14 week baby picture!

I know that you all already know this, but this is the first time that I've blogged about it. We're pregnant! And as you can see from picture number 3 above, its a little boy!

You know what? This has been a pretty hard go for me. I don't really understand it and that's another reason why its so hard. I thought that being pregnant was going to be the most amazing thing. I thought that I would be so excited. But to tell you the truth I have really really struggled. The first 6 weeks were a cake walk, but every day after that has literally been miserable. How come none of you other pregnant women ever told me this before I got pregnant? Maybe I just wasn't listening? Maybe you just wont ever understand until you experience it first hand? I don't know! But I was seriously blind sided. Once I hit week seven I got so sick! Lucky for me it was usually only for a second at the beginning of the day (for two weeks I couldn't brush my teeth without throwing up) and then I was able to go to work and be productive (I only missed a few days, which is crazy because of how sick I have been), and then I'd come home and the show would begin. I would try and eat something, but everything sounded NASTY to me, and then I would sit ever so still so as not to disrupt my stomach, then much to the dismay of my efforts, my stomach would literally flop and I would spend the next 10-15 minutes in the bathroom. And no I wasn't just nauseous, I was violently hacking up whatever was in my stomach. Sometimes I thought that my eyes were going to pop out of my skull! I have a wrinkle on my forehead from this, and my teeth hurt because I now grind my teeth! Now physically this is all nasty, and it was to experience as well, but what I wasn't at all prepared for was how it affected me mentally and emotionally. I would cry and cry because of how I felt, and how depressed I was becoming. To the point where I would question if I really wanted a baby! (which is horrible to admit, but this is important). Cory has been the best person in the whole wide world. He has never once told me that I needed to pull it together, he would just hold me and not hold me (when that made me nauseous) and he was so kind to me even when I wasn't in return. I have never loved him more than I do now.

Things have gotten a little better. I have days where I go for 3, 4, and my record, 6 days without throwing up. And I'm grateful for that time, because then I get the chance to actually think about this little guy inside of me. On the days that I do get sick, I don't get so emotional afterwards, and I don't question things (which I honestly can say has been an answer to many of my prayers). And I'm finally starting to show a LITTLE bit. I know that the pregnant belly will happen, but I've noticed that a lot of the reason that I haven't felt super excited yet, is because it hasn't seemed real yet. So I look forward to a little belly bump, you know, so that I can start FEELING like there is a reason for all of this sickness.

I know what you're all thinking. MAN, WHAT A BABY! How Silly is she being!!! And you know what? I know! Sometimes I want to smack myself across the face and say... "PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!" but you know what? I am learning important lessons from this time in my life. I have felt the Spirit so strong, and I have felt my Heavenly Father bless me. I've noticed those small things. And so for that, in a strange way, I'm grateful for this experience.

Things really are starting to feel better. I know that those horrible nights will end. I know that magically in the morning I will feel better. I know that Cory is going to be an amazing dad! He has been more than excited for the both of us. And you know what? I think that here in the very near future I will start to get to be a part of that excitement.

For those of you who are worried about me (AHEM Mom and Sarah (and probably many more)) thank you for your prayers and for your love. I am being blessed and I really am so grateful that my Heavenly Father has given me the opportunity to be a mom. I know that this is all worth it!


Just a side note. Cory's mom was extremley ill in all 3 of her pregnancies, so maybe... just maybe... this is the price I must pay so that my baby will have those AMAZING WATERS eyes! ha ha ha.... but even if not, he'll be perfect anyways!

2011!

2011 has come and gone! And I cant believe it! It feels like the older I get the faster time flies. Some highlights are:

-We celebrated our 1 year anniversary in April! WAHOO Big timers!
-Cory got a new amazing upgrade of a job
-I got a new amazing upgrade of a job
-Cory started and finished the first half of the police academy
-Stockton learned how to roll over and shake hands
-We took a bunch of great vacations to Grover and Preston
-Cory finished two semesters toward his Bachelors degree
-We got new carpet and fresh paint ... not important what we had to go through to get it.
-We became obsessed with "How I Met Your Mother"
-I decided to get certified to teach Yoga (but more of that in 2012)
-We ended the year with a BANG! Literally, an old woman rammed in to our parked car at the Stokes grocery store.

After looking at that list I feel like there is one thing for sure that I would like to do differently in 2012.... that is to be better at blogging or journal writing so that next year I can look back at my year and REALLY see all that we've both worked so hard to achieve.

I can feel that 2012 is going to be busy busy and as Barney on "How I Met Your Mother" says

LEGEN............wait for it................DARY!!!

IM ON YOUTUBE!

If any of you didn't already know, I'm trying to win a scholarship to become Yoga certified! Its always been something on my lifelong "to-do" list! Well, along with friend likes on my facebook page, I also have a youtube video up! I have a favor.... will you please click on the link below? You dont even have to watch the video. Everytime you open the screen counts as a hit! So really if you wanted to just sit and refresh the page for 5 minutes instead of watching the actual 5 minute long video.... that'd be great! THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR AWESOME SUPPORT!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7SfiZDX3m8&feature=share

Yoga Certification!

If there is anyone out there that actually reads my blog, I need your help!!!

I'm in a competition to win $2250.00 worth of tuition to become yoga certified! I need your facebook likes at the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/3B-YOGA-Teacher-Training-Rachel-Waters/215913788478877#!/pages/3B-YOGA-Teacher-Training-Rachel-Waters/215913788478877?sk=wall

Also, it'd be AWESOME if you actually posted this link to your facebook page and had your friends and family on FACEBOOK do the same. I would totally owe you all!!!

Thanks so much!

I dont know about you, but I LOVE the fall!

I love it all! Every little thing about the fall Y'ALL!!! (if you dont, go make yourself some hot apple cider and then re-look through this post!)

Things that make me HAPPY!!!!

I got this little love from my dear friend Brittany Cropper for FREE!!! (picture Adam Sandler saying that from Bedtime Stories). One thing that I didn't do was a before picture! OH MAN!!! But let me just tell you that this is a HUGE improvement! I still need to put the handles back on but I just couldn't wait!

Its FALL Y'ALL!!! I love this time of year. I love the smells, the festivities, the crafting, the clothes! And yes, I already have my Halloween decorations up! Wahoo!!!

Doesn't it seem like everyone is having babies right now? Well, they make me smile! And this lil ditty from my good friend the YouTube will for sure turn any frown upside down!!

http://youtu.be/N9oxmRT2YWw

Oh yeah! and this made me smile too! Man, does my Heavenly Father know me!

http://lds.org/general-conference/watch?lang=eng

I hope that you are all out there smiling! And if you have anything that has made you smile recently... please please reply to this so that my smile can grow bigger!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Door to Door Salesmen

So... I have a problem. Door-to-Door salesmen! I've gotten a lot better but I'd like to tell you about an experience I had about 6 months ago. But first a little disclaimer. I was a missionary, who went door-to-door and I also spent the summer in Virginia with my husband door-to-door selling. Okay good, maybe that will help me not look like such a fool!

So, back in March, or was it April? (doesn't really matter) Cory was at school and I was hanging out at home, when all of the sudden a knock came at the door. And I opened it to a large black man who told me this long story about how he grew up in poverty, and he didn't graduate high school, and he had a bunch of kids who grew up in poverty who didn't know any better, and how he'd had a ton of problems with being in jail and drugs and the whole works! He explained he was part of a program that helped people like him to turn their life around a get a job. He said basically what he was doing was selling magazines to get points, and he had to get 10,000 points. When he did this, the magazine company would write him a reference letter and then he could try and get an actual job that would actually pay him. So he was going door to door and not even getting paid for it. NOW! another disclaimer! I would just like to say, after working for a disability law firm, I completely support people like this man who want to change their life around. A LIFE that was probably the way it was because of parents, or even grandparents choices! (I'm really getting going aren't I?) SO I BOUGHT A MAGAZINE FROM THE MAN!!!

Well.... then I called Cory and he says, "RAE! What the heck? You forgot your salesman training! And if you forgot that! Why didn't you fall back on what you learned in DARE in the 6th grade!?! JUST SAY NO!!!" When Cory got home he went off on how I would never see the magazine and that we should probably change our bank account number because I wrote a check (I'm an idiot!) and blah blah blah, basically he mocked me constantly.

Every so often I would get a smart remark from Cory about my missing magazines, or that he gets all of his magazines monthly, where is mine? So I came to the resolution that when I die I can feel good about trying to help this man. AND I STAND BY THAT!



6 months later..... I got my Rachael Rae cooking magazine in the mail today! ha ha ha!!!