the view from here

The newest boy in our family

2011-05-17T06:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were able to introduce yet another beautiful little boy into our growing family!

My brother Jon, and his wife Shanelles' little guy was born exactly 1 week early yesterday at 2 p.m. His name is Levi Joel and boy o boy, he is precious! He weighed 8 lbs 6 oz and has got a good pair of lungs on him! Shanelle was hoping for a home birth, but the midwives had 3 other births yesterday so she had to go to owen sound to deliver. The hospital was very strict about how many people they allow in the birthing unit, so I ended up sitting in the waiting room the whole time, but it was so exciting to finally hear the news that my nephew was here! Congrats jon and shanelle, you guys are truly blessed!

My sister Kristina did their birth photography and got some beautiful shots! I'll definately be having her for my next birth! Here are a few of the pics she got.

Pickles and ice cream anyone?!

2011-04-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so before you get too excited, im NOT pregnant! lol. I'll leave that up to my sisters for now! Pickles and Ice Cream Doula Services is the name we have finally chosen for our doula business! we (my mom and I) are pretty excited! I spent most of yesterday morning desigining/ordering busniess cards! I can hardly wait until they arrive so we can start handing them out and hopefully get some clients!

As for our fam, we're doing well. Julian had his 23 bday a few days ago , so we spent the day down in the city with his siblings. We dont get to see them much, but when we do its always a lot of fun!

Allistair is learning to read! He blows me away with how fast he can learn thing! He definately did not inherit my brain. I've been working alot with him on his reading and writing and he can now read short sentences with 3-4 letter words.

Zeke is such a little stinker. He was sick for about 3 weeks with a nasty cold, but now that he's feeling better, he's back to his old self, bullying Allistair around constantly lol. Hes about 1/2 the size of Allistiar but he sure shows him who's boss lol.

Anyways, I just thought i'd give a little update on whats been going on with us, thanks for reading! heres a little video of Allistair singing Hey Jonah for you to enjoy! :D

http://youtu.be/5qYbY3Q6ymQ

dreaming of spring

2011-02-15T13:52:00.000-08:00

Although the weather isnt exaclty "garden ready" yet...that doesnt stop me and Allistair from planning for the warmth! Yea, it may be a bit early yet, but we couldnt help ourselves! we went out today and got some vegetable seeds so we can get a head start on our veggie garden that we are doing together :) I told Allistair to pick out a few of his fav vegetables that he'll want for our garden, so he chose carrots, cauliflower, lettuce, and cucumbers, (i chose the green onions!)
Im ridiculously lucky to have a 3 year old who absoluetly loves to eat fresh raw veggies every day. Most often he chooses them over other foods! we are both looking forward to being able to transplant them into our garden this summer and having fresh food that we grew! I am having so much fun teaching him all the different things, and he loves to learn so its a win win for both of us! :D

yea....might have to wait a little longer to plant outside!

our lovely selection!

my little man has a green thumb just like me! He was having a great time dropping the seeds in, but left the dirty part (making holes in the soil) to me!

the boys loved watching the soil expand when the water went in

planting the seeds!

Trying to achieve...

2011-01-18T06:58:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I have always had one thing i've always wanted to become 'when i grow up' :0) My dream has always been to become a midwife, and 2 years ago, my sister let me be her doula (supporting birth partner) for the birth of my precious little niece. After those 12 hours of labor, I knew without a doubt that it was what I was meant to do!
For the past 3 -4 years , I have been reading everything I could get my hands on regarding midwives/doulas and now I am finally taking the steps to become a doula! I have decided to take my certification course through DONA, an international doula service that is very well known. I am currently in the process of doing the rest of the required reading and within the next few weeks/month I hope to apply for the certification. Once I get the cert. package, I have 2 years to complete the course, which requires attending birth classes, breastfeeding classes, attending at least 3 births as a doula, and filling out LOTS of papers! I havent been this excited about something since the days I found out I was pregnant with my sons! I am currently trying to convince my mom to take the course with me! She always says how much she would love to do it, and I think it would be awesome to have her as a partner!
Anyways, just wanted to share that bit of exciting news!

P.S. Ezekiel is now starting to say lots of words! hes such a sweet little boy! and Allistiar is learning how to spell! hes way too smart for his own good!

i love the smell of fall in the air

2010-10-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

This has been a hard month. Alot of things have come up, that i wont mention on here, but it has been encouraging to see God working everything out, even in the darkest of times. Mark and Lauren came up unexpectedly to be with the family, so it was great to have them here for a week, and just be able to spend time together. Allistiar stuck to mark like glue! I love seeing them play together.

Julian will find out the results of the election tomorrow (monday) night , we are optimistic about him getting in so it will be exciting to hear the news. He also is trying out for the police auxillary, as he hopes to eventually become a police officer. *I hope he gets that! guys in uniform are smokin! especially when they get to have a gun!! haha *

As for me, ive been feeling pretty discouraged about a lot of things lately, but especially this month. Its good to have great friends and family standing behind me. A verse that has been very encouraging to me lately has been Romans 8 35-39
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Elliot was not a fan of being half buried in leaves.

mark and i have always had a close relationship, i loved having him here!

the 2 sunshines of my life <3

2010-09-25T04:56:00.000-07:00

Well it seems its that time again, to update the old blog. I seem to get kind of lost in everything happening around me and forget that everyone doesnt just automatically creep my facebook page to keep up with whats going on in our lives ;-) but here i am! we have had a busy few weeks it seems, julians been working alot at the mall an hr away from here so by mid week i feel as tho i have barely seen him. the boys are growing like weeds, Ezekiel took 3 steps last night! he will be 1 in a week, but he really has done everything in his power to NOT walk up until now! Allistair is hilarious, the conversations we have sound like something between 2 adults, not a mom and a 3 yr old. For those of you who havent heard, julian is running for councillor of hanover this year, im so proud of him for doing something hes' always wanted! he has a meeting on wed. and will have 2 minutes to talk, and then gets questions asked and has to answer them so be praying for him if you think of it as he's pretty nervous. hes an excellent speaker though so im sure he'll do great. the votes will go out in october so im keeping fingers crossed for him. we've been hearing a lot of positive things about him getting in, so now we just wait.

as for myself, nothing is really new. i guess as a mom its my job to just keep up with what everyone else in my family is doing! thats alright though, i love just watching the boys learning new things and grow, its what life is all about :)

here is my sis and me at our cousins wedding.

we took allistair to wonderland a few weeks ago, he LOVED it, although he was sitll much too small for most of the rides, he did enjoy a few of the little ones in the kiddie land! hes not too impressed with getitng his pic done in this pic, but he did cheer up! haha

1+2= 3

2010-08-25T07:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Allistair turned 3!

It seems like just yesterday i was pregnant with him, getting anxious to meet my baby, and now hes turning into such a big boy! he had a big party with all his little friends! there were about 12 2/3 yr olds running around so it was very hectic, but much fun! we finger painted outside and chased bubbles, then came in for fire truck cake and ice cream, and of course, presents!

I thank the Lord everyday for giving me the chance to be a mom, there really is nothing greater! Allistiar, you are such a kind , polite little one, you have made my life everything ive hope it could be, and i will always love you! happy birthday sweetheart!

oh how they grow

2010-06-01T14:44:00.000-07:00

I realize it has been a good 5 months since i posted last...i know, pitiful right?! Its not even that ive been really busy, to be honest i just kind of forgot about this blog. Life in the Murphy house is crazy, as usual. Allistair and Ezekiel keep me very busy, but i love every minute of it. Now that the weather is nice out, ive been doing a lot of garden work. Some of my fam came over and helped me move the shed, that was a huge job! but its great now that we have a big space thats more secluded for the boys to play and for a sitting area. it will be even nicer once the grass that we planted grows! im looking forward to lots of evenings by the fire back there :)

We also recently aquired a new kitten ! my cat that ju got me when we first got togehter had to be put down 2 weeks ago because she was very sick , so i needed a new little one to fill the void and to keep charlie company. we bought a very cute playful little siamese boy. his name is toopy and allistiar adores him. i dont know that he adores allistair quite as much, but he puts up with him, so im happy lol.

Allistair has loved learning how to ride his new big boy bike that his nia got for him. he bikes all around the house and is especailly happy when we go for walks in town and let him ride there!

Ezekiel is now crawling like its nobodies business! its crazy how fast he can go when he wants something!

heres ju, testing our new bbq

me and the boys at Easter

allistair and mummy stopping for a donut while on a walk

heres our big boy!

i love these moments!

new house!

2009-12-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

I realize its been nearly 2 1/2 months since my last post, we seem to be getting busier with every day that goes by! we are finally all unpacked (well, just about!) and moved into our new house. its seems to be a never-ending job, especailly with a 2 month old baby! Speaking of baby, Zeek is doing great! he is smiling and cooing now, hes the cutest little guy! Allistair has adjusted amazingly to having a little brother. that was one of my biggest concerns while pregnant, was that he would have a realy hard time, so its great to see him so fascinated with Ezekiel. i have gone for my ultrasound for the cyst that was discovered early in my pregnancy with Zeek. i havent gotten the results yet, but the tech did say it was huge and that i would definatley need surgery soon (which i already knew, but i had hoped it would have shrunk, or gone away). im a bit nervous to have surgery, especailly if i wont be able to do much afterwards for a little while. i have been having quite a bit of pain from it though so i do hope it happens soon. i'd like to just get it over with and not have to worry about it anymore.

Im so excited for christmas this year! allistair is as well, i dont know if he fully understands but while we were putting the tree up, we were explaining to him that on christmas morning he gets to wake up early (which is no different than any other day :-P ) and run down and see all the presents under the tree so every day he asks me where the presents are ! lol . He doesnt seem to get that he has to wait for christmas haha.

Anyways, just thought it was about time to update. Here are a few pics.

This is half the living room, before it was walpapered with baby blue and pink wallpaper, and all the trim was bright pink...it was horrible! dad textured the walls, and then we primed and painted. it looks so good now!

this was a bedroom before, it was painted dark green and had flowery carpet! we ripped up the carpet and laid cherry hardwood flooring, then painted it this color blue. It turned out great! its allistairs toy room so i still have to get some bright curtains hung up.

This is our room . it was a brown color before and was used as an office. i love how it turned out

Allistiars room is my favorite! it turned out so perfectly! it was bright red with navy blue trim before and had green carpet! We ripped out the carpet and bought this new light carpet, and painted the whole room.

Zeeks room turned out good too. It was pink and had rainbow wallpaper previously! the walls were in horrible shape, it took us a whole day to even it out!

Ezekiel Julian Murphy

2009-10-05T04:41:00.001-07:00

Well, the day finally arrived! Friday morning at 8 30 a.m. , Ju , Allistair and I welcomed a very precious new baby boy into our little family! Ezekiel Julian Murphy wieghed 9 lbs 5 oz! The birth went amazingly, i woke up at 4 a.m. hoping to find myself in labor and was quite dissappointed that i wasnt having any contractions, then 12 minutes later, i felt my first one. They were very close together right off the bat, about 2 minutes and just kept getting closer. at 5 i woke julian up and texted my sister who was in stoney creek, letting her know i was in labor so she might want to head home (i was definately not expecting things to progress as fast as they did!) by 6 a.m. i was having back to back contractions so my mom came over to get allistair and we headed to the hospital. I was 9 cm already by this time! i couldnt beleive it when my midwife said taht, but was very relieved! i pushed for about 20 minutes and then our little Zeek was born. The midwives were incredible, i also had my best friend katrina in the room with us for the birth which was awesome! i was sad my sister didnt make it in time for the actual birth (she walked in 5 minutes after he was born! :( , but at least she got to see him right after. Everything is going great so far, Zeek loves to sleep, hes a very content little boy! and Allistair is doing amazing with him, he loves holding his baby brother ! here are a few pics of our bundle of joy :)

holding Ezekiel for the first time. We were shocked by all

his very dark hair!

Allistair meeting Zeek

What an awesome 9 months to share so close with my sis Shanelle

im so looking forward to our boys being so close in age :)

Allistair holding his baby brother

2 very proud grandparents :)

Auntie Kris and her newest nephew :)

Zeek is very pleased with his being able to stretch out now that hes born! this is how i found him after i came from my shower!

happy birthday little boy!!

2009-08-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

Last saturday was a very special day for us as we celebrated Allistiars 2nd birthday. His real b-day is Aug 24, but we had it on a weekend so everyone could make it up. It was so much fun having all of julians and my family and friends up to help make it such a special day. Allistair got all sorts of trucks and tractor toys! thanks so much to everyone who was able to make it out!

allistair and ben - best friends!

Allistair LOVES tractors of any kind so for his birthday i made him this farm cake.

it took me forever to do because i was trying to ice it in the dark, since the power

was knocked out after the tornado that went through!

allistiar didnt pay any attention to all hte presents until julian told him

they were full of new toys! then we could barely keep him away from them!

2009-08-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

Today shanelle and i had kris take some pictures of our tummies before one of us goes into labor! (more likely to be nelly than me seeing as im 33 wks and shes 37!) it was a lot of fun, and we had a good amount of laughs too! its been so much fun being so closely pregnant at the same time!

this pic was not done today, but i thought i'd put it up anyways,
it was a fun week having mark and his new wife lauren home from school!

it looks like a mirror image! funny how shes 4 wks ahead of me but we're about the same size!

is it going to be a boy?

or a girl?
we'll find out soon!

in other news, julian and i bought a house! we've been wanting to buy for a few years now but it wasnt financially possible at the time. we'd given up actively searching since we couldnt find anything that seemed to be the right place for the right price and then 2 weeks ago we found one online and thought we'd give it a shot , just for fun. We called the realtor and LOVED the house the minute we saw it, the next day we put in an offer and after a few counter offeres back and forth, we now officially own the house! move in date is sept. 28th! its going to be a tight fit trying to get everything done before the babys' due date on oct 4th but it will be fun! its so awesome to be starting a new phase of our lives together as homeowners! i'll post pics once we get moved in!

the countdown is on!

2009-08-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

Well, im down to just over 8 weeks to go! hard to believe! this pregnancy has gone so fast, and still seems to be passing before i have time to realize it! i will be 32 weeks on sunday and have been feeling pretty good. im not getting much sleep these days but its all just good practice for baby. at my last midwife appiontment i found out my hemaglobin tests came back low so now im on an iron supplement. i have been starting to get things ready for the baby, washing all the newborn clothes that i have from allistair , and getting little things ready for my hospital bag. im so excited, and a little dissappointed that the pregnancy will be over so soon . i know how crazy that sounds but i am definately am one of those people who LOVES being pregnant, and wishes it would last longer than 9 months lol. anyways, here are a few recent pictures. enjoy!

allistair reading his truck book to the baby

ever-growing tummy at 31 weeks

my adorable/goofy little boy! he brought all his animals to this chair and sat with them! it was too cute!

allistair loves his sandbox! he'd spend every minute out there if he could!

2009-06-30T05:37:00.000-07:00

I am officially 26 wks pregnant now and feeling enormous! Its been fun to compare pictures of this pregnancy with the ones i took while pregnant with Allistair.

I had another ultrasound on the 15th of june to check on the amniotic band and the cysts that were on the back of the babys head. Praise the Lord, the cysts are completely gone and the baby has not yet gotten tangled in the band. The midwives and obgyns are going to keep me going to ultrasounds to keep an eye on it but its a really good sign that it hasnt happened yet. As far as my cyst, i have been thinking of having the baby delivered by c-section so that i can have the surgery to remove the cyst at the same time instead of doing it 6 wks after the birth. I talked with my midwife yesterday and she ultimately the choice is up to the ob, which i dont really like, i personally think it should be my decision...but we'll see what she says.

update and prayer request

2009-05-07T06:32:00.000-07:00

Hey all, thursday, april 29 julian and i were able to see our baby again :) I love being able to see him/her moving around and sometimes getting to feel those little movements! everyone one of them is so special. A few days ago i got a call from my midwife regarding the ultrasound. I was told the baby has some cysts on the back of its neck (she said these are very common and i shouldnt worry as they usually go away by themselves). She also told me that they noticed what is called an amniotic band , which basically is what can cause deformities and sometimes even natural amputation of the babies limbs. Having an amniotic band is quite rare, about 1 in every 12-1500 pregnancies , so my midwife was surprised to see that i have it. They dont know what causes them, and there is nothing they can do about it, so im asking for your prayer for the safety of my little one. The good news is that right now the amniotic band is near the bottom of my uterus and the baby is sitting near the top and none of his/her limbs are tangled in it as of yet. They have booked another ultrasound for me for june 15 to check up on everything and keep an eye on the baby. Im feeling an odd sense of peace about everything right now, i know that God has a reason for everything that is happening in this pregnancy and i have faith that He will take care of everything in His way. As far as my cyst goes, i will be seeing a speicalist on may 21 so hopefully i will know more then. Im really praying that i wont have to a) be transferred to an o.b instead of getting to continue my pregnancy with a midwife, and b) that i wont be put on bedrest for the rest of my pregnancy! i cant imagine how that would be with allistair running around on the loose! Anyways, thats the update so far. I will let you know when i find out more.

me at 18 weeks, and shanelle at 22 weeks!

this is a picture of the babys hand :) all 5 fingers there !

my little one waving at me!

this shot is of the babys legs, it shows the knees, and the feet

crossed at the ankles

baby now weighs aprox 8 ounces :)

ultrasound

2009-04-10T06:05:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, i noticed a lump in my stomach. At first i thought i was just feeling the baby so i ignored it, but over a few days i noticed it was still there and it was beginning to hurt when i touched it or moved in a weird way. I got in to the doctors the same day and she thought i had a hernia so i go an ultrasound scheduled. I went yesterday and had it done, i have yet to hear the results from it but the tech said she didnt think it is a hernia but she wasnt aloud to say anything more about what it could be. The lump is about the size of a lemon. The good news from the situation so far is that i was able to see our baby for the 1st time yesterday! he/she is so cute and tiny. it was fun seeing the baby move all around. I am just under 15 weeks along now so im hoping that whatever this lump turns out to be, it wont affect the baby or the pregnancy. For now im just trusting the Lord for peace , and i know that whatever this turns out to be, God never gives us more than we can handle. I will write more when i hear back from the doctor, until then, here are some pictures the ultrasound technician gave me of our little one.

the baby was doing a head-stand so this is the best profile pic she was able to get.

you can see the babies little face and its spine.

this is a closer shot but the baby was in the same position.

growing faster than a speeding bullet :)

2009-03-20T06:38:00.000-07:00

well, i am going to be 12 weeks this sunday, hard to believe im almost in my 2nd trimester! im looking forward to it, as thats usually when the morning sickness starts to subside. thats my hope at least! i have another midwife appointment on wednesday and am looking very forward to hearing this little beans heartbeat! its always pretty amazing to hear it for the first time!! i have really started to pop out already, which is a huge difference from being pregnant with allistair since i didnt even start to show until i was about 18 weeks!! i am pretty sure i have already felt this little one move a few times, even though it seems like its still too early, it sure feels like the flutters i remember with allistiar. here are 2 pictures of my ever growing tummy!

this is my tummy at 8 weeks

and these two pictures are from just 3 weeks later!! 11 weeks and 5 days

shhh...i have a secret!

2009-03-02T06:46:00.001-08:00

Julian and i are very excited to (finally!) announce that we are expecting baby murphy #2! I am currently 9 weeks along and am due Ocotber 4th 2009. Allistair got a new shirt to help us tell the news to our families and friends! it was very fun to see peoples reactions when they read it.

"shhh... i have a secret"

" im going to be a BIG brother!"

i have had one midwife visit so far and everything is looking good. i have been very nausious so far, more so than i was with allistair so that just goes to show how different one pregnancy can be from another! im hoping that will end soon as im only a few weeks away from my second trimester.

thanks for sharing the big news with us!

2009-02-11T06:12:00.000-08:00

Once again it has been quite sometime since i last posted.
theres not a whole lot new with us but i thought i'd post a few pictures
of Allistair and his cousin (who he adores!)

allistair always lays like this on the floor, with his legs up in the air

he always wants to hold auroralyn and always gives her kisses

kris was over one day and so i layed aurora on the ground wiht this bear

it was so priceless!

im an auntie :)

2008-12-29T15:22:00.000-08:00

Well, finally after a week of being overdue, kris was scheduled to go in to be induced today at 12 p.m. We got a call at 12:48 a.m. this morning saying that she was having contractions and was on her way to the hospital. Mom,dad, mark and i quickly got ready and headed to meet them there. After a very long and very slow labor, Auroralyn Jane Dyck was born at 1 : 30 pm today. She weighs 7 lbs 9 oz and is absolutely gorgeous. Right away she was very alert, taking in every little thing. Both mom and baby are doing well, kris is very tired but will hopefully get a good night sleep tonight. please keep them in your prayers.

2 very proud parents :)

my precious little niece

latest happenings

2008-12-18T16:46:00.000-08:00

....hard to believe it will be christmas today-next week! its come so fast!! this month has been crazy for us, but its a fun sort of crazy. christmas is one of my favorite times of the year, and especially this year since any day now i will become an auntie! i am very much looking forward to my sister having her baby, and so is she!

julian and i decided to have some christmas pictures taken this year, and although allistair screamed through most of the process, we finally ended up getting a few pictures taht were suitable! thankfully there was no sitting fee or i probably would have walked out. the pictures may be a bit blurry because i took "pictures of the pictures" since we dont have a scanner, but at least you can get a glimpse of them! enjoy! and incase i dont write more before next week, merry christmas and happy new year!!

trick or treat!!

2008-11-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

Since Allistair was only around 3 months old last halloween, we didnt bother dressing him up. This year, i wasnt sure if he was still a bit too little, but decided to take him out anyways! We went out and bought him a little lion costume and he has never looked cuter! (well, thats definately arguable, but he looked very cute!) We went out with our good friends scott and katrina (and their boys) and with eric and lindsey and their 2 kids. what a fun night!

allistair and ben!

2 sets of best friends :)

re-married...almost:)

2008-11-01T18:23:00.001-07:00

Well, we finally decided it was about time we get some good wedding pictures taken. Our wedding was perfect, but since i was 5 months pregnant at the time, i obviously didnt fit in my dress. We rented a tux, and i went and picked out a bouquet (so fun! it was like the wedding i didnt get to have!) and out we went! we drove to kincardine beach but unfortunately it was pouring rain so we only got a few shots taken. The day after was perfect out, so we got all done up again and out we went! we got some beautiful shots! now i just have to decide which ones im going to blow up and frame!

i love this boy

congrats jon and shanelle!

2008-10-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

3 down, 1 more to go and all the Ducommun children will be married! its been crazy to see my younger brother Jon get engaged, and now married. On September 30, he and shanelle tied the knot in Armagh, Ireland! i wasnt able to be there(unfortunately) but i have loved looking over all the pictures my parents brought back. here are a few from the wedding!

congrats you two! we all love you and are so happy to have shanelle become a part of our family! we wish you only the best!

SALTIMBANCO!

2008-08-29T15:37:00.001-07:00

Back in april, I had been watching tv when i saw an ad for Cirque Du Soleil. I have ALWAYS loved watching it on tv and only really have only dreampt of seeing it live. I mentioned it to julian later as going to see it for my birthday but he said we couldnt afford it. Well, Julian surprised me last night! he told me to pack an over night bag and wear something fancy so i knew right then we were going to see it! Our very good friends Scott and Katrina also surprised me HUGELY by coming along with us! what an incredible evening!! The acrobatics were by far the coolest thing i have ever and probably will ever see! the strength they had was out of this world!! What a blast it was going and getting to have that experience with our best friends! Unfortunatley we werent aloud cameras in the show, so i dont have any pictures that i took of it, but i have before and afters of us!! If anyone ever gets the opportunity to go see Cirque Du Soleil, i can tell you with 100% certanty, you will not regret it at all! it is worth EVERY penny!!

these 2 are brothers from Russia, as you can see,

their strength is beyond crazy!!

these 2 girls did some pretty incredible stunts on this

swing that was about 50 feet above the crowd

our hotel room

the boys were impressed taht our room had nintendo...

one of the best friends a girl could have!

couple pics...ours is sideways...dont know how to fix that

mmmm pizza!

thank you ju for the BEST birthday present i have ever had! love you babe :)

happy birthday dear baby

2008-08-24T17:19:00.001-07:00

1 year ago today, our lives were blessed in a way neither Julian or I could ever imagine, Allistair was born! What a joy he has been to have in our lives and we are so thankful for everyday we have with him. Today we celebrated his 1st birthday (yes, it actually was his bday) and had some of (his) and our closest friends to help celebrate. Although Allistair wasnt a huge fan of the balloons/wrapping paper, and didnt even realize it was any special day, its a great memory for us as parents! Thanks so much to all who came out! what a great day!!

food galore!! and that was just the half of it!

i thought that even though allistair wont remember this

cake, it would still be fun to do something special.

how much do we love our little man!

"happy birthday dear allistair!"

"grandma says when God made me, He was just showing off"

Allistair absolutely adores any stuffed animals, so this

giant bear from uncle jon and auntie shanelle was a GREAT gift!

it took a bit of coaxing to get allistair used to the icing...

we are looking forward to celebrating many more birthdays as good as this one!

camping!

2008-08-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

well, when august comes along, it means one thing...mcf's annual camping trip! Julian and i werent ablet o go last year as i was 9 months pregnant, but we were quite excited to get out this year. we packed up much more than we needed, and yet still not enough?! and headed out to mcgregor point provincial park! we were some of the first to arrive so we spent about an hour setting up and then just sat back and waited for everyone else to come. unfortunatley, it rained ALL weekend...so that put a damper (literally) on our plans , we were stuck sitting under a leaking tarp all huddled by are barely-there fire trying to stay warm. At about 5 30 on saturday evening, we decided it just wasnt worth allistair getting sick over so we packed up as fast as we could (we were dripping wet by the end of it!) and decided to head back home a day early. it was a fun weekend dispite the rain but hopefully allistairs 2nd time camping will be a bit better than his 1st! we came home with wet clothes, muddy tents and lots of laundry but we also came home with great memories! heres a few pics.

julian setting up the tent

hanging out, waiting for the others to arrive

kris and i

trying to keep the fire alive despite the rain!

allistair and i playing

in other news...allistair took his first steps yesterday (august 10th) what a proud moment for julian and i as parents! our little baby is not such a baby anymore ...he'll be 1 yr already on the 24th! amazing how fast its gone!

goodbye

2008-07-15T06:14:00.000-07:00

Those of you who didnt already know, my grandma Ducommun has been sick with Hepatitis for a number of years. The past few years she has started to go downhill. We were able to go see her in May and although i knew it would probably be my last time to see her, i had hoped otherwise. After we left, she seemed to really go down in her health quite fast. Last week she took a turn for the worst so my parents drove down on tuesday to be with her. I wished i could have gone as well, but it was such short notice and i dont think Allistair (or me really) could have handled seeing her so sick. Anyways, after a week of sometimes being in a coma-like state, and sometimes being able to nod when asked questions, she passed away last night. My parents and aunt and uncle were able to be with her when she went and we are able to rest in the fact that she is finally with the Lord. her pain is gone and she is with her sister and with my grandpa again. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated as thought we know she is in a better place, its still so hard to say goodbye to the ones we love the most. also, we will be traveling up to wisconsin once again for her memorial service, so that will be a long drive for us and for allistair so pray for safety and strength.

just an update

2008-06-28T18:50:00.001-07:00

Well, here i am again, sitting at my computer when i defiantely should be grabbing my chance at sleep while allistair is down for the night, but i will wait a little longer for sleep and give you all an update.

As i mentioned in a post below, we were looking at a house we were going to buy. We went to look at it again a few weeks ago before making an offer and decided to ask one of the men from ntm to come along (he builds all hte houses at new tribes). After walking in and looking around he told us that he strongly suggest we wait and try to find a different place. I took his advice right away since i wasnt feeling 100% right about the house to begin with but julian had a bit harder time letting go of the idea. We found out a week later that it was a good thing we did wait because of waht happened with the bank.

As for the bank, we have paid off our 'debt' because we got a letter saying if we didnt pay it immediately, collections would be called on us! it was a pain to have to learn the lesson the hard way but i've moved on and feel it a blessing that we didnt loose more money, and no one got hurt!

Allistiar is doing great! hes learning so much, and turned 10 months last tuesday! hard to believe my baby will be 1 in less than 2 months! he seems to be cutting in another tooth so hes been pretty fussy lately, i just have to remember he wont be small forever! that seems to be the only thing that gets me through those days of nearly constant screaming! As for julian and i , we are doing really good. julain has the next 3 days off in a row so we are looking forward to getting some time together, and hanging out wiht some good friends for canada day!

If you could keep my sister and brother in law in your prayers that would be great! they are moving back here to durham (YAY!!!) this coming month which is SO exciting!! so hopefully everything goes smoothly!

ju and my day out together at the Bell Golf tournament..we came in last!

me and my goofball son!

hes almost too big for sink baths!! but he still loves them!

be careful who you trust!

2008-06-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

Well, a few weeks ago i posted an add for my electric guitar on Kijiji for sale. I had a quick reply from someone who was very intersted in buying it from me, so after a week or 2 of writing back and forth, i was sent a money order cheque for 2500.00$ i was told to take out my money for the guiart and then i was asked to send the rest to anohter guy who was also buying something from this man so he would be paid. I thought it seemed a bit strange but i have never done anything like this so i didnt really think anything of it. I sent the money, and was awaiting someone to come pick up my guitar. I checked my online bank today only to find out that the cheque was fake and i now owe 2500$ to the bank to make up for the fake cheque! after many tears, julian and i went to the bank to see what was going on, and were told that there was nothing they could do, that we were just going to be out that money. We went all over to the bank that cashed the cheque for us and they also told us it was our fault and that we owed taht money back to the bank. All my accounts have been frozen and will continue to be until i pay this off. We still felt as if we were being just shoved aside so we called up julians mom who came down with us to my home-bank. we talked for a good long time to the manager who siad she will see waht they can do, but she really has no idea what will happen...i guess this is teaching me a good 'trust the lord' lesson but i gotta tell you, im not liking the way i have to learn it very much. we would REALLY appreciate your prayers through this whole ordeal...i always knew it would suck to be conned, just didnt realize the extent of it. thanks for your prayers though. We will let you know how it all turns out.

1 down...a lifetime to go!

2008-05-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

Well, its incredible to look back and see how fast a year goes! Julian and i celebrated our 1 year anniversary on Monday, May 26th! Julian worked all day, and i spent most the afternoon cleaning, but we got jon and shanelle to babysit Allistair and we took off to go see the newest Narnia movie. It was really great to get some time alone with my husband on our special day :) So much has happened since this time last year and i wouldnt change a thing! Im looking forward to another 60 or so years together ... :-)

May 26th, 2007

and one year later :)
heres to a lifetime of honeymooning babe!

trip to chicago!

2008-05-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

Well, this past wednesday, Allistair and i packed our bags and headed just over 500 miles with my parents to visit my sister in chicago, and my brother and grandma ducommun in wisconsin. WHAT A TRIP! after 10 or so hours in the van, it was a relief to pull into kris's driveway...or one way street should i say! It was so great to see caleb and kris and great for allistair to see his aunite and uncle again. Us gals headed out to the mall later wednesday night and then on thursday, we headed down to wisconsin to visit my gramma who i havent seen in 4 years! it was so great for her to finally get to meet allistair, we had a great visit and then went out to the olive garden for dinner :) yummy breadsticks!! Friday we drove down to pick up my grandma and then headed to waukesha for jons graduation from bible school. it was great to see some old friends again , and i was so happy my grandma was able to make it up with us. We headed home saturday and finally arrived around 9 30 p.m. It was a great trip but i was very relieved to be in my own bed and back with my hubby again! Please pray for my grandma, she is living in an assisted living home, and she has really gone downhill since i last saw her. i found it extremely hard seeing her so sick and weak compared to last time i saw her, and found it even harder to say goodbye to her, wondering if it might be the last time. Julian and i are hoping to get out to chicago again later this summer or fall to see her , and to see kris and caleb if they are still living there, but please keep her in your prayers.

allistair loved the olive garden breadsticks!

visiting with gramma!

grandma and i at jons graduation, what a blessing to have
this time together!

4 generations!!

allistair tuckered out after a day of shopping!

jon, me , and our good friend zachary. congrats you guys!

goofing off!

good to be home with my goofy husband again! i missed him!

and last week ju and i got matching tattoos....

finished product!

decisions decisions...

2008-05-03T06:44:00.000-07:00

hey again! well, julian and i have been looking into buying a house for a few months now, and on thursday, we had an appointment with a mortgage person at the bank, and then went and looked at a few houses with our agent, and julians parents. We went to two different houses, i hated the first one lol...but the 2nd one is a different story! Its a huge 5 bedroom house with a great lawn , huge living room and wood floors! We spent about an hour looking through the house, and talking to our agent finding out all the things that we'd need to fix up (as it is an older house!) We had talked to Caleb and Kris about moving in with us, and they like the idea but want to pay off some things before they can move up. Julian and i are trying to make the decision whether to put an offer in on the house and just go for it, or to wait a while and see what happens. Im excited about the idea, but its really terrifying trying to make such a huge decision. The house is amazing really, and has great potential...and julian is really just sick of paying rent and wants his money to be going towards something, which is definately understandable, but it scares me to death! please pray for us as we try to make this decision!

stuff and stuff

2008-04-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

I dont have a lot to update you all on, since life has been pretty average lately, the weather has been beautiful up here so allistair and i have been taking every chance we get to go for walks and get some sunshine! I have one prayer request though...I went to the doctor the other day and found out i have cervical dysplasia. I had a procedure done and they took a few biopsys to test for cancerous cells, It has been a test of faith so far, but im trusting the Lord with whatever it turns out to be! (we'll hear the results sometime next week and know where to go from there) I could use prayer though, as it can be pretty scary when you're faced with something serious like this...I'll update when we find out more.

Other than that, here are a few pictures of allistair and time around the murphy house...p.s. allistair is crawling everywhere!! and pulling himself up on everything he sees...he can even walk when someone holds his hands!! such a big boy!

how cute is this little boy!?

this is how i keep allistair under tabs while

im getting ready in the morn!!

sammy and allistair

hangin out with scott davidson while trinas away...

this is what they do best!

allistair and julian playing halo 3 ...lol...

my boys :)

now....

and then .... :).... wow how they've grown!!

more more more

2008-02-23T12:38:00.000-08:00

here are 3 other pictures from justin and jessicas wedding

me n' my handsome hubby

julians sister, danielle, and i

wedding bells in the air

2008-02-20T07:52:00.000-08:00

Well it finally looks as if our rushing around everywhere is nearly over! Febuary has been a very busy month for us, as julians had to go down to the city for two weekends in a row preparing for his brothers wedding, plus working 5-6 days a week! Last weekend my parents watched Allistiar and we traveled down to St. Jacobs for justin and jessicas wedding. Julian went down friday and then his parents picked me up and we traveled down saturday morning. The wedding was beautiful. and jessica looked stunning. It was nice to have a 'me' day where i wasnt having to constantly worry about allistair, although he was on my mind most of the day anyways! Here are some pictures taken from the wedding.

the boys waiting .... ...here comes the bride...

saying their vows...

the happy couple!!

the wedding party

whos that hot best man!?? justin and julian

Congrats you two!! you both looked amazing!

christmas and so on...

2008-01-20T18:18:00.001-08:00

hey everyone! once again i apologize for my lack of postings lately. Christmas came and went so fast, and although it was great to see everyone again, im glad its over, as allistiar got barely any sleep over the holidays. Speaking of allisitar, he now has one little tooth peaking through and another just about to come through. hes busy biting anything that comes within a foot of his mouth and is also starting to pull himself around. Life with him never gets dull and its such a blessing having him in our lives.
My mom has just recently tought me how to do quilting, so i am really loving doing that in my spare time! julian likes to laugh at my new little hobbies, just because most of them i swore i'd never do. i really have turned into my mother!
Julian and i have also become quite good friends with 2 young couples from our church. We have gone to their house a few times and today we went over to celebrate their oldest son sammys 4th birthday! they have a 2 yr old, and also a 6 month old baby who is allistiars good friend! its so fun to watch them together! its a real blessing to finally have good married friends to hang out with. Its encouraging especially for me to have someone i know we can talk to whenever we need to. Im so thankful for them!
anyways, i have to cut this short because allistiar is getting grumpy, (bed time i think!?) so i'll just leave you with a few pictures from christmas.

all us kids made gingerbread houses on boxing day. i had an 'accident w/ my first, so im holding my unfinished 2nd.

allistiar loved getting to see auntie kris again!

over the christmas break, julian really enjoyed getting to know caleb a bit better, one day he and caleb helped calebs family make home-made sausage. julian hasnt stopped talking about it!

well, i'll leave it at that for now ,but we hope you had a very merry christmas and really great holidays!

allistiars screech

2007-11-30T17:27:00.001-08:00

let it snow!

2007-11-30T17:15:00.000-08:00

Well, we've had quite a bit of snow in the past few days, which has been wonderful when you're in a cozy warm house, but not so fun while driving with no snow tires! We get them on monday thankfully, so i wont worry quite as much as i have been with julian driving to and from hanover every day. with christmas coming so soon, i've been busy baking goodies to send to friends and decorating the house! the christmas spirit has definatley come to me! i've alreaedy had the tree up for about a week now! Im realy looking forward to allistair being a bit older and looking forward to christmas, but for now, i just decorate him in ornaments and taking lots of pictures! i dont have those yet but i do have a few others my mom and i took.

hes quite the little goofball lol and enjoys making all sorts of faces, he has also recently learned how to screech and does it all the time as you can see in the video!

2007-11-16T16:09:00.000-08:00

Once again, Ive been very slacking in my posting so here I am , yet agian.
theres not a whole lot to tell really, Allistair is growing so fast! he has recently started to make noises , and seems to really like the concept of making noise!
Julians been quite busy at Bell world, right now they are having a "contest" to see who can sell the most of a certain type of phone, whoever wins gets a new cell phone and a 19 inch flatscreen tv. both of which he is desperately wanting to win to sell on ebay!
Im looking very forward to christmas! i've been going through my recipes looking for all sorts of christams goodies to make! im very excited, and wish christmas would come sooner so i could start baking!!
jon comes home on tuesday for thanksgiving! I am SO excited for him to meet his little nephew, hopefully allisitar isnt too crabby and doesnt throw up on jon so he will still like holding him at the end of the day! please pray for safety as he drives up with seth dyck. anyways, i think thats about all for now, below are a few semi-recent pictures of allistiar.

mr smiley! grampas shoulder tastes pretty nummy!

allistiar and his friend benjamin! (he looks a bit scared acuatlly!)

peek-a-boo! allistiar takes after
me with his crazy faces!

2007-10-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

Well, once again its been quite some time since i've given an update on everything thats been happening with the murphys. Life is good, allistiar is growing so fast i can hardly believe it. I wieghed him last tuesday and he was up to 11 lbs 13 oz! he's getting quite the little tummy on him, and getting cuter every day! Last week he started smiling, so julian and i (and grandpa and gramma!) have been having a lot of fun with that!

as far as juilan and i go, he is still working hard at bell world and i am busy taking care of the little guy,a nd the house, which no matter how hard i work, never seems to stay clean for more than a day or two! i just finally finished with allistiars nursery, it looks really good, and im really happy with how it turned out!

unfortunatley i couldnt fit the whole room in the shot, but this is basically it.

heres the tattoo i got on friday, i was quite impressed with how well it turned out!

mums the word

2007-09-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

hey all, sorry its taken me such a long time to write an update. life as a mother has been quite busy the past few weeks. allistiar is doing very well, hard to believe he's going to be a month in 2 days! i cant believe how fast he's growing up. he's been very aware lately, looking all around and much more awake than he used to be. he sleeps pretty well through the night, which i definaltey appreciate! its been so nice being in durham and having both sets of grandparents close by! julian and i are definately loving being parents, as much work as it is, its the most amazing thing i have ever experienced. we've defaintley been blessed with a miracle! here are some of the other pictures we've gotten.

he's here!!!

2007-08-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

Well, 9 months flew by and its still feeling like a dream, but julian and i are now the very proud parents of the most beautiful baby boys i've ever seen. The labor was 11 hours and though i know some people have longer , that was definately about as much as i could take. The doctors eventually had to use vacuum suction and i had to have an epesiotomy. He weighed 8 lbs and 7 1/2 oz and was 20 3/4 inches long. We are both doing quite well and the first 5 days as a family are going very well. Allistair sleeps really well through the night, which mummy and daddy are very thankful for!! He's just so perfect, i cant believe he's finally here! thank you all for your prayers and support over the last months! we appreciate it!

my beautiful son, allistair benjamin murphy

the proud grandparents!!

and with his auntie kris and uncle mark, who are both going to spoil him to death!!

2007-08-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday was the new due date the doctors gave us, but unfortunatley it came and went with nothing more than a sore back and a few tummy aches throughout the day. Mom and Julian were trying everything they could to make the little guy come but didnt happen.
The doc told me it could come any day now so i suppose we're just going to continue with the waiting game! wish me luck! i think im going to need it!

clean, paint, clean

2007-08-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well! we finally got into our new apartment! Mom, dad and i spent last weekend cleaning like crazy and painting non-stop! but we finished and it looks amazing!! here are some before and after pictures...
After getting the baby room finished, we started laying the new carpet...it looks amazing!!

...a very pregnant carrie filling in holes in the wall! dad scrubbing down the walls getting ready to paint our bedroom.

The living room, sun-room, and bathroom....

jon came over and helped do the living room, which turned out so good!! and there i am, starting the kitchen.... below is mum and julian being goofy as...which is pretty normal for the two of them when they're together :P

this ones for you kris....wish you could have been here to join in the ..."fun"!!!

So yea, thats our new place so far. will post more pictures when its all done! as an update, the kitten has fully recovered to her hyper adorable self since her surgery 2 weeks ago. she is happy to be running around and charlie is happy that she cant claw him lol. As far as the pregnancy goes, we are defiantely counting down the days! i cant believe how fast its coming! its scary to think im going to be a mom soon. but very exciting all the same. he has started to drop, which is nice for mummys' breathing, but terrible for having to use the bathroom all the time! it wont be long now though!

these are the most recent pictures, taken at 36 and 38 weeks...

yet another update...

2007-06-29T14:10:00.001-07:00

So while my sister was down she took a few pictures of her nephew. Here are 3 of the favorites, and the bottom two pictures are my ever-growing tummy!

I went for a doctors appointment last tuesday, and he says at this point everything is looking perfect. He said im growing right on track, and baby is in the right position for the birth. He said its unlikely that he'll flip now, which for me is a huge relief, because i really dont want a c-section! Im now seeing the doctor every 2 weeks until im 36 weeks adn then i will go every week. I cant beleive im acuatlly going to be holding my baby in 9 weeks! its so exciting to think about.
Julian and I have been looking for a new apartment for quite some time, and though we've been put on a waiting list for a place in durham, its not looking too promising . I called around a bit today and have lined us up to go look at 2 different places, one in hanover, one in durham so now i just have to wiat to hear back from the people. im really praying we find a place before the baby comes. Our monthly rent will be increasing in the next few weeks as well, so a new place would be a huge answer to prayer!
Other than that, we're doing well, julian loves his job at Bell world and is constantly coming home telling me about the newest in technology! lol. Its good to see him happy with a job though. its an encouragement to me for sure! Anyways, just thought i'd give a little update. my parents and brothers head down to Maine tomorrow for a week at my uncles cottage! so pray for their safety as they drive...and their sanity...driving 14 hours with my brothers is tough!

what a story!

2007-06-23T19:17:00.001-07:00

Over the past few months, my grandpa brockwells' sisters' husband (got that?) has been in the hospital and not doing very well at all. My grandpa has been visiting him very often and sharing the gospel with him, but uncle don didnt seem at all interested.
The doctors have been saying he will likely die any day, so as you can imagine, its been really hard on aunt barb and my grandparents too. Aunt barb had basically given up hope of uncle don giving his life over to the lord before he died, just because he kept refusing what he was hearing. Well, my grandma wrote me an email this morning and told me that aunt barb called my grandpa and asked him to come to the hospital because uncle don was not doing very well. My grampa went and asked if he could go in and see uncle don, and they said yes. Well, uncle don told my grandpa that he had given his life over to the lord!! its such a huge encouragement to see miracles like that happen. all that praying paid off! and just in time. Uncle Don is very sick and no one really expects him to live much longer at all, but its just such a blessing knowing he'll be in Heaven for eternity! please pray for my grandparents, and uncle dons wife, as it will be hard when he fianlly passes, althoguh not nearly as hard now, knowing they will see him again!

goin to the chapel

2007-05-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

So it wasnt really a chapel at all, but it was still a perfect wedding! Saturady, May 26th I finally became Mrs Carrianne Murphy! the day couldnt have been any better. everything looked so amazing, and the weather ended up being beautiful! Here are just a few pictures from the day.

As i said, these are just a few of the pictures. I will get more up once i figure out how to work this scanner!!

more tummy pictures

2007-05-20T19:40:00.001-07:00

here are pictures of the last 2-3 weeks ... my o my how my tummy has grown! ... or at least it feels like it has!!

getting hitched in t minus 8

2007-05-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

Well...only 8 more days and i will be a married woman! it sounds so wierd now that its drawing up so close but im definately excited!
We have been meeting with the pastor who is marrying us on a weekly basis going through some marriage counselling, which we've both really enjoyed doing. We had to do a "compatibility test" to make sure our marriage wasnt doomed for divorce so we were both on pins and needles all week wiating to hear how we did! turns out we did quite well :)
Anyways, last night we met with him again and planned how the ceremony will go! Now i just have to pick a song to walk down the isle to! i have a few in mind so i just have to pick a final one. I think its giong to be a very nice wedding...last ngiht i could barely sleep because i was so excited! im really happy to see my family again too. My sister and her husband are driving up from chicago on thursday, then friday its a girls night!! :D (i.e. lots of food/make-up/etc) lol.
Thankfully i only have 2 days of work next week so i have plenty of time to get julians parents house ready . decorating will be so much fun! I've been making little cards with my rubber stamps to hand out so thats been really fun to finally get back into htat again. There wil be alot of pictures in the next week so i will be sure to get them posted on here :)

~Baby is doing well. I've discovered he really likes coffee...Ive had early shifts this week so i've started my day with a coffee to keep me going, and i think it works better for him than me! im getting bigger, some days i look huge, others i barely look pregnant! but all is well so far.
a friend of mine from the prenatal class i go to just had her baby 7 weeks early. She wieghed 4 lbs at birth so will be staying in the hospital for a few weeks. keep Amanda (the mom) in your prayers as she has 4 other kids to keep looking after as well.

2007-04-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

So the past week has been a rush from one thing to another! Julian and i have set a date for our wedding, and seeing as thats in less than one month, i, personally am going nuts trying to get everything set for it. i dont understand why im having such a difficult time with it, seeing as its only his family and mine attending, but i am :( . Trying to find someone to marry us on a low budget has been the hardest thing. I got my wedding band the other night, now all i have to do is find a summer dress that will fit my growing tummy and that i auctally like the look of on me! I think this is the stage in my pregnacy where i feel like an elephant so nothing i wear feels good. oh well, hoping that will pass soon. its been pretty discouraging for me.
on another note, as most of you know, my fiance julian isnt a christian, and we've all been praying for him like crazy. He's very open to talking about christianity, and has never put me down for my beliefs ( which is a good thing because if he did, he'd be out the door!) but we do talk about it quite a bit. He enjoys coming to chruch with me when he has a day off, and that has been encouraging. Anyways, last night we were talking adn we were both pretty upset with how stressed out we've been in the past 2 weeks...and he got saying that he feels like if he just had a better paying job, he'd be happy, or if he just didnt have to work, he'd be happy, saying all these things that "would make him happy" and i just felt that i should bring my faith into the conversation, so i was just saying how nothing like that will ever make you happy. and he asked how i can be so calm when everything is going nuts , and i just siad that when im really stressed or worked up about something, praying really helps, and just knowing that God will never give me more than i can handle...anyways, he went on to say that lately (within the past month) he's been almost convinced taht there has to be a 'divine being' because everytime he's really been thikning of something, or worrying about something ... he says its almost like everywhere he looks, theres an answer to it, like..."too coincidental" is what he said if i remember right, so anyways, its a step in the right direction. i burst into tears wehn he said taht, (not sad tears though!) it was just ... really good to hear, especially since i've been praying that God would just start subtly working in his life, so just keep on praying for him. He's already come a good way.

2007-04-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to our 19 week ultrasound and got a nice big surprise! We are having a beautiful baby boy! Names are still in the working, well, middle names that is... I'll update with pictures when i get a chance!

....IM HAVING A BOY!!!

2007-03-27T14:49:00.000-07:00

Well, just thought i'd give a glimpse of my growing tummy! the first picture was taken just shortly after i found out i was expecting...no, im not sucking in ( everyone tries to tell me i am:( )

Here i am at 15 weeks, tummy starting to peek out a bit!

And these were taken today, Im 18 weeks and 1 day along...and its showing:D

just an update

2007-03-20T05:49:00.000-07:00

Well, since the weekend i havent had any more problems...which is good. had some more complications thursday of last week so i went to the hospital and the doctor in the e.r. was kind of a jerk...so much so, that if he was going to be one of the doctors on-call when i go to have the baby, i would switch hospitals. but thankfully he's only an e.r. doc so i dont have to worry. I've actually had a lot of people tell me he's not a very nice guy so its not just me. He was saying that theres no cahnce anyone will tell me if my baby is a boy or a girl ... even though when i went for my 15 week ultrasound, tehy tried to tell me, baby was just being unco-operative...so i dont think i'll be going back to the hanover emerg any time soon. We have another ultrasound next week so when im at my prenatal class today im going to ask around and see which girls went where to find out what tehy're having.
Other than that news, theres not been anything happening thats really interesting to talk about. Julian got a new job!! priase the lord. he's going to be working at a masonry place, long hard days but i think it will be good for him. the money is great and it will give him something to do all day instead of playing video games :P . he started today, the only downside is taht i have to drive him to his jobsite every morning so he can be there by 6 30!! i guess its giving me practice for baby though right?

2007-03-09T15:20:00.000-08:00

So i already told those of you who dont know me the general gist of it...enough to know a bit about me. As you would have already read, Julian and I are 4 months pregnant with our first baby. Its been rough seeing as though we're not yet married and didnt expect this for quite some time, but we're both very happy now and looking forward to starting our family. The first trimester went along great. our first ultrasound was at 10 weeks and it was so amazing to finally see the little life growing in there...funny how all my annoyance from the never-ending morning sickness just vanished when i saw it swimming around. All was going well until wednesday, march 6. I was scheduled to have a doctor appointment at 11:30 and started having complications around 9 30 a.m. so i called the doctor and they told me to come in early. After running some normal tests, they took my blood pressure which was significantly lower than at my last appointment and i'd also lost weight...which is no longer supposed to be happening (i dnot know why either, honestly i eat like a giraffe). Anyways after a few other tests, my doctor checked for the babies heartbeat, which , praise the Lord took her no time at all to find and was clear as a bell. We then went in for an ultrasound to try and find out why i was having problems and nothing showed up on there either. Although its been stressful not knowing whats going on in there, it was an encouragement having my mom with me through it all, and seeing that the baby was still alive and kicking around. I now have another ultrasound appointment in 2 1/2 weeks to see if theres still problems and also to find if its a boy or a girl. I ask that you all continue to keep the 3 of us in your prayers. mummy is on bedrest for the week and sleeping as much as possible. Julian is picking up extra hours to cover the loss of mine adn will be tired by the end of it all. and baby just needs prayer becuz as the doctors said , if things go wrong theres nothing they can do to save him or her at this point. I know God works miracles everyday and if nothing else, this is just an experience teaching me to put my trust in His hands. thanks again all!