Quick Update!

Just wanted to let everyone know we came out of the hurricane with hardly a scratch. A few tree limbs in the yard, and lost power for maybe an hour in the middle of the night. We're feeling very blessed and grateful for everyone's prayers! 

Friends of ours didn't fare quite as well: flooded homes and extended loss of power. Please pray for them and everyone else affected by this storm. I know there were some deaths and injuries as a result, so their families are in my prayers in a special way.

On a very good note... Gemma pretty much turned into a walker this past weekend! I'll post a video soon :)

Anticipating Irene

Just figured I'd write a little posty-post on ye olde bloggy-blog before our power takes a hiatus. 

Being from upstate New York, I've lived through my fair share of storms. Mostly blizzards, but a few crazy torndao-ish "microbursts" as they call them, as well as ice storms and thunderstorms. I lived through a few tornado warnings during my years in Ohio. And just a few days ago, I lived through an earthquake! (A feat which I also conquered while I was over in Kenya).

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that I'm pretty storm-weathered, if you will. However, I've never experienced a real hurricane before. Sometimes we'd get some pretty heavy rainstorms up in Syracuse, the leftovers of the hurricanes those down here had experienced. But now I'm just a few hours away from riding out my first real hurricane. 

Here's the thing. I'm pretty scared!! When I listed all those storms I'd handled before, it wasn't to brag and say "I'm tough, bring it on!" I was just trying to comfort myself a little bit I think! I'm kind of like a housepet when bad weather comes. I get all quiet and tense for days beforehand, the anxiety building more intensely as the storm moves ever closer. And when it hits us, you better believe I will be curled up in the safest spot in our house, saying Hail Marys and drinking Gin & Tonics (medicinal purposes only, people, for my nerves) until it's all over. 

The worst part is, even though this is our first hurricane, we decided to stay and ride it out, rather than evacuate. It's too late now to leave, since Irene will be here soon. We tried to get the opinions of all the locals and SO MANY of our friends here were all "Meh, it's no big deallll, you'll be fiiiiiine!" Come to find out, about half of these people ended up evacuating themselves, leaving us newbies here to fend for ourselves!! 

But, in all seriousness. We should be fine. Our immediate neighbors all decided to stay as well and told us they have our backs. I think about how deeply terrified the disciples in the boat were during the storm, and the moment they cried out to Jesus for help, he stood, commanded the sea, and all was calm. We're definitely not alone during this time. Even just writing this now bring so much comfort to my heart.

Anyway, here's a before/after of the dock in our backyard:

What our dock normally looks like.

The dock as of 11am.

The dock as of 5pm. Also, notice the branches on the tree, being blasted by the wind.

We'll see how the night goes. Please pray for us and all those who will be affected by this hurricane! I'm looking forward to seeing the sun again! :)

Things. Are. Happening!

Hey y'all!!! If you're an average mommy blogger like I am, then you're already very familiar with the following phrase: Sorry I've been so MIA lately, but life has been crazy! Haha... seriously, though, unless you're Supermom Superblogger, you know what I mean here! I think we all have times when we inadvertently neglect our blog as life takes over for a little bit. Now is such a time in my life. Even now I reallllly don't have that much time to be blogging, but felt like I should do a quick catch up before life gets even crazier (and it's about to!)

The fam went down to Virginia Beach during the week ending with and including Memorial Day weekend for vacation (and a few job interviews for the hubby.) Back in November, we went out to San Diego to visit family for Thanksgiving, and dipped Gemma's little toesies into the Pacific, so she's technically already been to the beach, but this was her first "real" beach trip. She was cautious of the sand at first, but then ended up loving it! Daddy would build little castles for her, and she would smash them down. It was so stinkin cute. She got it in her bathing suit, mouth, ears, everywhere. For the record, it is very difficult to re-apply sunscreen to a baby who is COVERED in sand! (Note to self - get spray sunscreen). She was nooooot really a fan - at all - of the ocean however. 

Having all kinds of fun!

Like I said... Not. A. Fan.

Awhile back, a mommy blog friend of mine's son popped teeth while they were on vacation, so I was like, "Ooh, maybe GEMMA will finally pop some teeth while WE'RE on vacation!" But no, not a one. She is now 10 months and 4 days, and totally toothless. It's all good though. I'm nursing her, so I'm not really in a rush for her teeth to come in, but it does slightly limit what she can eat food-wise. I say slightly, because her lack of teeth doesn't really hinder her a great deal. She can really gum something down when she wants to. She's a bit picky on what she'll eat, but she lives fruit smoothies and is basically a carb-aholic. Pasta, bread, crackers, cereal, potatoes, bagel, pizza crust... if it's a carb, she loves it. Girl after my own heart :)

Aaaaanyway, as I mentioned earlier, my husband did some job interviews while we were down in Virginia, and I am SO EXCITED to announce that he got the job we were hoping for! So we have been, and are currently in crazy pack mode, as we are leaving for Virginia on the 26th because his job starts July 1st!! That's right, we are soon-to-be Virginia residents! Ahhh I am freaking out. It's going to be a really fantastic move for us, as we have lots of good friends already where we are moving, and we'll be a bit closer to various family members of mine :)

However, getting from point A to point B is crazy stressful! Any of you who have relocated to another STATE know what I'm talking about. Sooooo many logistics! I won't even go into it.

LASTLY, on Monday (the 20th), I'll be having a fairly major surgery. It all started over a month ago, when I ended up in the ER. So not fun. Well, several follow-up appointments, 2 ultrasounds, and a CAT Scan later, it has come to light that I have two benign dermoid cysts inside me. Either both in one ovary, or one in each ovary. They are bigger than tennis balls, oblong, and heavy. So yes, they are causing me pain. And yes, they need to come out. Unfortunately, due the the nature and location of the cysts, my OB will not be able to perform the surgery laproscopically as we had originally hoped. So it will be an open surgery, and although he said he will do his best to keep the incision as small as possible, the fact remains - it's an open surgery. It carries higher risks and requires a longer recovery time. 

So yes, you got that right. I will be having major surgery and moving to another state 6 days later. Enter: STRESS. But ya know, we're coping with it really well actually. I realize, God has been SO GOOD to us, and I trust Him completely. 

If you could please, offer a prayer for me and my family during this crazy time in our lives! I will try to update as soon as I can, but with everything going on, no guarantees on when that will be! As of now, all I can say is Praise God for all the blessings he has been pouring into our lives. Jesus, I trust in you.

Here's one last picture of Gemma enjoying the pool at our friend's house: