shop so we decided now was the time to go for it. :o) I'm so glad we did!!

I'm having so much fun taking snapshots of Landon and all the Christmas activities of the past few days! We just went tonight and bought a few backdrops to get ready to take Landon's One Year pictures. We are now just looking for somewhere to buy a big 1 for the pictures. Any ideas?

Here are a couple of the shots I've gotten over the last few days.

Catching up..

2010-11-22T06:48:00.002-05:00

Things have been pretty busy around here lately.

Blaine just finished up in the fields last week... It's so good to have him home now. Landon and I sure do miss him when he's not here.

We are in the starting stages of planning a 1st Birthday Party for our little man. I can't believe it's coming up so quickly. I wish I could just freeze time.

We've pretty much got the house decorated for the holidays. Landon just sits and stares at the tree. I think he's wanting to get in it but he knows he's not supposed to. We'll see what he does when we start bringing presents out and placing them underneath it. :)

That's all for now. Sorry I've been so relaxed on posting lately. We are in great need of a wireless router.. I just never get the chance to come out to the desk and get on the computer..

More later...

Just a few pictures...

2010-10-13T09:23:00.002-04:00

Blaine, Landon, and I in Ohio this summer.

Aaron, Landon, and I on Adoption Day

After swimming this summer :o)

Happy Adoption Day!!

2010-10-06T20:57:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday Blaine!!!

I'm really tired from all of the days activities..so I'm going to just post a couple pictures.... just because I can now!! :o)

Just had the best moment of the day ....putting Landon to bed...Blaine sitting in the recliner rocking him to sleep...he calls me in...and we just sit there just the three of us. For the first time all day, we are a family. Just the three of us. It was amazing. Love them both with all my heart.

and..I just shed my last tear for the day ....God is SO good.

The moment we've all been waiting for...

2010-09-13T18:44:00.002-04:00

Drum roll please....

The date has been set for the adoption finalization!!! We are so excited. It's going to be on October 6 at 8:30!! We are so excited.

Not only is this going to be Landon's "A Day" but it's also Blaine's 27th Birthday. What better gift could Blaine possibly get than to pass his name on to his son! We are thrilled beyond measure.

We feel so blessed to be the ones that God chose to be Landon's parents.

Also, be on the lookout for a TON of pictures to come after 10-06-10. I can't wait to show you all our adorable son!

On the road again...

2010-09-07T14:37:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow, we will make the drive up to Lake County once again. It's funny because today, over my lunch break, I was thinking about the last court date. I remember the case worker saying that we wouldn't have to worry about the September court date because everything would be finalized by then. Yea...that's not the case. The longer it takes, the more and more frustrated we become. Not only because we want to get things finalized and move on with our lives...but because we were told when we brought Landon home that it would be a short process and we should be finalized by the beginning of summer. It's just frustrating...

So very frustrating.

And I know there's nothing we can do about it, but it still bothers me. I don't like not having control. I wouldn't change this whole experience for the world, though. Landon is worth every headache, heartache, and frustration. He can always put a smile on our face. He always puts me in a good mood. My day always seems to get better when I want into daycare and he sees me. His face lights up, as does mine. I can't remember life before him. And I can't imagine life without him. He's amazing.

I feel truly blessed that God chose us to be his parents. I also pray regularly for his bio-mom for the very unselfish decision that she had to make almost 8 months ago. I pray that she knows he's being taken care of...and by her making that decision to leave...she made our dreams come true. There aren't words to express the gift she has given me.

I love that little boy with all my heart.

Oh, and by the way, a huge thank you to my boys for breaking into my blogger account. You put a huge smile on this girls face. Love you both so very much. I feel so blessed to be loved so much by Blaine and Landon.

Blog Break-in

2010-09-06T22:17:00.004-04:00

So just wanted to make a comment on here now that i found out about this thing called a blog that Hilary writes about me and Landon on. It took a while to find the password and user name but i did it. So just wanted to say Landon and i love you mommy and you will have company in court on Wednesday. Oh yea people out there Landon's first tooth came through today on labor day.
love you mommy
Blaine and Landon

2010-09-01T07:06:00.002-04:00

This is going to be a completely random post...so here it goes...

* Landon is into everything.
* He is also eating everything in site.
* We LOVE the new sitter. She's amazing
* The adoption still isn't finalized.
* Landon and I are going to court on Sept 8. Without Daddy. :(
* Work is hectic right now. . .
* The big WPVFD Fish Fry is Saturday. ugh...
* I'm so ready for the long weekend...
* We (I mean Blaine) are installing an outdoor wood boiler. :) Super excited to get the wood stove mess out of the house. And it will be much safer for Landon.
* Pray for my Aunt Karen. She is still having issues with her pancreas. I'm sure she'd appreciate all your prayers. :o)

Have a good rest of the week and a safe Labor Day wknd. :o)

A Quick Update..

2010-07-28T07:30:00.003-04:00

We went on our first family vacation with Landon. My parents rented a cabin in the Smokey Mountains. All of us got to go to Gatlinburg for a few days. It was just what we needed :o) Landon enjoyed getting to spend time with Grampy, Grammy, Aunt Meg, and Uncle Matt. Blaine and I were talking about how our vacations are sooooo different now than just a year ago. But change is good. Better yet, change is GREAT!!

The adoption still isn't finalized. ugh...don't even get me started. It makes me an emotional basket-case.

I'm waiting for Landon to go down for his nap so I can go shower. I'm going shopping with Mom and Meg today. Grampy gets to spend some QT with LJ.

We are headed to Ohio tomorrow afternoon to see Grandma. We had originally planned to stop by Columbus on our way and have dinner with our friend Chris. Unfortunately, because of the adoption taking so long..we have to go get fingerprinted again. And the only available time to do it is tomorrow. So we have to do it. Soooooo sorry Chris. We'll come see you and Whit VERY SOON...hopefully.

Landon is on the move. He's doing "the worm" as Courtney named it! I've had to get after him a couple times for trying to push buttons on the vcr/dvd/cable box/wii and for trying to pull dvds off the rack. But other than that, he's doing pretty well staying out of everything. We'll see how long that lasts...probably not long. We can't believe how big he's getting. It's crazy.
We just got his 6 months pictures taken. We had ordered him a WPVFD shirt and wanted it for his pictures. I'm so glad we waited on it because the pictures turned out great. I'm so glad we have those pics with Blaine's fire helmet/jacket. Such neat memories. :o)

Better go check on Landon.

New Convertible Car Seat!

2010-06-26T17:34:00.002-04:00

So this is the seat we decided on. It's the Evenflo Triumph Advance LX. It's rated #1 car seat by a leading consumer magazine. We are going to hopefully install it sometime this weekend!

Newlyweds, New Pool, and New Car Seat.

2010-06-24T19:02:00.002-04:00

It's been a very busy week for us.

I want to start by saying CONGRATULATIONS to Meg and Matt! The wedding was beautiful. I was really excited to get a couple calls from them while they are on their honeymoon in CABO!
After spending several days together, I was really starting to miss my sister. It's funny how much I want to just pick up the phone and call her, but really can't. :( They will be home on Sunday! I can't wait to see them :o) Love you both so much. Welcome to the family Matt!

We put up Landon's pool (with the help of my Dad!) that Uncle Scott, Aunt Tianne, and Makenna got him. He LOVES it! :o) He is sitting up all by himself and splashing and giggling. It's adorable. There's not much that he does that isn't adorable to me. :o)

I can just sit and stare at him for days. I can't believe how much he's changing everyday.

During bath time last night, Blaine and I were talking about the first bath we gave him at home. Looking down at him you can see how much he's grown. We even took out the newborn "ledge" that is in his little tub.

With Landon getting bigger everyday, he's also getting to be quite the little chunk. At least I think so! It's becoming nearly impossible for me to carry him in his infant seat. We are searching for a convertible seat now for my car. Until we finally decide on one, I'm leaving his infant seat in the car and I'm just going to have to carry him out and put him in it :o)

I'm loving staying at home with Landon this summer. He's getting so close to crawling. He's rocking and even scooting a little. I thought maybe he needed a demonstration of what it actually looked like to crawl...so that's what I did. I'm really glad nobody else was here when I did it! Landon thought it was quite the site. He couldn't stop laughing. Love him to pieces.

We are really looking forward to the family trip to Gatlinburg in a few weeks. But before that, we have a party at Gma and Gpa's for the 4th! And, hopefully we will get to finalized the adoption before we leave for TN. We'll see.

Happy 5 Months Baby Boy!

2010-06-08T06:06:00.003-04:00

Happy 5 Months Landon! I can't believe it's been 5 months already.

You are already rolling all over the place, eating cereal and baby food, talking up a storm, and making our lives unbelievable since you came home! We have made so many memories so far and we love watching you continue to change and grow everyday. We love you so much.

We go to court on Thursday for the TPR. After this court date, I will feel a sigh of relief. When we are done, we are taking the paperwork and going straight to our attorney!!!

Summer Vacation Begins.....FINALLY!

2010-05-29T07:28:00.002-04:00

I got to come home early yesterday because I had some comp time left over from the year. I came home to Mom and LJ sitting in the chair playing. :o) We decided to get him cleaned up and we were going to head into town to do a little shopping...

First, though, we decided to try some baby food! He's 4 months and 3 weeks and already eating baby food! Crazy. We tried Carrots and Bananas. He really liked them a lot. :o) I think he's going to be a good eater. Runs in the family I guess ;)

Looking forward to all the adventures of the summer with our little boy.

Heading home this weekend for some family time, Ry's open house, and a cookout on Monday!

But first, we are having lunch with our great friends before they move to Ohio. We'll miss you guys so much. Love you Chris and Whit!

4 Months

2010-05-10T22:01:00.003-04:00

Just a quick update before I head to bed.

We took Landon for his 4 month check-up.

14 lbs 15 1/2 oz
24 3/4 inches long

The DR said we can start feeding him yellow veggies and mild fruits.

Our little boy was in quite a bit of pain right before bedtime. It breaks my heart. We fed him his cereal and formula, gave him some meds, and Nana rocked him to sleep!

Hopefully he gets a good nights sleep and will be back to my normal little boy in the morning!

Hope everyone has a great evening!

Is it summer vacation yet?

2010-05-04T16:14:00.006-04:00

We have four and a half weeks left of school, and they seem to really be dragging on. Ugh... Hopefully the next couple weeks go fast because they are jam packed.

Blaine's still in the fields ( well not right now because we've had much needed rain lately) But, he's still not finished. Which works out great for LJ and I because we get to spend time with Daddy.

We've got a visit from the case worker on Friday, Mom's birthday is also Friday, dinner for her bday on Saturday, Mother's Day on Sunday...and so on....

Next week Landon goes to the doctor for his 4 month checkup. I'm excited to get his "stats" and see how she thinks he's growing. I'll update after that visit.

We have a court date on the 19th. Blaine and I were just talking today about how we can't wait for Landon to "officially" be ours. We can't wait until we don't have to worry about court dates, case worker visits, background checks, etc. We are ready to just be a family. Not that we aren't already a family. But we are ready for the Ts to be crossed and the Is to be dotted.

That's all for now, Blaine is out mowing and weed-eating to get ready for Friday. I'm typing. And Landon is taking a nap in his bouncy seat right next to me. It doesn't get much better than this.

Love,
The Yaggies

Teething?

2010-05-02T13:08:00.003-04:00

We had a great time at the Vera Bradley sale on Friday. Mom and I came away with lots of deals while Dad got to spend time with Landon. A great time was had by all. { And I didn't even spend a ton of money like every other year}

It was fun to get away from work but I was glad to get home to my amazing husband. I really missed him this trip. Even though it was only a little over 24 hours that we were away, it felt like much longer. I love seeing Blaine and Landon together. I love the way they talk to each other. Landon is changing so much everyday and I know Blaine hates missing it when he's in the field. It's been nice to have him home with us for the past few days. { :0) }

A couple days ago, Landon started getting a runny nose. Followed by a cough...great...

So last night we noticed he just wasn't feeling like himself. So we gave him some Tylenol and had a lot of cuddle time. Everyone has been telling us that a lot of babies get their first colds when they are starting to teethe. What do you guys think? He seemed to be feeling better towards the evening. He's at such a fun age right now. He's rolling all over the place. He's talking and giggling all the time. He loves his "blanket buddies." Especially "Raffie" :o)

{sigh}

I love being a Mom.

Summer break can't come soon enough. I'm so looking forward to spending time with Landon. Going to see the grandparents, going to see Aunt Megan and Aunt Courtney. We want to take him to the zoo. Even though he will probably be too small, we want to go anyway haha. We want to have cookouts and campfires(after LJ goes to bed) We are just really looking forward to the summer.

Meg's wedding and a trip to Gatlinburg. Lots to look forward to in the coming months.

Four more weeks left of school...then we have some freedom! :o)

Busy weekend..

2010-04-22T18:05:00.004-04:00

First of all I want to start this post by saying Happy Birthday to two of my favorite people...

Happy Birthday to my BFF Court! Love and miss you so much.

and..

Happy Birthday AWood! Hope you get your win tonight!!

I can't believe that Landon is already 3.5 months old. It's crazy. Our next court date is May 19th. Then we have one June 10th. Then hopefully soon after the adoption will be finalized! Keep your fingers crossed :o)

This week has been full of checking off things on my "to-do" lists, most of which have to do with Megan's Bridal Shower.

Hopefully tomorrow will go fast and we can come home and pack up the car. Then we are off to Francesville until sometime Saturday afternoon/evening. Grandma Henderson and Aunt Greta are coming from Ohio! They are going to come down here after the shower to see our houses. They are going to make their way to Meg's house then come over to ours and then we are all going to go to dinner somewhere. It should be a fun day!

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

*I'm secretly hoping we get the rain we are supposed to get so Blaine can go with me this weekend!

More later..

2010-04-11T12:42:00.002-04:00

It's been a few weeks since my last post. I thought since we brought Landon home I would be blogging more, but I've been really busy lately. It also makes it hard for me to blog because I want to post pictures so badly. Only a couple more months....Then we can show off our precious little boy to the world.

Friday, the case worker from LC came to visit Landon at the babysitters. She has to make monthly visits to see him. They usually only last 15-30 minutes. No biggie. (if you would have asked me about those visits a month ago, it would have been a huge deal to me...not so much now)

I'm starting to let the little things go in my life and start concentrating on the important things. It makes me a much happier person.

As I sit here and write this post, I keep looking over to LJ. He's sleeping peacefully in his bouncy chair. Not a care in the world. I can't believe how big he's getting. My little boy isn't little anymore. He just had his 3 month birthday on the same day as Aunt Megan's birthday. So we took some special pictures of the two of them.

Anyway, we hope everyone had a great Easter. It's so exciting to share all those 1st moments as a family. LJ is getting really close to rolling over. I don't know if I'm really ready for the to happen yet. We'll see.

Have a great week!

Blessed...

2010-03-17T20:35:00.002-04:00

Landon is doing really well. He sleeps thru the night for the most part. Usually every 5th night he wakes up in the middle of the night. Other than that, he has been sleeping 7-9 hrs every night. My friend, Brenda, let us borrow her swaddler that she used for her daughter. Ever since then he's been sleeping really well. We were actually going out to buy our own and she called and said not to because she had just got one for us. We feel very blessed to have such great friends.

My great coworkers and bosses threw me a baby shower at work last week. I feel very blessed to work with such supportive people. This weekend is my other baby shower. I'm really excited because several people will get to meet Landon for the first time. It's always exciting to see what people say when they see him for the first time.

I'm sure I'll post pictures sometime next week while I'm on Spring Break.

Hope you are all having a good week. 2 more days then I get to spend the whole week with my little boy!!! Sooooo excited!

We're getting closer...

2010-03-12T19:42:00.003-05:00

Well, the past few weeks have been amazing. I never thought I'd ever get the chance to experience motherhood. And now that I have, it's amazing! I love Landon more than I ever thought I could. He makes everything better. His little smile and his coos brighten my day. I can't wait to be able to post pictures so you all can see our adorable son.

The case worker came yesterday to check on everything and talk about what the next steps are. We've done everything that we need to do, we are just waiting on the big shots to do all the paperwork. She says, "it should only take a couple more weeks...maybe up to a month" We'll see how accurate she is this time, considering she said everything would be finalized by the beginning of March. We'll see.

All I know, is that we are enjoying every minute of being Landon Joseph Yaggie's parents!

We love him more than anything and he definitely makes our family complete!

It's all happening!!!!

2010-02-17T12:31:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to post a quick note saying that I'm waiting on the Case Worker to get here to do a quick home study!

As soon as Blaine is off work and home we are heading north to bring our new son home!!!!

Happy Birthday Grandma

2010-02-04T14:10:00.001-05:00

Just finished having a great dinner with Grandma and Grandpa. Getting ready to head to Dads game at WC. Hopefully it doesn't snow like it says it will. :o)

We haven't heard anything back from the case worker yet. I will update when I do. Keep praying!

More later...

It's been awhile...

2010-01-30T13:47:00.002-05:00

Lots has been going on in our lives over the last few months, but I'm not going to really go into everything on here because most of you that read my blog have heard about everything.

Anyway, we have been keeping busy with lots of things. Blaine's been getting our wood pile stocked up for next winter as well as keeping busy at work and the fire station. I've been busy with work and helping Meg plan her wedding. I'm really excited for her and I know she's going to make a beautiful bride!!

We recently got an email from our Case Worker. She told us that there was an infant boy available for adoption in a county up north. She wanted to know if we wanted her to send our home study up to that DCS office. After Blaine and I talked, we obviously said "yes"!! So we will see what happens. We don't want to get our hopes up because there are probably thousands of people that are wanting to adopt. So I guess we will just continue to pray about it and if it's meant to be, it will be. So we'd also appreciate it if you could keep us in your prayers as well! We have no idea what will happen. Possibly nothing.

But at least it's one step in the right direction...

4.5 Day Wknd

2009-07-09T08:18:00.005-04:00

As many of you know, it's been a stressful couple of weeks.

{hospital visits, drs apts, rolling a grain truck, villages meetings that end up being cancelled.....}

There's more but I don't want to bore you now...

I'm just glad that our work week is almost over! We've got roughly 3 hours left then we have some much needed time off!

After work today, we are heading up to the Pulaski Co Fair again. Alex won his senior showmanship for pigs therefore he has to be in the Ultimate Showmanship Contest today. He called last night and said he's been trying to learn throughout the week how to show all the different animals. I'm excited to see him take on that challenge. I'm sure he will do very well.

While we are in Francesville this weekend, Blaine is going to work on the farm. While he is doing that, I'm planning to take a trip to Toto with Court. We decided that we needed some BFF time so we are going to see what kind of treasures we can find!! :o)

Not real sure what the rest of our weekend with hold for us. We might swing through the Francesville town-wide garage sales. Who knows!

I hope everyone has a safe weekend!

There's never a dull moment...

2009-07-07T09:18:00.001-04:00

After spending most of last week in the hospital with Dad, I was looking for a relaxing weekend in Francesville with friends, family, and the fair! We accomplished all of that until yesterday. Blaine and I had Friday and Monday off work. Most of Friday was spent laying around in bed for almost all of the morning {with the exception of Blaine having to run into work to check the pool}...Friday evening we met Tony and Bev for dinner at Scotty's and then went to the batting cages and mini golfing! It was nice to be with them since we haven't spent much time together this summer. :o) It's always fun when we are together!

We headed home Saturday after making fruit pizza for the Siemens Family Cookout! We spent the afternoon and evening at Grandma and Grandpas... We had a good time being with family and celebrating the 4th of July!! Uncle Mike and Uncle Clay both brought some fireworks so we all gathered under our 'Easy-Up' and watched as the boys fired them off!

We went to the Pulaski Co Fair on Sunday to watch Alex show his pigs. It's always nice to go back to our fair where we spent so much time in the summers when we were younger. We've decided that the fair has gone downhill since we were in 4-H. It seems like there is nothing there anymore.

After Alex was done showing his pigs we {Jan and Don & Blaine and I} headed over to Alicia and Isaiah's house to check out their wood burner. It was nice to see the finished house and hang out with them for awhile. After leaving the Collins', we stopped by Gma and Gpa's so Blaine could get the truck loaded with beans to take to the elevator in the morning. He wanted to get an early start so he could get as much done as possible for Dad since he is out of commission right now. After Blaine got to Jan's, the four of us got cleaned up then headed over to Indiana Beach. We had a nice evening filled with tacos and fireworks. :o)

We had a nice weekend up until yesterday...

We had yesterday off work b/c Blaine was going to haul beans for Dad and I was going to take Dad to get his IV in Monticello at the hospital. Blaine brought home one of Gpa's trucks so I wouldn't have to run him up to the farm in the morning and I could sleep in a little. Little did I know, I would be woken up by Jan telling me that Blaine had just flipped the grain truck. Needless to say... I was wide awake at 7. I jumped out of bed and got dressed and Jan and I headed up to Medaryville.

Blaine had just pulled out of Gma and Gpa's drive and was headed to town when he came up to the cross-road and couldn't stop. He had NO brakes. He didn't know what the ditch was like in front of him so he decided to try to make the turn. It didn't happen...

Thank God Blaine is alright. It could have been a lot worse. I'm glad he had enough time to brace himself and try to position himself where he knew he would get the least hurt in the accident. He flipped over and was stuck. He couldn't figure out how to get out and couldn't find his cell phone. Finally he reached down by his feet and found a window crank right next to his phone. He picked both up. Called Grandpa. And tried to open the window. He proceeded to pull himself out of the window. By the time he got out, Gpa had called 911 and jumped into the truck with a hammer and headed toward the scene. Gpa said he grabbed the biggest tool he could find the quickest. He was headed down to break the windows to get Blaine out. He said that when he drove up he saw Blaine standing behind the truck. He felt a sigh of relief. I bet he did! I know I sure did. He was pretty shaken up. He refused treatment from the EMT. He said he was alright. He came out of this with a scratch on his back and is VERY sore today. He thinks he might have bruised some of his ribs. We might go to the doctor later today depending on how he feels later.

I am so thankful for all the helpful hands we had yesterday. Neighbors came from all different directions to help in any way they could. That's one thing I love about Francesville/Medaryville. Everyone is so willing to help out and do what they can for each other. I was talking to my best friend after I had left to go pick up Dad for his appointment. She said she was going to call her Dad {who is like my second Dad} and see if he could go help. He dropped what he was doing to go help Blaine and make sure he was ok. I just want to take time to thank everyone who helped or said prayers for my family over the last week or so. It's been a difficult time for our immediate family and it makes it a lot easier to know that we have people thinking about us and that are there for us in times of need. I just hope you all know that we would do the same for you!

Heading home!!!!

2009-07-02T16:15:00.000-04:00

Dad was just released from the hospital!!! He and Mom are heading home right now. He will have to go to White Co everyday for an IV and will possibly have to have a visiting nurse come to change his dressings.

I just wanted to thank everyone for all the prayers and support throughtout Dads hospital stay!!! Have a safe 4th of July weekend!!!!

Results..

2009-07-01T15:50:00.003-04:00

Dad is out of surgery and back up to the room. The doctor said that it doesn't look like it's traveled into the bone or anything like that. His toe is kind of purple now but that's because of the surgery. It should be ok. He will have to be on observation to see if everything looks good then they will just stitch or staple it up.

The redness should die down with a little time.

Dad is in good spirits...

Waiting Rooms

2009-07-01T14:46:00.002-04:00

If you know me then you know that I can't stand waiting rooms. I get nervous. My mind starts to wander. I just don't like them.

They just took Dad down to the Surgery Prep room. Mom, Grandma, and Grandpa all went in to be with him while I decided to go ahead and come down here. He is going to go in to surgery in a few minutes. I'm not sure how long it will take but I'm sure Mom will know more when she comes in here.

His toe actually looks a little better today. It's not quite as red. I'm ready to see what the doctor has to say after he's done.

As always, I will update when I know more.

More Later....

Update: 9:12 P.M.

2009-06-30T21:12:00.002-04:00

Dad's podiatrist came in this evening and looked at his foot again. He decided to schedule for I guess surgery tomorrow afternoon. I don't know if that's what it is classified under but that's what I'm calling it. They are going to go in and open up his toe to get a better look at the infection as well as clean it out/drain it. We won't know any more until after this happens. Dr. P said that Dad is going to have to sign a waiver to allow them to amputate the toe if they get in there and it needs to be done. That way they won't have to do two separate surgeries.

I'm going to head to work in the morning and hopefully get off in enough time to go see him before he goes into surgery.

Prayers are always appreciated.

Night

This is the day that the Lord has made...

2009-06-30T14:32:00.003-04:00

We have had a busy week so far. Monday, my Dad had a doctors apt for an infection in his foot. I got a call yesterday around 12 saying that he was going to be admitted into the hospital. His second toe on his left foot is bright red. They admitted him into the new Clarian hospital in Lafayette. He has a private room, which is nice. He is in isolation right now but we are able to visit with him since the infection isn't airborne. He seems to be in good spirits. And continues to assure us that he is 'fine'. My Dad is a strong one!!! :o) Love him to pieces.

It turns out that he has a staph infection in his toe and it's not certain if it has traveled to his foot yet. There is a possibility that he might lose that toe. We aren't sure yet. His podiatrist won't be able to come in until later this afternoon.

We'd appreciate any extra prayers!!

I will update as we find out more.

More later...

The Villages

2009-06-24T09:10:00.001-04:00

Since we have been having trouble conceiving, we've been looking into other options out there(adoption/foster parenting)

Last night, B and I went to an information meeting at the Lafayette site for The Villages. We were both very nervous to go. We had been talking about it for a couple months but when the time came where I had to actually go...I got really scared.

We arrived at about 5:30. The meeting didn't start until 6, but you know me...we had to be early. I'm glad we got there when we did because that gave us some time to get in there and get settled before the other people got there. We walked in and met Jason. All I have to say is that as soon as we started talking to him, all my fears and nerves went away. He was very personable and easy to talk to.

{Shew..}

We filled out our first paperwork. We had to fill out the general information (names/address/employers/residents of our house) Then we had to complete a couple questions(why are we interested in The Villages? why do we feel that we would make good foster/adoptive parents?) This is a VERY emotional process for me. And I started to get a little teary eyed when I was writing our answers.

After we finished our paperwork, Jason started asking us some questions just to get to know us a little better. It turns out that his daughter is going to be attending the preschool at MHS next year and that he is a coach at JHS. Crazy because we both thought he looked really familiar. I've probably seen him around JHS.

{Anywho..}

There ended up being 7 of us at the meeting. Two of the other couples had children and I'm not sure about the other person because she had to leave early.

Jason explained to us all of the different options we would have.
*Foster Parenting
*Adoption
*Foster-to-Adopt

We are leaning towards the F2A program. We have to take 6 weeks of classes as well as have a home study done. The classes are on Monday and Wednesday evenings. We start on July 6th I believe. Jason told us that in the classes we will cover a wide variety of topics. He says that some of the classes will be very emotional {oh boy}

I kind of feel like a weight is lifted off of my shoulders. I feel like I don't need to worry anymore. I know there is still a long road ahead of us but I feel like we have something great to look forward to. {grin} We've been praying about this for so long(years...) and I finally feel like we are getting some answers.

I couldn't ask for a better co-pilot on this new exciting journey that we are about to start. I love you babe!!!

2009-06-23T13:48:00.002-04:00

"Thoughts on Becoming a Mother"

I have longed and waited. I have cried and prayed.I have endured and planned over and over again. Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams.

I will notice everything about my child. I will take time to watch my child sleep, explore and discover. I will marvel at this miracle every day for the rest of my life. I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child, knowing that I can comfort, hold and feed him and that I am not waking to take another temperature, pop another pill, take another shot or cry tears of a broken dream. My dream will be crying for me.

I count myself lucky in this sense; that God has given me this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my child that my friends will not see. Whether I parent a child I actually give birth to or a child that God leads me to, I will not be careless with my love. I will be a better mother for all that I have endured. I am a better wife, a better aunt, a better daughter, neighbor, friend and sister because I have known pain. I know disillusionment as I have been betrayed by my own body, I have been tried by fire and hell many never face, yet given time, I stood tall. I have prevailed. I have succeeded. I have won.

So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort. I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs. I listen. And even though I cannot make it better, I can make it less lonely. I have learned the immerse power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth and when life is beyond hard. I have learned a compassion that only comes with walking in those shoes.

I have learned to appreciate life.Yes, I will be a wonderful mother."

-Unknown

2009-06-15T08:51:00.001-04:00

Summer...

I'd say we have had a good summer so far. We started it out by taking a trip to Wooster, OH to see my grandparents. Grandpa had just gotten out of the rehab center and was able to come home. So, it was perfect timing to go visit. We had a little party with family and a few friends to celebrate their anniversary and Grandpa's 87th Birthday. The day consisted of the girls going carpet shopping and the boys doing odd jobs around the house.

This past weekend we spend time with Aaron and Court on Friday night. It's always fun when the four of us can get together. It makes for late nights but it's ALWAYS worth it!! On Saturday we (Blaine, Aaron, and myself) headed to Indianapolis. Aaron's Dad was the Boys All Star team coach. It was very exciting to see him coach the team. Then we spent Sunday with Alex. The boys went to the gun and knife show in Lafayette Sunday morning, so I got the chance to sleep in. :o) They then came home to pick me up and we headed back into town to do a little shopping, check out where Alex is going to be living in August, and have dinner at Monicals.

The rest of the weekends in June are busy for us...with a Cubs game next weekend and our friend Shawn from high school is getting married the weekend after. Before you know it...it will be time for school to start again :(

July is a little more open for us but we still have some fun things planned already. A concert, trip to the water park, little get away to Gatlinburg!!

"Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once."

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T13:07:00.003-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!! I love you Mom! Hope you enjoyed brunch and are having fun with Meg and Matt. Love you

Thank you for always being there for us. In the good times and bad...I know I can always count on you to be there by my side.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:32:00.003-04:00

We just got home from spending the day in Francesville with family. It's always nice to be surrounded by the ones you love. :o) I'm always thankful for our loving families and we are blessed so very much.

This past week was very busy for us. It was filled with running errands, cleaning up the house for the birthday parties, going to a baseball game, going out for dinner with my family to celebrate Meg's 28th Birthday...and Blaine completing AND passing his EMT test.

That was probably the highlight of the week in our house!! I am so proud of him.

This week we are going to hopefully have a little more free time. We have the inside of our house clean for the upcoming parties this weekend. We spent most of Saturday outside working on stacking wood and pulling weeds. There are a few more things that we need to do to get everything ready for my birthday this weekend but I'm sure we will get everything done.

I hope everyone had a great Easter! Have a good week! :o)

Almost done.

2009-03-11T11:39:00.002-04:00

Blaine only has 4 weeks left of EMT class. Next week is the class' spring break..the week after is our spring break..and then he takes his final test on the weekend of April 3rd! I'm so proud of him. I know he is excited to almost be done. He can't wait to start applying at depts to try to get on full time somewhere!

A little update..

2009-03-11T11:33:00.000-04:00

I know it's been a long time since I've blogged. We've been somewhat busy and I just honestly haven't really had the desire to spend the time to log on. We went to Ohio for a weekend to see my grandparents and to celebrate Christmas and Gma's 83rd Birthday. Megan got me tickets for the Jason Mraz concert at Elliot Hall for an early birthday present. One of the best presents I've ever gotten..I might add!! It was nice to get to spend some sister time with her! We've both been so busy lately that we haven't really gotten a chance to spend time together.

We've got 10 more days until we leave for Spring Break. Megan, Matt, Blaine, and I are heading for Hilton Head Island. We are all so excited to just get away for a week. (No students to bother us!) I'm really looking forward to spending time with Blaine. We don't get the opportunity to go on vacation as much as we would like so we are definitely going to take advantage of this trip. We've had so much stress over the past month and a half. It's going to be nice to just get away and not think about fertility treatments/adoption/getting pregnant.

Our friends Brenda and Phil just welcomed their first child in mid-February. Madelyn Grace is adorable. It was nice to go over and visit with them a couple weeks ago. She is so tiny and precious. Adorable.

That's all for now..

Final Day of Christmas Break :o(

2009-01-04T13:41:00.002-05:00

Break went by way too fast. We had a great time with family and friends, but it just never lasts long enough! We have celebrated Christmas with all of our families except one. We are planning to head to Ohio over MLK weekend to have Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Henderson.

New Years Eve turned out to be a blast. Plans were kind of up in the air until the night before but I think all who came had a good time. At least I hope! It was good to spend some time with Tony, Bev, Court, Jeremy, and Matt. I looked back on the messages on the Wii from that night and New Years day and I think we banked almost 9 hours of play time on the Wii. Nice :o) We had a lot of fun!

I've gone to Indy twice over break to have internal ultrasounds. Fun, right?! No, not really. They weren't as bad as the very first one I had. They are actually just starting to be a routine for me. Doesn't phase me much anymore. I go for another ultrasound and blood work tomorrow morning at 8 before I have to be at work at 8:30. What a way to start the new semester, right? It should be fine. They are just checking to see how many follicles I have in my ovaries and to see if they need to up the dose of the shots. After my ultrasound yesterday at 7AM in Indy...they decided to double the dosage for last night and tonight. So we will see what that does tomorrow when I go to the doctor. I am so glad we are going to Dr. Henry. He and his nursing staff are amazing! They make us feel very comfortable with all the new things they are throwing at us. I just really appreciate my nurse, Jamie, for not getting annoyed when I ask a million questions. I just feel like it's a lot of money to throw away if we don't do everything the way we should. Not that they guarantee anything but I just don't want to lessen our chances by not doing something right! I am so thankful to have Blaine as my husband and my rock throughout this whole thing. He is a saint when it comes to actually giving me the shots. It's kind of nice to have an EMT give me my shots instead of having me freak out trying to give them to myself! (one, two, three, ouch, poke)

Anyway, I better get some stuff done around here. I know that I will be exhausted this week after going back to work on Monday. And the shots don't give me any more energy ;o) It seems like I've been exhausted ever since I started taking them! But hopefully it will be all worth it! Keep praying...that's what we do! :o)

an extra prayer...

2008-12-29T22:04:00.003-05:00

Just a quick request....Keep us in your prayers over the next few days. I go down to Indy tomorrow for my ultrasound and then hopefully start the shot process on Wednesday. Things are starting to get to me. So I could definitely use some extra prayers. I don't really want to talk about it but would really appreciate your prayers. Thanks!

Hope everyone has a great week and a Happy New Year!

Ready for break...

2008-12-11T20:26:00.002-05:00

I'm so ready for Christmas Break!! We are starting to have our Christmas get-togethers so it makes me anxious for break to come. Last weekend, we had our Fire Dept Christmas party. It was fun and always nice to hear the recap of the years activities.

I am done wrapping presents. Until Blaine gets the rest of the shopping done. I pretty proud of myself for getting it done this early.

This Saturday, we are going down to Indy to meet with the Fertility nurse for a "shot consultation." I'm pretty excited but nervous at the same time. It's a big step for us so please keep us in your prayers.

I just heard the dryer turn off so I need to switch the loads. More later..

:o)

2008-11-25T14:29:00.000-05:00

My house is a wreck right now. We recently received an early Christmas present (32' Plasma TV) and we are trying to rearrange for the TV and to find a place for our big Christmas tree. It's all very time consuming and stressful on us right now..because we aren't home until late. So we stayed up past midnight last night trying to arrange the house. We will have two hours tonight before we have to leave to go to Francesville for Alex's game, to get some stuff done. We'll see how we do!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2008-11-23T21:07:00.006-05:00

So, I know I'm one of those crazy people that decorate early; but I can't help it! So here is what I have done so far!

I don't have the big tree up yet..this tree is going to go in the front spare bedroom infront of the window as soon as we get the big tree up!

I put the village on top of the entertainment center this year instead of the hutch. I think I like it better there...

I love my nativity scenes! Willow Tree and Precious Moments!!

Straight or Curly?

2008-11-20T19:55:00.003-05:00

I was bored tonight after Blaine left for his fire meeting so I decided to straighten my hair.

What do you think?

The weekend...

2008-11-19T21:22:00.003-05:00

I'm really excited for this weekend. Blaine and I got our hands on 6 free tickets to the Purdue/Indiana Football game(thanks to the Podells!!)!! The seats are on like the 35 yard line...11 rows up. We can't complain. The tickets even came with a prime tailgating spot! So, Blaine and I, Court, and Megan and Matt are going to enjoy the game on Saturday. I gave the sixth ticket to my friend Aaron since he always offers me tickets. We are planning to get there early and get our spot and just hang out and have a good time. I'm planning on getting ahold of some of our other friends to see if they want to come tailgate with us as well.

Meg came out this evening and we worked on getting Christmas presents around. We always have a good time when we hang out and I love spending time with her. I have the best sister in the world.

This weekend is going to be busy but I'm sure looking forward to having fun with friends!

The next step...

2008-11-17T15:25:00.000-05:00

So, I called the fertility doctor this afternoon to let him know what decision we made. I didn't get anywhere because he was out of that office today. So they told me to try back tomorrow because he should be there all day.

I guess I'll try again tomorrow.

New Blog

2008-11-16T22:23:00.000-05:00

I can't log onto my old blog so I'm starting a new one.

We had a good weekend. We got to spend some time with Mom and Dad. It's always a fun time when we are out there. Blaine put some new light fixtures in the new sun room for Mom. And Dad helped. Mom and I tried to figure out the menu's for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. We then went to support Dad and the Lady Trojans. Like Dad said last night. They are officially undefeated!! With a little more experience I think they will do well this year. They have a lot of young girls but I think they have a lot of potential.

Today, Blaine spent the afternoon cutting down 3 big trees at Jan's house. I, on the other hand, spent some time with Gma, Gpa, Mom, and Dad. I heard some things about Dad and Gpas pasts that I would have rather never heard! :o) lol

Then Blaine and I went to Tony and Bev's for a while. It's been way too long since we've hung out. We need to make sure we get together more often now that Blaine is done farming. We miss you guys.

More later...I'm tired and not looking forward to 7 a.m.