February 16, 2011

It started out as a normal Wednesday. I got up, got dressed and headed over to Baxter's. We were going to go job hunting [and I think we actually did]. Later that afternoon, I started feeling really bad and my left side was hurting right below my rib cage. So, I laid down for a while, and the pain got worse. That night [around 8:00 or so], we ended up going to the ER to figure out what was going on.

We get to the ER, get checked in, go to triage, and they get me to the back fairly quickly. They give me medication for the pain and told me they were going to do an X-Ray to make sure it wasn't pneumonia or a pulled muscle or anything. They also wanted to make sure there was nothing wrong with my kidneys and that I didn't have a stone or infection or anything.

Around 10:00 that night, the doctor comes back in to the room. "Well, Ms. Strickland, we have some things we need to talk about. Your X-Ray came back clean. There's no pulled muscle, and your kidneys looked clean. But we got a positive pregnancy test [cue freak out!] from a urine culture. If we had known this, we would've been more careful with what we had given you and your X-Ray. We are going to move you to a different room so we can do an ultrasound, take some blood and an exam to figure out how far along you are. I'll leave y'all alone for a few minutes and a nurse will be in to move y'all."

She left the room, and I cried. I mean, I was freaking out. "How did this happen [don't answer that...it was going through my mind, when I know how this happened]? What are we gonna do? How are we gonna raise this child?" Etc. I said countless times that night, "oh my gosh. Oh my gosh." Just repeating it.

Well, they did blood work and an U/S. My beta from the blood work was 297 and they didn't see anything on the U/S. But I was only 3w4d at the time.

Finding out you're pregnant at a hospital is no fun. Especially when it was a complete surprise. Not planned. At all. But I am definitely going to start updating this blog at least on a weekly basis with the weekly survey and pictures. I'll actually do a picture every Saturday, since that's when my week starts.

And please, if you read this and we're friends on facebook, please don't say anything. Thank you!

Life, in general

I know, I haven't blogged in a while. I need to get back to the grind and start blogging again. After the last blog, we were out of school probably for another day or two. And since then, we've had another snow, but it stayed on the ground maybe 12-14 hours. And it was the kind of snow I like. Fluffy, and melts fast! It was beautiful none the least.

Life has been...interesting. I found another job, but the sad thing is I only have about five or so hours a week. I need a whole lot more than that. School is going well...tests and papers, etc. Gotta love college life!

When I have more time, I will definitely update more. Because there is a lot more going on then what I feel like posting right now. I don't think some things need to come out. But there's some personal things going on in life.

"I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Gives Me Strength" Phil. 4:13

Normally, I don't post what I read from other blogs. Because technically, it's their life. But after reading what Kelly wrote at Kelly's Korner today, I am seriously in tears. Now, before I go on and write about this, I am gonna say...go check out her blog! She's definitely one of my favorite blogs to read! She has the cutest little girl I have ever seen, and she's pregnant with their second!

Back to what this post is about. This story right here is why I am in tears. I'm not even going to explain it, just read it. It'll move you...whether you are a parent or not. I cried from the beginning basically, and cried all the way until the end. It's extremely moving.

But I hope everyone has a great day tomorrow! On to Snow [more like Ice] Day number 4 tomorrow. I have officially missed a full week of classes. And I am beyond ready for my life to resume back to normal. Yes, I know I will be saying different once school starts back full force and I have homework out the wazoo, but this is getting ridiculous. Us Georgians dunno how to handle all this snow and ice.

Also, remember the Haiti Earthquake happened a year ago today. Please keep all the Haitians in your prayers, because they still need it. My church went on a mission trip back in October to Haiti [my Mom and sister went along] and have many memories. I will try to post some pictures, if I ever get around to it. But I know that these postings every day are getting better! Maybe, just maybe, I can keep this up! Or at least 4 times a week anyways!

Have a wonderful night :)

Christmas 2010...Better Late Than Never!

Well, this is the second day being snowed in...and I'm not gonna lie, I'm going insane! And call me crazy, but I am actually ready to go back to school. We are out of school again tomorrow, and so are the kids. So, we're all going insane around here. Today, we made a trip in to town, but the roads still aren't in the best conditions. It's suppose to get in the low 20s tonight...so everything that is on the roads is going to freeze over. Maybe, we will go to school Thursday. But I will wait until tomorrow to find out. I just know that I want to get out of the house for more than 45 or so minutes.

And before I get to what this post is actually about, I just gotta say...WAR DAMN EAGLE!!! I am so glad that Auburn beat Oregon to become the 2010 National Champions! Not gonna lie, the game was pretty boring through the first three quarters...and then got better in the 4th. I wanted to scream at the TV so bad during some plays...but everyone was in bed besides me. Gotta say though, I am already looking forward to September, and college football again! For now...GO FALCONS!! Show them how the Dirty Birds do it!

Now...to the real reason of this post...CHRISTMAS!! I have plenty of pictures from both Christmas Eve and Christmas day, but I will only post a few. For Christmas Eve, we go to my step-dads side of the family...and then Christmas day, we go to my Mom's side of the family. My Dad, Sandy, and I do Christmas by going out to dinner. So, I have no pictures of that. But I'll go ahead and get started and see how many pictures get on here!

Baxter and I before we left Christmas Eve for my Uncle's house

Alexis (5) and Jacob (3). Baxter's children. These kids definitely have my heart.

Baxter, Tanner, Parker, Jacob, and Alexis. Where's LeahJean?!

Caleb, Makayla, Alexis, LeahJean, Jacon, Tanner, and Parker. Can't ever get kids ranging from 3-6 (I think) to sit still!

Baxter, I, Alexis, and Jacob.

Parker, me, Matthew, Grandma, Rachel, Tanner, Sandy, LJ. All the grandkids and grandma!

Sandy, me, Parker, LJ, and Tanner. Christmas day at the Aunts.

Sandy and I

My cousin, Erica, and her two children, Austin and Makala.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!!

Like I posted last night, it definitely snowed last night. We have at least 4 inches on the ground here at the house, and it is already starting to freeze over. Still have power, thankfully. And since the kids are home from school today (as am I), it's insane in this house. I just can't believe that there is snow on the ground yet again this Winter. Baxter's step-mom told me when it snowed Christmas that if snow stays on the ground more than 3 days it'll snow again. Well, the snow stayed on the ground more than 3 days last time, and I have a feeling it'll do the same again this time. Especially since they are forecasting for the temperatures not to get out of the 30s for the majority of the week, and the lows for a couple days are gonna either be in the teens or 20s. Lovely, right! I'm starting to wonder how long the kids and I are gonna be out of school. I've definitely got my fingers crossed that we don't lose power here. Gotta admit, I love snow days! I'm sitting on the couch, with my laptop...in my pajamas with a cup of coffee watching the news. The only way it could get better was if Baxter was here to play in the snow with us. I will leave y'all with some pictures, but there will definitely be more pictures to come, especially once we get outside and play in the snow. These are the ones I've taken so far.

My Car...completely covered.

Pretty sure I couldn't get to the shed if I had to. Unless I wanted to bust my ass.

Looking in to the front yard from the driveway

Back yard and deck

Looking at what is normally a flower bed in the summer and the woods.

Looking up towards the farm. Can't even tell where our driveway is, minus the tire tracks from when Keith went to work.

Headed towards the road. Haven't ventured up there yet!

As for tonight, there is a huge football game! And yes, I am from the South and love me some SEC football!! So, needless to say...WAR DAMN EAGLE!!

I Thought We Lived In the South?!?!

First off, Happy New Year (9 days late)! Hope everyone has had a great start to the New Year. I know I have, and I have definitely enjoyed it so far. Real quick, let me sum up my NYE since I haven't done that yet! [To be honest, I can't believe this is my first post of 2011!!]

Anyways, my cousin [Erica] came to Athens to go downtown with us! She is living in Ft. Drum, NY right now, because her hubby is in the military and overseas. She was in Georgia for the holidays. So we had a blast hanging out and celebrating the New Year together. So, Erica, Sandy [my sister], Baxter, and I all headed downtown after Sandy got off that night. It was insane! I have never seen it so crowded down there. Had a few drinks, and definitely had some fun.

Besides that, this post is more about the weather in the South then anything else. We, in Georgia, are under a winter storm warning. And the governor of Georgia issued a State of Emergency too. We are out of school tomorrow! [Woot!!] And will probably be out for a few days. This weather is insane for Georgia. They are predicting ice too, which scares me. Because I really don't wanna lose power or anything. I will definitely take pictures sometime tomorrow. And will post them whenever I get the chance. I have no idea when that will be!

And also, I know I still haven't done my Christmas pictures yet...I will put them up soon! Promise!

Hope everyone has a great week...and if you're in the South, please take it easy!!

Goodbye 2010...Hello 2011!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I have been so ready to end this year and start a new one for a while. 2010 started off awful and didn't really start to look up until September or so. And has only gotten better from there. Until Monday, that is! I am so beyond ready for a new year, new beginning, fresh start.

I don't have many pictures of the year to do the year in pictures, but I do have many memories.

January--I rang in 2010 married...playing domino's and drinking beer. Of course.

February--still unemployed and looking for a job. Not much going on and didn't celebrate Valentine's Day at all...it was just another day this year.

March--Bryan [ex] and I got our own place. Spent the month unpacking boxes and cleaning.

April--Bryan lost his job. We moved back home with his parents after just having our own place for a month. Was a very hard month, none the less.

May--Bryan told me he wanted a divorce. Moved back home with my parents. Cried a lot. Filed for divorce. Still unemployed.

June--Divorce finalized. Finally got a job working at a day camp. Best summer of my life had just started. Started picking up the pieces from what I thought was a tragedy. Met some awesome people this month!

July--Still picking up the pieces. Day camp ended. Tears shed because I was seeing an amazing summer end. Start looking for a job and getting excited about school. Weird, maybe?

August--Finally getting back to normal. Got the job at Ferrando's. Started school. Got really excited about football season! Traded my beloved Envoy in for my Scion.

September--SEC football! Nothing like football in the South!

October--More football. Had a wedding to go to. Dressed up at work for Halloween.

November--Ken and I made it official. My birthday and birthday celebration! Baxter messaged me on facebook...(I'll mention that story later!). Celebrated Thanksgiving with the family and was thankful for what I had, because I know it could be worse.

December--Broke up with Ken for Baxter. [Story coming, eventually. Promise!]. Celebrated Christmas. [Pictures coming soon!]. Georgia saw it's first white Christmas since 1882. Lost my job at Ferrando's due to the economy. Boo.  Ringing in 2011 with family, friends, an awesome boyfriend...all downtown!!

Hope everyone has a very safe New Year and a wonderful 2011! I know 2011 will definitely be better than 2010!