Post

Meredith made it here safe we moved into our house andthings are good we don't have any furniture yet. We don't have internet yet or a phone and have to use the free internet offered on base but base is 3 miles away so we have to take a bus until we have a car

Cool Video

the Higgins sent me this i thought it was awesome so i want to pass it on

NEW EMAIL ADDRESS

my new email address is
brian.r.covert@googlemail.com
i'm gonna try to start using this one more often now since it looks a little more professional

Possibly Maybe

WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET MEREDITH OVER HERE TUESDAY YAYE
Visas are in and the AF can schedule a flight as soon as Monday and arrive on Tuesday. I am waiting on a few things to go through though I need to figure out if i will have to pay out of pocket or if the Govn't will pay up front that is all i'm waiting on. so we will see hopefully the Gov't pays for it up front

Visa

Visa's will be here tomorrow - no idea when I will be in England but this portion of waiting is over - now we must wait for the AirForce to get my tickets taken care of.

RIDICULOUS law change

I was reading online today that a new law will be taking effect Feb. 9th, making EVERY homecrafter a criminal! No longer will people be able to sell their homemade goods if they are suitable for children's use, UNLESS these products have been tested - a price tag of $4,000 per test! As if our country wasn't in enough of a financial crisis this will put thousands of moms out of business, even quilts will no longer be able to be sold. This is INSANE, also RESELLING will be illegal, no more thrift sales, no more finding great deals at the second hand store, no more ebay or craigslist, it will also be illegal. The current law is meant to protect children but it is doing so with a HEAVY pricetag. I've included a link to an article about this law change as well as information on how to petition against this law.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/263549

Push Chairs and Car Seats

Well I had bought a lovely carseat for Zaylee Ann - but unfortunatley it did not meet European standards. I left it at my parents house - and they gave it away. Which is fine, they are neighbors expecting their first and she just lost her mom, so hopefully they will get good use out of it. That leaves Brian and I to find yet another carseat that meets european standards and the hunt is on. I think I may have found one on Ebay - I just want to get it soon because I want to get to England and not be stuck at the airport because we don't have the proper seat for Zay. Oh babies and the stuff they need!

In any case - european car seats are much nicer then american ones and cost a little less - although the push chairs cost the same to A WHOLE LOT MORE. I fell in love with a push chair that I hopefully will find on Ebay or used baby store over there - it's amazing. Stokke Xplory is the coolest little stroller ever - it also is like a mortgage payment....so HOORAY for people with money buying things, never using them, and donating them (or reselling) so the smart shoppers (that's me - yes I am tooting my one thrifty horn) can get them at a fraction of the cost.

Gangs of Durand

So the riff raff of Durand has found something new to do - clubbing. I don't mean like dance, drugs, and booze, but human clubbing, and the Durand police are doing nothing about it. It's one thing when some punk kids bash a car window in - it's completely different when they beat the crap out of a human being. My grandparents have a scanner and as the second call for a bloody beat up - yet breathing body a cop replies "ya I saw a kid with a club walking around after the first call in" UM HELLO? PICK HIS PUNK HINNIE UP! Now if I didn't have a baby that I needed to carry around I really wouldn't be worried - but having to carry Zaylee Ann inhibits me a bit, so I won't be going out. I think it's ridiculous, a town of BARELY 2,000 people and they can't stop some punk kids from clubbing people.

applied for a house

today i went to town and met with a "Letting Agent" and we went to look at some houses i found a house that i really like so i put in an application to begin the process so i can lease the property :)
take a look here

new box

my new address probably for the remainder of my time here at mildenhall will be
A1C Covert
PSC 37 Box 229
APO AE 09459

My Christmas Wish List

I ache to be close to my husband again - but I've let myself go numb towards him. He misses me, and of course I miss him but I'm almost emotionless beyond that. A combination of spending more time apart then together, along with the "I'm sure you miss Brian" "Yes I do" "Well it's all in God's plans" or "It's God's will" it makes me wonder why they even say anything - it's like I'm being told that I shouldn't miss him. And yes I realize that they are trying to help, but it just doesn't seem to. Perhaps I'm scared that Brian and I will drift further apart until there just isn't anything left and I've gaurded myself to that, and it is probably further compounded by the "you get to be with him the next three years", add to that the fact that I must be a "strong wife" and I simply have shut down all emotion towards my husband. I need prayer that God will repair my marriage.

Then to make matters a bit tougher we found out that we may have to pay for my plane ticket to England, of course we will get reimbursed but still coming up with money up front for everything has become near impossible.

On the upside Zaylee Ann has gotten back to her normal self - talking again and everything - and she has discovered squealing and while it is a happy squeal it still kills my ears.

SO my Christmas Wish List
-Visas
-Plane Ticket
-To survive teething lol
-To repair my marriage
-And perhaps a pair of ear plugs - GOODNESS she is loud!

crazy little fact

coming up here in a few weeks namely on the 21st of dec we will have the longest night of the year which will be from 3:39 pm till 8:07 am thats 16.5 hours of night time and then on the longest day of the year we have 16.5 hours of daylight from 5:30 till 10:30 (adjusted for DST)

christmas wish list

-visas for my family
-hair clippers: so i just blew up my hair clippers because evidently twice the voltage means hair clippers blow up in about 2 seconds. i guess i knew that it was a bad idea i just thought there was a slight chance it might work. i was wrong so anyway thats on my list of christmas gifts. until then i have to go completely bald because i was in the middle of a hair cut when i decided to try it in the 220 outlet which is closer to the mirror in the bathroom and now i just realized there is a mirror on the door next to the 110 outlet so i'm double the idiot so maybe i should get coal for christmas.

NO no no no NO!

I just recieved an e-mail - well four - from the Visa Processing Center, the first one said hey we got your application and will give you an answer in 24 hours...the second said hey we aren't sure if we are going to issue you a visa and we have to give your application some consideration and we may or may not be issuing you a visa. URG!!!!

Diaper Sewing Party

Yesterday Ashley and I met up at her parents house to sew diapers...what an adventure. First their driveway is 1/4 a mile long and all uphill and their snow drifts were horrible - neither of us could make it up the driveway so out came her parents to shovel the drifts so we could get up. Ashely made it - but I didn't and we left the car about 3/4 of the way up the hill. A neighbor came and plowed and so Allen (Ashley's dad) got my car up to the house. We pulled out the diaper making supplies and my sewing machine and Betty's (Ashley's mom) sewing machine - I thought a few hours would get us a few diapers - we got two made - Ashley didn't know how to use a sewing machine! I thought she did so I was glad in the end that we had lots of time. We went along sewing as Betty cut out fabric for a few hours - having a grand old time - we had venison stir fry and homemade cornbread for lunch (Betty gets corn from her parents farm and then grinds it herself - BEST cornbread EVER). I gave Zaylee a small taste of the cornbread and she liked it so much that when I took a drink she grabbed my whole peice and tried to put it in her mouth! After lunch Betty, Ashley, Zaylee, and I sat down to watch the bilingual baby video I had just recieved - I have German and Greek, so we decided to watch the Greek - what a beautiful language, after the movie we all wanted to learn it! Ashley has decided to teach German and Spanish to her upcoming baby, and I think I may get a few more of the bilingual baby videos, but I still plan on teaching German and Greek.

I've been trying to finish grad school - I have ONE class left and I will be done - unfortunatley when I called to start my class I was told I no longer qualify for financial aid..because I have one class left and Brian is in the military I can't get a student loan :( and the last seminar is 5 grand - I cried on the phone poor financial aid woman. Hopefully I can still start later I would hate to get this far and not finish. Stupid student loan hoopla - it makes NO sense what-so-ever!

Eventually I made it back to my grandparents had some dinner and went to sleep - all in all a decent day. Hopefully I will get some more sewing done today and find a craft fair soon so I can unload some of my crafty items :)

Diapers and other such nonsense

Oy-vay! I bought some diaper making supplies to make a few more for Zaylee and teach my friend Ashley how to make them - I thought I had bought enough to make maybe 20 diapers...I finally got finished cutting out the outter layers....77 diapers!!!! Whoops! I suppose I will sell some....but wow...that's alot of diapers to make and I still have all the inner stuff to cut!

As many readers know Brian is safely in Mildenhall and has some pretty bad jetlag - he did take some unisom though and when I called him at 10 pm his time he was mumbling quite a bit which means he was pretty much asleep. The magicjack is working but it has a horrible lag, and cuts out frequently - while I am glad to have it I doubt I will use it often once I get there - for $20 a year I can't complain....but it isn't my favorite.

I'm slighlty depressed - as I can't be with Brian - have no idea when I can be with him again - and kind of will be homeless soon. Although many friends have offered a couch for a day or two. Brian and I seemed to be getting on the right track but we need a lot of time and time is the one thing we never seem to have. It was nice to just be alone for a few days even though some were upset, and it caused some stress, in the end it may be the only reason we made any progress on our marriage. Op Zaylee just woke up bye bye!

JET LAG

OI i'm am so jet lagged right now i just woke up and its 1:30 local time i didn't get to sleep till 3:00 am local time which falls right in with my sleep schedule in Texas. i thionk i might have to buy som unisom or benedryl or something to help myself fall asleep

PLEASE PRAY

please pray for Meredith and i we are going through the most difficult time we have ever faced yet in our marriage. but please refrain from calling Meredith as it only stresses her out more and she is already stressed to her max but please pray for her because she is travelling alone with Zaylee and Zaylee is having a difficult time being consoled and being calm and when she is not calm it makes travel hard and stressful. family members are also being very difficult and Meredith may end up not having a place to stay and because it is coming up on Christmas most of the people that Meredith might have stayed with will be having family coming in. we are also in need of finding a place to store our stuff until it can be shipped to England because her grandparents don't want us storing it at their house. and please pray that the visas will come back very soon because we are both have an extremely difficult time be so far apart i have broken down crying multiple times because i miss my wife so much already and i wish i could be there to help her and to keep her calm. but i would stress again please do not call Meredith as this would only make things that much more stressful for her if you have any questions or concerns or comments please email me and i will try to answer them

I've arrived

The flight went well we even landed ahead of schedule. customs did not take much time and my sponsor picked me up and drove me back to base and showed me around a bit. i am now 7 hours ahead of people in AZ but depending on what shift i recieve will determine when i am contactable for now email is the best route anyway i will keep you informed of more information but for today i'm tired because i got no sleep on the plane

On His Way

I dropped Brian off at the airport nearly 2.5 hours ago - I haven't heard from him so I'm assuming his flight is on his way without any hitches. Tomorrow I will be on my way to Wisconsin - and as soon as I can I will head to England to be with Brian. :)

Finally Getting Ready...

TO LEAVE! YAYE! This place is so depressing and I'm tired of living in a hotel - we should have left weeks ago! Tomorrow we are heading to AZ and plan to be in Phoenix for the weekend. Then I'm driving Brian back to Texas where he will leave for England and I will head to Wisconsin. As the trip gets closer I'm getting more nervous as I want the trip to be fun but I have a horrible feeling that it wont be. Hopefully my fears will be dashed away and everything will be fine and we won't have to deal with any problems.

Brian and Zay

still waiting

i'm waiting for thm to print my orders at the press and then bring hem back to the squadron and from hat they tell me there are a lot of people in line waiting for stuff although my stuff is on the high priority list and should be out in the next few days after i get it i will have to get a port call for tickets to leave and depending on when i get it and what day it is for determines when i leave for and how much time i have to be on vacation that is all the information i have at the time.

Hotel Room

Have you ever noticed that hotel rooms have the most expensive bedroom you will ever stay in? There was no room for me at the Air Force inns so I had to leave base to stay in a hotel, which truly upset me because now the few hours I got with Brian 1st are no longer private because he can't leave the base and 2nd are shorter because he has pt at night. Needless to say I'm at the Best Western until Wednesday because Wednesday I may be able to go back to the Air Force inns (yaye!). The funny thing is I am in the EXACT same room that Brian and I stayed in when I came to see him when Zaylee was 6-7 weeks old - so that is kind of entertaining.

I'm loosing my drive for our upcoming "vacation" the anticipation of it is getting to me - and I've already had two anxiety attacks. Which isn't like me - prior to being married I could have cared less about people's crankiness, but now it seems a bit more important I guess. But everyone is getting to me - I have gotten pretty upset at numerous family members demands and so they have been e-mailing my father instead or just not e-mailing at all. Some family members have gotten upset because since I "refuse" to tell them our plans and the dates we will be where I am just causing so many problems, it seems no matter how many times I say "I honestly have NO idea when we will be able to leave" they don't believe me. My mom is helpful as usual though - she is pretty chill, she's gotten a little pushy and cranky about stuff but when I can't answer questions because I don't have the answers there isn't much I can do. In any case she said she was thinking about her mom's cousin or some such relative I believe his name was Frank, he served in the Army (yeah my family has a long army history). She said that she remembers him only coming home twice in her childhood - and remembers that he always seemed frazzled and everyone was upset because they never knew when he would come home OH and he married a southern girl (BIG no-no). Anyway she says he never came home after the second trip - and she says now she understands why. Not only is it hard to please everyone - but military life is very different from civilian life and sometimes people just don't understand - so it's nice to have my mom at least understand why I'm stressed.
Last night I think Zaylee Ann may have finally gotten a little used to Brian - yaye! It was a long weekend with a tired child who REFUSED to sleep when Brian was around without putting up a big fight (not normal for her) but last night while I made dinner and Brian took care of her she fell asleep without a fuss. It was so nice - and I'm sure there will still be some uneasiness with her and Brian for a while longer but I think the worst of it may be over.

Tapping my foot....

Well Zaylee Ann and I are at Sheppard AFB, trying to help the process of getting Brian out of here move along a bit faster....but to little avail. The time keeps getting added for one reason or another which only brings with it more heartache at the realization that while we may get to spend a few hours a day with Brian it still means we have to say goodbye soon because the chances of me going with Brian are slim to none. While the paperwork needed for Brian to leave is done - mine could still take 2 months, meaning no Thanksgiving or Christmas together, and possibly my birthday the way things are going. It is possible it may only be a short time before I get to go to England - but Brian was supposed to leave two weeks ago....so I have no thought of getting my hopes up. Once my passport arrives I can apply for a visa which will take anywhere from 14-45 days...and they say count on the 45 days, after I have my visa I have to wait on the Air Force to book me a flight. So while it is great to see Brian the 3ish hours a day it is also nerve racking - first because Zaylee doesn't know him so she is a terror every night - and I get no sleep. It is getting easier, but it is a slow process and I DREAD having to go through it again once we finally get to England. Second because even though I enjoy this time with Brian I can't stand to see his face when we talk about having to be apart longer - and frankly it hurts us both when people act the way they have been acting. My aunt for instance has sent me two threathening e-mails about what will happen if she doesn't get her way - and how it's unfair that I am going to be separated from my family for years and won't spend more time with her or my grandmother. Okay first off my aunt and I have NEVER really gotten along, and while I love my family dearly it frankly doesn't matter that I will be spending the next few years of my life with Brian...I was kind of planning to spend the rest of my life with him and it's weird that people think that I should wait to be with him or he should wait to be with me just because of what they want - Brian and I are married and um...doesn't every other person in both of our families spend their time with their spouse? We spend 7 months apart having more of a relationship with our phones then with each other and now everyone has a big hoo-ha over us choosing each other over them....bla. Oh and she thought she could scare me is what is such a hoot - my aunt threatened me with bodily harm if I didn't let her do what she wanted with Zaylee - first off Zaylee has never been discussed and second....who does that? She hasn't talked to me in 3 years and she sends me an e-mail about what will and won't happen with my family....I swear some people drink some strange water. Oh well - I still haven't gotten Brian's phone working...it seems to keep slipping further down the lists of must do things....hopefully by the end of this week I will have that taken care of - but I'm not sure so we will let you know when he does have a phone.

In other news I've been seriously considering not finishing my Masters....so prayer for that decision would be appreciated as I'm kind of lost as to where to go next.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Cell Phone

My cell phone has died so i can't call anyone and i can't receive calls as of right now its going to be a couple of weeks before i can leave i'm still waiting for paperwork to go through hopefully will be able to leave soon

Tech School is coming to an end

So its almost time for me to graduate but things haven't been easy in recent weeks. first i got my orders and they did not include meredith and zaylee so i put in for an amendment which were supposed to be back in 3 days or so but its been more than a week. so i talked to them and found out that it may take longer because of things that shou8dl have already been done so i'm a little irritated that things are messed up. if i don't get my orders back in a timely fashion i won't be able to leave the base on time which will irritate me even more because its their fault that i'm not able to leave on time. all of this permaanant change of station (pcs) out processing is a bit stressful so i'm stressing out. other than pcsing nothing much is new school is pretty easy i have an avg of 95 or so and will be taking my last test this week the next two weeks will be on the flight line and watching movies pretty easy stuff anyway thats about all there is for now

brian

We have legwarmers!

Ug what a week! Brian and I are spent, and pretty much done with everything and everyone - this move just may kill us.
We have to turn in the paperwork with our travel plans...yes the Air Force has to approve them, so come Monday plans cannot be changed - weird. In any case I'm not going to go pick up Brian anymore - instead he is flying into Phoenix sometime Tuesday or Wednesday and then I'm going down Friday and staying till Sunday I believe. My parents would like to see Brian, so if we leave Sunday after church we could be able to see them - but we may have to skip it - who knows...just bla on this whole thing. We also found out we HAVE to go to Wisconsin, because the AF will only ship our stuff from the town we were in when we signed up - so we will be taking a trailer with our stuff in it back to WI.
Zaylee hates people - holy crap. I've discovered that ANYTIME I go ANYWHERE and ANYONE touches her shes fine with it - but that night she is a terror. For instance Monday was the doctor and she was horrible that night, Wednesday I went out and people saw her but no one touched her...she was fine that night. Last night I went to potluck and everyone touched her even though I wouldn't let anyone hold her and she was a terror again. This trend just seems to keep playing itself over and over....blah.
I started making legwarmers for Zaylee simply because I can't afford to buy them - it's pretty nice because they cost MAYBE two dollars to make them when buying them is 8-12 plus shipping ..no thanks! Somedays I'm down to only using a diaper a day but that's because Zaylee doesn't wear pants or skirts....and somedays she doesn't even wear a cloth diaper so legwarmers are a huge help :)

Coupon Cutters

In my internet travels and talking to other military wives that are stationed overseas I was given a little tip - which I am posting here because well I'm assuming people read it lol. In any case even though there is a place to buy food etc. on base because the items are shipped from the U.S. they are still pretty pricey so coupons are your life saver supposedly, unfortunately because we are overseas buying american food products there is no such thing as the Sunday coupon section. I plan on shopping in the market as much as I can but I'm also sure I will be shopping on base - so if there are any coupon cutters out there, while Brian and I are overseas anything you would not use would be greatly appreciated.

Princess

So I am packing away Zaylee's clothes today and I find it hysterical that people have bought a ton of stuff with "Princess" written all over it. I'm not particularly fond of clothes with Princess written on them but in Zaylee's case I find it funny because Zaylee means princess so in all actuallity (if you distort it enough) she will be wearing her name. Hahaha

One Month

Zaylee Ann is roughly 11 lbs and about 23 inches long already. She spends a decent amount of time awake and is very alert. She uses the potty most of the time, though I'm more concerned about her not pooping in her diaper then I am peeing, and so I very rarely have a dirty diaper to clean - maybe once every other day. People of course want to oogle her, but Zaylee won't really let anyone hold her, and if she does it's not for very long. She lets my mom hold her the most - but even then she usually starts crying for me pretty quick.

I'm working at getting ready to move, and between that Zaylee and my thesis I'm pretty busy - but I'm excited for the next 8 weeks to get over with so that Brian, Zaylee, and I can be in England and settled.

7 Weeks

My little family will actually get to be a family in about 7 weeks, and while my parents have been great it has been difficult at times, particularly since my parents are no longer a part of "my family" - the dynamics are different which can make for some frustration for all parties. All in all it has been fine - my mother is amazing, of course she loves Zaylee Ann but she's very careful to let me be her mom, only taking Zaylee when I need her to, and never offering advice unless I ask for it, and even then she may say "she's your daughter, just trust your instincts, because every child is different". If only everyone could be as cool as my mom, her attitude towards Zaylee and I is amazing and such a blessing when everyone one around you - whether you know them or not - has advice and is more then fine with telling you how you are doing something wrong. In any case Zaylee and I spend most of our days alone, which is actually really nice :)

Brian and I have decided to take a jaunt across the country before we go to England, I would like to see my grandmother before I leave, she has been rather ill and I want her to meet Zaylee Ann. It will be nice because we plan on spending 2 days in Show Low and 3 days in Phoenix then hopefully we will head over to Arkansas, then to Missouri, and end in Wisconsin....all this traveling will end up eating a lot of our time, but we aren't sure how often we will come back to America so we want to see some people before we go. My parents said they would beat us if we spent our money and our leave time on coming back to the states and that they don't want to see us for four years unless they come to us. They are so funny.

Nothing is ever as it seems....

Women are by nature creatures who cannot for the life of them keep their mouths shut...it's a woman thing...we talk...a lot. What has amazed me over the past months is how often women have told me "no" in some way shape or form - There's no way you can have natural childbirth - You won't even make it through labor without screaming for drugs - the days after the baby is born you won't be able to walk because of all the trauma down yonder - you won't be able to do diaper free - you will never get sleep - nursing will be so hard - the list goes on and on. I don't know but I think some of those women are a bit pansy-ish - Labor was nothing really, sure it was hard, but I guess I had it built up to be so horrific in my head that it didn't bug me at all, up until the final transition I was dancing and stretching through my contractions. Sure it wasn't the most comfortable thing to give birth, but honestly after the transition and I hurled for what seemed an eternity the endorphins were released and it wasn't that bad....the only time I screamed was out of frustration because I could feel Zaylee's head hitting my pelvis and I couldn't push her past that point. I walked to my room from the delivery room - even though they made a big deal about offering me a wheel chair because they said I wouldn't be able to walk....the only problems I had were from exhaustion. My baby doesn't really cry...I attend to her quickly and try to stay focused on any cues she is trying to give me....these other women who think that it's all going to change - well they were wrong about everything else lol. Oh and as for the diaper free, for those who want to know, we are on day three, normally I have 12 dirty diapers to clean from the day time hours 8am-8pm today I only have 4 - so its going well and it's been rather exciting to see the progress in just three days!

I find it amazing that very few people believed in me, but I guess it doesn't matter because at the end of the day I have realized that Brian has always told me I could do it and his faith in me never sways...which is astounding to me....but he's always believed in me and that's all that matters. Besides most women who are so willing and ready to share advice hardly know me - so all the crazy women on the mountain well they can just be crazy....proving them wrong is just a cherry on my day :)

Two Week Checkup

Weight 8lbs 6.5ozs
Length 21.75 inches

Picture of Zaylee Ann

Here she is - about 16 hours old - middle of the night eyes wide open just looking around. The two of us have had a rough couple days. The hospital staff knew us before they met us because our birth story was the talk of the hospital - evidentally one of the hardest births the midwife had seen in a long time and I did it without medication. But Zaylee faired really well even when it got really rough because she didn't have anything in her system to hinder her ability to help me get her out. In any case we are home and both a little ragged but hopefully we will be doing better soon :)

Zaylee Ann

Zaylee Ann Rayelle Covert was born on 8/6/08 at 6:29 am, she weighed 8 lbs 1 oz and was 20 3/4 inches long. :)

England and what i will be doing there

I will be working in the 100th Air Refueling Wing which has KC-135 Aircraft we will be at RAF Mildenhall you can read news and stuff here and mildenhall is located here

Long Day

Nope - no baby yet - I'm averaging 6 phone calls a day....each one asking if the baby is born yet. It kind of makes me feel, I dunno, it's like pressure to pop out a baby lol, and weird because well if either I or my family hasn't called yet even if the baby is born, why do people feel the need to call? I dunno, I'm glad people are excited, but people ask the most ridiculous questions - like when I say no the baby isn't born yet - they say "why?" Um......how do you answer that? Some people have even been like upset-ish by the fact that I haven't given birth - one woman, who I don't know, said "well why haven't you had it?" and I said "I don't know, she's not ready?" and she said "well I just do NOT understand why you haven't had that baby yet, and I don't see why you just don't go to the hospital and have then induce you.." the woman went on for like 2 minutes, the entire time I'm thinking, you really only know my father, you've met me once, and you're just plain friggin nuts.

Beyond that people asking if I'm excited is a weird question, I say yes, because of course I'm excited, but not nearly as much as they are I guess. Part of it may be the depression I have been dealing with during the pregnancy, my iron levels are mostly to blame for that (no one told me I have enemia - which explains mood swings prior to pregnancy as well), problems with the baby have been stressing me out too. I've been pretty choosey about who will be coming to see her because the midwife is slightly worried about her immune system, but hopefully because she hasn't been born yet once my immune system is working again she can be born with a normal immune system, but has still been a rough couple weeks. In any case, in my opinion our family's and my close friends get to see the baby, and the random people that have met me once or twice well they can hate me I suppose, but I'm just not comfortable "showing off" a baby who may be born with a fragile immune system. One of the crazy's - the one who works with my dad and has met me like once asked if she should babysit while I packed to move. UMMM?? Yes, I don't know you but here is my 3 day old daughter....people are STRANGE.

So that's that about baby stuff.

My mom was injured yesterday, so that took up most of my day. She was hit in the back of the head by a 50 lb steel bar last night while at work. She didn't go to the hospital because she said she didn't pass out, didn't vomit, and it didn't break the skin, but at least let me take her to urgent care this morning. They freaked out and put her in a brace and on a back board and took her away in an ambulance - three of my mom's symptoms pointed to a very serious problem, she had ringing in her ears, and shooting pain through her jaws and neck, and finally she lost some sight in one eye. We spent most of the morning in the ER, mom got a MRI, and she is fine - no bleeding or fractures or anything - which is AMAZING. The doctor (who was kind of a dork) didn't read her chart so he didn't know what happened, and when we told him after she had already had the MRI the look on his face was pretty funny - he just couldn't believe it - he was so shocked that my mom was ok. She is in a lot of pain, and of course has SOME damage, but nothing that will not heal in the next few days.

Anyway - that was the rough part of my day - gulping pills to try and get my immune system up again and being in the ER with my mom for that type of injury made my morning kind of icky. School is also kind of causing some worries - I have a B and that worries me, but I will get through it...I think.

However my evening was awesome, as we finally got our duty station! We are going to ENGLAND!!! YAYE!!!! I'm so beyond excited it's not even funny - I'm off the walls, it's an answer to prayers, it a great oppurtunity, it's 4 years overseas and getting paid for it! WOW so excited....my parents are probably annoyed with me because I'm so excited I won't shut up lol. Brian and I will probably be using all of our leave to visit family and maybe take a small vacation - maybe our cruise - before we leave, as we won't be back for a long-ish while. We are hoping to go to Wisconsin in July for a few days, it's my family reunion and my grandparents 50th, with my grandmothers health it may be the last time we see her, so hopefully we will be able to go.

Anyway that's the update - please keep my mom in your prayers - the fact that she took 50-ish lbs to the skull and doing so well is amazing - and the baby, we are really hoping that she will be born with a normal immune system, but if she is not, pray that she not get sick and make it impossible to go be with Brian, and me the strength to take care of her with my immune system being a bit down - although I have been feeling better the past few days, so things in that area are looking up.

Ok...let's try this again

Brian's box number for his new address is wrong, so here is the updated and supposedly correct address :) Also I probably won't have an address while I'm in Wichita Falls, we are thinking I may be staying at the Air Force Inns on base, so if you want to send letters or anything to me or baby you may need to send it to Brian, or to one of our sets of parents.

527 I Ave #976
Sheppard AFB, TX 76311

One Year

It's odd to think that Brian and I have already been married for a year - I got a text this morning from him which was nice, but haven't been able to really talk to him lately. Thank goodness for text messaging or we would probably never communicate. I wonder how many of our anniverserys, birthdays, and holidays will be like this, not that it's horrible, just that I know this won't be the last time Brian and I will be apart because of his job. However it doesn't really matter if he is here or not for the "important" days, because frankly I more or less miss the regular days, and important days are just a date on a calander. :) In any case I miss my husband and I'm ready for this seperation to be over, but I'm also happy that we've been together for a year - yaye!

On a completely unrelated note I found another website....being stuck in bed a lot gives me a lot of time surfing online. Brian and I hope to raise bilingual children, partly because we feel it is important, and partly because if Brian learns a second language he gets a slight raise in pay, well I found a website that will totally help with that, it has books, movies, toys, and games - which was so great to find!

http://www.abckinderladen.com/

Short Update

I'm now in Witchita Falls, TX. i probably won't start Classes for another 2 weeks but i have to stay at the squadron till then. I'm not totally sure yet if i will be able to leave when the baby is born but chances are good. I will have to talk to the MTL's about it. till then i'm AFI (awaiting further instructions). Classes here will probably be more hands on so it won't be as boring as Keesler was. Anyway thats all i have for now. As for the weather it feels like AZ temps of 100 and 0 humidity and the dorm rooms are rather hot and have more humidity than outside and the AC doesn't work.

Some Interesting Articles on Oil

I thought these were interesting - and I realize that some people will read and think hmm interesing and others will think NO WAY - either way....I still think they are interesting articles.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59991

http://www.prouty.org/comment13.html

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38645

Why was God upset with Cain's Offering?

I have always been perplexed by the story of Cain and Abel. It never made sense to me why God was upset with Cain's offering. I guess the confusion begins with thinking the problem was what Cain offered. Why should God be upset with an offering of the fruits of the ground. the answer i always got was that the one concerning the symbolism of the lamb and his blood and it pertaining to Christ but why would God hold Cain accountable for a symbol he hasn't even revealed yet. they weren't told to sacrifice till many many years after Cain's death. and then there is the argument that God was not upset with Cain's offering just that he favored Abel's more but none of these really explain anything just they make God more mysterious than he needs to be. i think too often people don't understand something or don't see something right away, and rather than going on a search to figure it out or tell the person who's asking that they don't know they cop out and say God moves in mysterious ways and we may never understand. And while this is true God has made many things known and it is our responsibility to search for the answers because we are told to have an answer for those who ask. nothing turns people away more than a cop out answer that they've already known. so i have gone many years not understanding and completely perplexed but what to me seems to be a rather large injustice upon Cain. and all the answers i have come across provide no application for my life. but a couple of Sundays ago i was in chapel and the chaplain was talking about the story of Cain and Abel and finally i found the answer i was looking for. The answer is in paying attention to the details of the story. if you notice with me that the verse says In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD Genesis 4:3. notice the verse says that Cain brought an offering to the Lord so obviously he felt it was necessary and that God had control over his fields. many of us are like Cain and we feel the need to offer to God a portion of profits. and when you look at it on the surface Cain has done nothing wrong he has done a good deed many people would say which is probably why i have struggled so hard with this passage but if you pay closer attention to the details of the verse it says Cain brought SOME of fruits. this is the problem right here. God did not have a problem with what Cain offered but how Cain offered it. Lets look at the next verse to better analyze this thought. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. Genesis 4:4 Abel brought an offering from the firstborn, or the best of his flock. So God looked with favor upon Abel not because he brought lamb but because he took the best of what he had and he offered it to God. Cain on the other hand just grabbed what was most convenient for him at the time. God is upset with Cains attitude. And with this answer i found so much more application to life. it is a story not about what you should offer to God but how you should offer it to God i think too many people myself included give whats most convenient to them at the time say a couple of bucks or even 10% of their earnings not to forget volunteering time to work on projects but only at a time that is convenient to you. God wants us to give our best and give it selflessly. the entire purpose of Giving to God is not because he needs it but because he wants our attitude to be like his. Giving and helping even when its not convenient for us thats what the story of the poor woman who put all of her money into the offering is about. its about here attitude towards God, it was inconvenient for her to give all her money away but she did it anyway. We need to come to offerings with a correct attitude that God Gave to me the very best of His so i will give back to him the very best of mine. You can offer to God everything you do everyday. When you wake up in the morning offer it to God when you Go to work in the morning Dedicate it to God when you are at work Do your very best give 110% because you are offering it to God because whatever you do you do it for his Glory and then you have pleased God with your offering of something more than money or time you have offered him your life in service to him gladly.

a video of some airmen on the honor guard

This is a video someone took at arlington cemetery during really bad weather. the airmen did not break military bearing and stayed for the entire ceremony to honor the deceased. pretty amazing most people would leave because of the weather

Just Because

I found a rather interesting website about reasons to diaper free and because I like to share everything I find interesting I copied a few and decided to post them.


* Less irritation for child's skin by keeping urine and excrement off body, thereby reducing incidence of thrush or diaper rash
* Keeps unnecessary chemicals off baby's skin
* Parent can develop a better sense of your child's digestive system and therefore react to irritants or detect problems more quickly
* May save baby boys from some infertility problems later
* Encourages the development of a trusting relationship with children through communication about a basic human need
* Provides more opportunities for you to hold your child and in order to increase communication
* Another reason to carry your baby in a sling - sling-time increases parent/baby communication leading to "success" with EC
* Fosters greater security in a baby - "Mummy and Daddy listen to what I am saying and respond when I need to go."
* Provides additional support for "extended" breastfeeding - not weaning the baby early will NOT cause the baby to remain in diapers "forever." The baby will be completely "potty trained" long before weaning.
* Conventional toilet training starts with learning to "hold it" while ec starts with learning to "let go" - this can make a big difference on a baby's perception of elimination and and of life in general.

Well that's no fun....

Today marks the end of day two of Northland Pioneer College's Youth Theater Camp. I'm helping and doing the choreography for the camp. It's fun, but putting a show together in less then two weeks, with children, is pretty insane - at least it's entertaining. The kids are doing "The Aristocats" a shortened version of the Disney movie. They will be performing on June 6th at 12 noon and 6pm if anyone is interested.
I start school again on Sunday, my two weeks of break are already over :( BUT I'm almost done! This seminar is U.S. history which is interesting, not my favorite subject, however it is the lightest reading load I've had in grad school.
So far it looks like Brian will not be able to live off base with me during his time in tech school, which is kind of upsetting. I still plan on moving though, because he will be able to go off base after duty hours and live with me on the weekends. Beyond that I don't think it is healthy for our marriage to be apart for so long (almost 9 months, in the first year and a half of our marriage). It's hard enough to be apart now, I don't see why we should put such a strain on our marriage when we don't have to. Also it's not fair to him that he misses the first 6 months of his child's life, so to Texas I will go :) - Although I wish I could move sooner - but I suppose mid-August is going to have to work.
Well that's the update :) hope all the people that read this are doing well!

Some Jokes that made me laugh

Everyone needs a good laugh now and then - these jokes just happened to brighten my day.

6-year-old Marriage
A six-year-old boy told his father he wanted to marry the little girl across the street. The father, being modern and well-schooled in handling children, hid his smile behind his hand. "That's a serious step," he said. "Have you thought it out completely?" "Yes," his young son answered. "We can spend one week in my room and the next in hers. It's right across the street, so I can run home if I get scared of the dark.""How about transportation?" the father asked."I have my wagon, and we both have our tricycles," the little boy answered.The boy had an answer to every question the father raised.Finally, in exasperation, his dad asked, "What about babies? When you're married, you're liable to have babies, you know.""We've thought about that, too," the little boy replied. "We're not going to have babies. Every time she lays an egg, I'm going to step on it!"

Drunken Husband
Sam wakes up at home with a huge hangover. He forces himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins and a glass of water on the side table. He sits down and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed. Sam looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, spotless, clean. So is the rest of the house. He takes the aspirins and notices a note on the table. "Honey, breakfast is on the stove, I left early to go shopping. Love You!" So he goes to the kitchen and sure enough there is a hot breakfast and the morning newspaper. His son is also at the table, eating. Sam asks, "Son, what happened last night?" His son says, "Well, you came home around 3 AM, drunk and delirious. Broke some furniture, puked in the hallway, and gave yourself a black eye when you stumbled into the door". Confused, Sam asks, "So, why is everything in order and so clean, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me? I should expect a big quarrel with her!"His son replies, "Oh, that! Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take your clothes n shoes off, you said, "Lady leave me alone! I'm married!"

Young Minds
A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his Customer, "This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you. "The barber puts a dollar in one hand and 25 cents in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, "Which do you want, son?"The boy takes 25 cents and leaves."What did I tell you?" said the barber. "That kid never learns!"Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store. "Hey, son, May I ask you a question? Why did you take 25 cents instead of the dollar?"The boy licked his cone and replied, "Because the day I take the dollar, the game's over!"

The Downward Slope

It's been interesting being pregnant, it seems that everyone around me has changed since I got pregnant.....except me and Brian. Since I've been in Arizona I haven't stopped doing stuff and I've been busy every day. It's has been a roller coaster, I have loved seeing everybody, but like I said it seems everyone changes when you are pregnant. My aunt saw me yesterday, and being as I hate people rubbing my stomach I had placed my arms over my stomach....but she didn't get it and still attempted to rub the belly. My dad told her not to, but she said everyone does it, and that once you are pregnant you are public property, and once the baby is born the baby is public property. This is what perplexes me, why do people all of the sudden assume because you are pregnant you are "public property"? Just about every woman I know has said how much she disliked people treating her like she was public property - so why do so many women, who have gone through this, then view me and the baby as public property? Pregnancy is the time when you feel like a hippo, have a whirlwind of hormones and emotions, and yet people seem to pray on all that and make it worse - and they all went through it! I guess I don't understand, I've never had the fascination with babies that other people seem to have, sure babies are cute, but I guess I've never viewed them as public property or have felt like I had any right to touch mother or baby without the expressed opinion of the mother - then again, that's just how my mother raised me.
Speaking of, my mother has been great, only a few problems have occured since I have moved in, but that is bound to happen when you move back in with your parents but really want to be with your husband. My mom has been supportive of the decisions Brian and I have made - even when other people don't understand. One of her friends said something about disagreeing with a decision Brian and I had made and she asked mom if she disagreed as well, and if she did why didn't she say something to me because after all it is HER grandchild. My mom looked at her friend and said "Actually it is my daughter's child, and I am not part of the relationship that is between her, Brian, and God, therefore it's none of my business unless they are violating that covenant relationship. Whether I agree with their decisions or not holds no bearing of whether it is the right choice that God is leading them to." I wish more people could be like my mom in this sense, she really hasn't tried to be controlling, and even when she doesn't agree she realizes that her discomfort is only stemmed from her instinct to have things her way. After all we all have that instinct, so when someone does something we wouldn't do we view it as wrong, when sometimes we shouldn't. She has been very reassuring which is nice, and so have Brian's grandparents the French's - I enjoy visitng with them, they lift my spirits and are so very understanding and caring. When older generations do things that upset the younger generations we blame it on "being set in their ways" but that isn't them at all, they seem to try and understand everyone around them, it seems they are fine with new things and different ideas, which has made me really comfortable when with them.
I should say that Brian is doing well, I talk to him often, although not for very long. He is usually pretty busy and is determined to achieve high scores while at school. I will see him soon, so that is exciting for us. Hopefully he will be able to get emergency leave once the baby comes, and since he will be here and if he has enough leave we have talked about him helping me drive out to be with him. It seems like the best solution, as I am most comfortable with him, and I will feel very relaxed and at ease. He has been amazing, even from so far away, he listens to every anxiety I have and reassures me that I am in fact not public property, that I have every right to be protective of myself and the baby. Once he even texted me saying I was the property of God and I can tell everyone to bug off - lol.
I suppose there isn't much news really - 10 weeks left before the baby is due, I have a ton of repacking to do, and two more seminars in school before I am finished. Brian is busy and happy and truly likes the AirForce, he is on the drill team and will be moving from Mississippi to Texas in July. So that's the update - hope everyone is doing well!!!

I've now completed my first week of Tech school

Tech school is an interesting Transition. We have gone from the Militant Discipline of BMT to the relaxed college environment of Tech School. For 6.5 weeks at BMT we pretty much had our lives dictated to us we were told where to go and when to go and couldn't do anything outside the schedule. If we weren't at an appointment we were in our dorms making sure everything was in order. We weren't allowed to talk to females and were pretty well isolated from the world outside the Training Squadron. Now that we have graduated were are on our own. of course we have our classes to go to and the entire Squadron goes together but after 5:30 our day is over and we are on our own we can go to the gym or to the library or to diner and no body tells us when or what or how. We can talk to females and hang out with them. And there is just so much more freedom and a lot of people end up getting into all sorts of trouble because they are the type that you give them an inch and they take a yard. They have to push the limit even though the limit has been clearly defined. At the same time the Air Force realized this reality and creadted the Phase program so as to not give us too much freedom all at once. Depending on what phase you are in decides hwo much extra freedom you receive. Phase 1 you aren't allowed off base and must still wear your uniform during non duty hours. Phase 2 you are allowed off base but must wear the Blue Service uniform, you are also allowed to drink but not while in uniform and you can wear civilian clothes during non duty hours. Phase 3 pretty much allows you to do anything that is not prohibited by state federal and military law. you can wear civilian clothes off base you can leave the state if you have permission you can drink off base you can drive a car in civilian clothes and many other things. So thats my life for the time being i'm just trying to get used to it all its a bit strange to go from militant discipline to lots of freedom in a couple of days. When you com from basic you were so used to being told when and how to do something that when you get to Tech School you expect the same and don't receive it and you're left confused and not sure what to do.

For anyone who would like to send me mail my address is
140 Phantom Street Box 12771
Keesler AFB MS 39534

Anyway thats about all i can think of right now

In Arizona

Here I am in Arizona for the next few months. The trip was decent, but we still have to unload everything and I'm pretty much useless due to my feet being so sore from the trip causing them to swell. The next week is a chaotic mess of unpacking and seeing people, I have friends that are coming into AZ for various reasons this week so I'm trying to see all of them, and I also have a huge paper due that I need to get sources for - so things may not slow down for a few days.

I found a very interesting website - so if anyone is interested here is the link

http://www.givingbirthnaturally.com/

I'm Done with basic training

I now have contact with the outside world YAYE. So its sunday and i have just spent a very enjoyable weekend with my wife, dad and father in law on and off base. i'm glad that i got to see them it would have been a long and lonely weekend if nobody had come to see me graduate. i'm not sure what to write right now because i'm still trying to process everything that has happened. The past six weeks has been a interesting experience on one hand it has gone by very fast but on the other hand six weeks ago seems like forever ago. it feels like i've been in for years. i guess we have just been so active and have done so many things and tried to cram so much into so little time that it feels like i've accomplished a years worth of work in a month and a half. so yeah i'm just slowly trying to unwind and process everything. tonight i leave for keesler afb in mississippi for the next 16 weeks two of wich i will be doing details such as raking leaves and such. but anyway thats all for now

Update

I was hoping Brian would have liberty today so that he might have the chance to update the blog, but it seems that may not be the case. Brian is doing well, ready to be done with basic, but it is almost over. Next week warrior week begins so the hard part is almost over. He says that it can be stressful at times, that he doesn't get much sleep, that a lot of information is covered in his classes, and that they started with 52 recruits and are now down to 46. Pretty normal - especially since his TI wants them to graduate with honors.

From what his counselor said he will be in Mississippi for the first part of training - making it next to impossible for me to be with him because of when the baby is due. His training will mean another 3 months apart, but the second part of his training should still be in Wichita Falls. My summer plans have changed and I have scheduled some work in Arizona until about a week before I am due, and then when he is transferred to Wichita Falls (August 9th) baby and I will move to be with him.

Packing is going well and Brian and I have agreed to sell just about everything we own and start over again. (Obviously we are keeping a good portion of our kitchen because we got most of our stuff from the wedding) When I talked to him on Monday he said it would be better because if we get stationed overseas we'd have to do it anyway, and if we do it now we won't be hauling all this stuff all over the country. Plus I've been wanting to downsize - material possesions are kind of a pain and cause clutter, so I have 6 boxes packed so far and a living room full of stuff that has to be priced for the moving sale next weekend.

Registry

A few people have asked me where baby & I are registered so I thought I would put this up - although I could have sworn I already did - I'm loosing my mind now that I'm pregnant :)

Anyway we are registered at www.myregistry.com it's a site that allows us to choose products from any site we want so that's nice. I haven't registered for any onsies and very few pair of pants, mostly because since we are doing diaper free it is easier that way. I have registered for some cloth diapers for the few times we go out. Most of the stuff is organic, partly because my mother and I are allergic to everything (bleach, pesticides, chemicals, nickel, you name it we probably have an allergy to it) so I'm preparing myself for a baby that may be the same, plus that may help to alleviate any allergies I would have to the baby's things. I still don't know what it is, and we've decided that if we do find out we probably won't say anything - unless it's twins, then we may let everyone know there is more then one.

Well I have to go play piano for the church, I will hopefully update in the next week or so. Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend!

Address

I finally have Brian's address -

AB Covert Brian R
331 TRS/FLT 318 Dorm A-2
1320 Truemper St. Unit 369549
Lackland AFB, TX 78236-5570

Please refrain from sending Brian anything other then letters in plain envolopes. When a recruit recieves anything other then this like food, care packages, pretty colored envolopes, things that smell, etc. it can be a reason for the Drill Instructor to "pick" on them instead of it being the comfort that the sender had intended it to be. Also it takes 3-5 days for a letter to reach him so if you send him something after April 26 he might not get it. Oh - and he says he will not be able to write letters so you may not get mail from him.

Brian is doing well, he says his arms or sore, but he sounded really happy other then that. He also found out all the places we could be stationed and overseas is a big possibility so we are SO excited!

Promised Information

I know Isaid I would update today so....I do not have Brian's information, nor have I heard from Brian, nor do I know how he is. Also I did not get an ultrasound today, and probably will not get one. Sorry for the short update but I have to go to work. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

My New Book

Before Brian left we had talked about and pretty much decided to use a method called elimanation communication with the baby. We hadn't really told anyone because I was stressed out enough with people - it seemed everytime we made a decision together we were getting hit by all sides by well meaning individuals that didn't agree with us and let us know it, and how they just KNEW we were making the wrong decision. In any case I felt this decision was going to be met with just as must angst as many of our other decisions, but today I got a book we had ordered before Brian left that goes more in depth to elimination communication i.e. DIAPER FREE. It's very interesting, and I've almost finished reading it. Surprisingly it is a very empowering book. Brian and I were all for diaper free but I was still a little worried and thought I may not have the ability to deal with it unless I had some support, SO this book totally change my outlook. I'm not scared about it and frankly I don't care if I don't have support about it because I know that I can do it - I mean 80% of the world is diaper free from birth. The book is full of stories and studies about the subject, suggestions on how to be diaper free, but above all it states numerous times that there is no set in stone way to do things and that a mother's instincts are usually right. Not only did it make me feel comfortable in this decision it also made me feel more comfortable in all the other decision's Brian and I have made - no matter what anyone else thinks.

In my great excitment with this book I called to talk to my parents, my mom was truly interested and thought it was totally doable. My dad said no way, but then I explained the whole process and I think he changed his mind. They have been really awesome lately and totally supportive, my mom is funny because she says she sees stuff and thinks that she should buy it for the baby then she thinks "no because just because that's what I would do doesn't mean Meredith and Brian want that". I appreciate it a lot because it makes it easier to talk to her about stuff , and it's easier for me to tell her about what Brian and I think about raising kids. I think she also understands a lot about my whole exploration of different methods and belief that using what isn't the norm may be benificial because well, she's that way lol.

If anyone is interesed the book is called Diaper Free and it's like $8 on Amazon - I totally suggest it.

Information

Brian is currently waiting for his flight at 2:15, and then he will be off to basic.

My doctor's appointment in next Thursday afternoon and as soon as it's over I have to book it back down to Durand to teach.

I should have Brian's adress in about a week, so I will post next Thursday night as soon as I'm done taeching with his address and the results of the ultrasound.

Troubles today

So i was supposed to be flying to san antonio today but since there were such bad storms in texas today all flights to texas were canceled. i was the group leader for the six of us who were shipping to the air force and so i was the one who had to do all the talking and calling and figuring out of all the details and getting things in order so that was interesting and God gave me the patience and ability to handle it all. So we had to stand in line for two hours and then spend another 40 minutes talking to the agent getting things straightened out. and so we wont be flying out till thursday at 2:15 pm and we are staying at the hotel till then. its been a long day and i've been up since 4:30 this morning so i'm going to go to bed.

A last update before i leave

So i thought i would put up my last past for the next six weeks because i wont have access to a computer during that time. i'm rearing and ready to go but my wife is having a hard time because she is sad that i wont be with her for that time and so she cries and it makes it hard for me because i don't like it that i make her cry because i'm leaving. other news i lost the few pounds that i needed to and i'm going to try to lose a few more just to help make it easier to train but i'm sure that once i start doing PT 6 days a week i will lean up a lot. as for baby news we still don't know what it is or how many but as meredith wrote she plumped up overnight and everyone asks how far along she is and then when she says 20 weeks they ask if she's having multiples. to add on top of that there are numerous twins and triplets on her side of the family and i just found out from my birth mother that if the pattern holds up i should be having twins. so between the two of us there is a high likelyhood of us having multiples. i think tommorow i'm gonna take a picture of merediths baby bump so we can post it.

Update

Well I think I am a blimp - Sunday I woke up and thought HOLY COW I'm huge! Then today at Zumba I took off my sweatshirt and all the ladies flipped - "Meredith you have doubled in just the belly area." I have been thinking that I got big fast and then after December I just stayed at that size and the suddenly went BOOM this weekend and I kind of felt crazy for thinking that until one of the ladies said it to me.

Brian leaves in ONE week so we are getting ready for that. He needs to loose a few pounds so he has to resist the temptations of my craving food - which lately has been popcorn and milk (good thing my inlaws bought us a jiffy whirl or a whirly pop a ma jig....a thing that makes good popcorn.) We are going to the cities on Monday to check in with the recruiter and then he will leave Tuesday morning.

Hancock Fabrics had a fantastic sale this weekend - and will have an even better one next weekend. I bought a few patterns for baby clothes for .99 each and then some fabric peices for a few bucks and I have been sewing - it keeps me busy, yet sitting so my back doesn't hurt as much.

The Jetta is fixed so we got that back today, it's nice to have a car that I'm not petrified of crashing. Everything that was wrong with the car was under warranty so it didn't cost anything and they even cleaned the car.

I guess that is it for the update - Brian may have to write one though - I keep forgetting stuff

A story about a test

I found this on a pregnancy site - I thought it was funny :)

I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that. 'Why?' my daughter asked. 'Because it's been on the ground, you don't know where it's been, it's dirty, and probably has germs' I replied. At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked , 'Momma, how do you know all this stuff, you are so smart.' I was thinking quickly. 'All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mom Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mom.' We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information. 'OH...I get it!' she beamed, 'So if you don't pass the test you have to be the dad. ''Exactly' I replied back with a big smile on my face.

18 weeks down 22 to go!

I have found an apartment near Brian, now if only I knew how much we will be making so I can know for sure we can afford it. The place I found is nice and only $505 and includes gas and water, also I believe it is fairly close to the base, which is good because the whole point of me moving to Wichita Falls is to be close to Brian. There is no birthing center in the area so Brian and I are talking about home birth and I'm looking at birthing pools.

I am two massages into my 6 massage package and I'm in so much bloody pain. I asked the doctor about all the pain I'm in and he just said it was normal and it would go away. I don't think so! I couldn't move last weekend my knee was the size of a melon and my back was so swollen you could see it through my clothes. I get a massage and Ashley says that no the pain is not normal there is problems with my muscles bunching because I'm doing a lot and the baby is pushing on my spine. She is certified in prenatal and had some interesting things to say about doctors ignoring back pain during pregnancy, so she has been gently working through my painful spots to help my muscles loosen so hopefully by the time I move I only need one massage every couple weeks.

The date for the ultrasound is Thursday March 27th and I'm really excited about that :)

The Mormon Mobile

we rented a car and this is what we got. on the brighter side of things they are supposed to come and bring us a different smaller car tommorow

Car troubles

So today we drive down to the studio and Meredith goes to turn off the car and pulls the key out and usually when you pull the key out the radio turns off well today it didn't so she tried to put the key back in the ignition and the key would not go in. we tried wiggling pressing the break turning the wheel and all sorts of things to get it back in but it wouldn't go so we had to call road side assistance(RSA) and they asked me to try a few things and they didn't work. So they sent a tow truck well the RSA told the tow people to send a flat bed truck, the drive is about 45 minutes between us and Eau Claire where the truck came from, and the guy got to the studio and asked us if we could get the car into neutral and we said we couldn't and he fiddled around with the car for a bit then called the dealership and asked if there was anything that he could do so he didn't have to drive back to Eau Claire without a car. They came to the conclusion that there was nothing they could do so he had to drive back to Eau Claire get a different type of truck and drive all the way back again. Finally he took the car later in the afternoon Meredith got a call from the dealership saying the car won't be ready till the 14th so we are car less for the next 11 days I’m going to call and find out if we can get a loaner car because I have to meet with the recruiter at least one more time if not two before I leave for basic.

I'm ready to go

I'm just up and ready to get moving. I want to get the training over with I know it will be a hard several months on both Meredith and I but once its over it over. We can settle down, well at least as settled as a military family can be, and get things on track have a financially stable life. Once I'm in I'll start working on getting a four year degree so I can become a commissioned officer and possibly fly if I qualify. The Air Force has their own community college that I'm automatically enrolled in once I start basic training. And my tech school and basic training count as credits towards a degree. I can also test out of up to 30 credit hours by taking the CLEP tests. If I can do that I can probably have the first year and a half to two years taken care of in less than a year and if I can finish up the last two years at another college I can have my four year in two to three years and as soon as that happens I can start working toward getting a commissioned officer position which comes with a much better pay and I higher cap. so I'm just ready to get out of here I'm tired of being around the house doing nothing and I can't really go outside because it's to cold most of the time like today I wanted to go running but I woke up and it's 16 degree's outside and that cold of weather is just not good on your lungs when you breath it in. I think I might go out in the car and track a 3-5 mile route to run so I can get used to running and help me to lose a few pounds so I can have an easier time staying under my max weight. So this is a bit annoying never in my life have I ever had to watch my weight and now I have to because the Air Force has a specific height to weight requirement and my max weight I can be is 191 and I'm 186. 5lbs is kind of easy to gain in a few days and so I have to watch myself and make sure I don't go over that weight because if I do I don't get to ship and it’s just a bit annoying.

Photo

I haven't decided if i've finished it yet or not but here's what i have

Lessons in Footprints

First a quick baby update - Brian and I went to the doctor on Wednesday. It was about a 5 minute visit, I've gained 4 lbs and numerous stretchmarks, and we heard the heartbeat.

Last night brought with it about 1/2 inch of fluffy snow, and since it wasn't that cold (upper 20's) Brian and I put on our sweatshirts and walked down to the video store. We were the first people to walk through the snow so there were only our footprints, and about 1/2 way to the video store I started walking inside Brian's steps. Of course he, being the buttmunch he can be, started hoping and taking huge steps etc. lol, but I just continued stepping into his footprints even though I didn't hop on one foot like he did :) On our way back from the video store I led the way, but still stepped in each of the footprints we had already made (yes I know I'm goofy, Brian made me very well aware of that - while he stepped in them too!) When we got home I told Brian that the footprints were kind of like marriage, technically Brian is the leader of the household, but it's my choice to follow, and the more we stepped in the footsteps the harder it was to see whose footprint it was, making it "our" own distinct footprint. He laughed and called me a goofball, then said that I was going to be a good teacher since I can think so conceptually.

I have found an apartment in Wichita Falls which will be near to Brian, but I haven't been able to locate a health care provider, specifically a midwife. I hope that before I move I will find someone I am comfortable with, and someone who will see birth as a natural process ordained by God instead of a medical condition, I really hate it when my doctor refers to it in such a way, it's a baby not a tumor.

I thought this was over?

From what I gathered I thought once the second trimester started I would be finished with the nasuea....not so. I had a lovely little break of it, but today marks day 6 of having it again.

I'm 16 weeks along, and I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and Brian has a check in with his recruiter. Brian is going with me to the doctor - since he won't be here for the ultrasound I want him to at least hear the heartbeat. I'm praying that if it's more then one the heartbeat will not be in sync tomorrow so that I can find out now instead of next month.

Word is spreading that I will be moving...why people thought I was going to live here while Brian spent his life in the AirForce is beyond me. I keep getting statements like "That will be such a hard life, you living here and him being gone!" they seemed suprised that I would move to be with him - it's a dance studio not a gold mine....and even if it was...Brian > money DUH.

Last night I made lasagna - which was interesting because I have never made it, and I rarely use recipes, and this time was no exception. In any case it turned out really good - I added vegetables to meet the daily intake I'm supposed to have - how do they expect pregnant women to eat so much? Anyway - it's not the lasagna that's interesting it is the husband. We went to the store to get the pasta for it and HE picked out whole grain pasta and I picked up the cheap stuff, but he argued his point and we bought the slightly more pricey whole grain - since we have gotten married I think I may have rubbed off on him a lot more then I thought lol.

Well I have been promising to make Brian italian bread - so I am going to take a nap and get to it! I hope everyone has a great week!

Pictures and a quest to figure out who sent us something

Thats My beautiful Wife

Thats me and my big goose down jacket

Thats us on our couch




and this is actualy the thing we are trying to figure out. It was sent to us from a gina jenkins but we don't know who that is or if we should know who it is so we're trying to find out who sent it to us. and if there is any other type of information on it we'd like to know that too.

The Great Debate

Holy cow children require much to much thinking sometimes - and it's not even HERE yet! With Brian leaving the much wanted and much needed "talk time" is quickly fading away. I want him to be a part of the pregnancy and the beginnings of the baby's life (obviously) but the fact that he leaves in one month puts a small damper on that. He has agreed to go to the doctor with me next week so he can hear the heartbeat though so yaye for that.

Anyway, on my spare time I have been researching everything from doctors to diapers and there is just one too many "passionate" people out there to truley be able to sort through the facts. I think we may use mainly cloth diapers, because I have allergies to bleach, as does my mother. I am leaning towards "old fashion" toys partly because they foster self entertainment and self learning, but mostly because of the climbing rate of recalls due to lead paint. I currently have a doctor but I will soon be seeing a midwife as well, even though some family members really don't want that. So to put some fears to rest I am going to both the doctor and midwife, but Brian and I are leaning towards a birthing center over a hospital, and the birthing centers we have been looking at are within 1 mile (sometimes across the street) from a hospital.

I'm still having backaches....almost constantly, which is going to be annoying if they plan to continue until August. A cool thing - I felt the baby move, or poke, or kick, or whatever you want to call it, so that kinda makes up for the backaches. I have a feeling that soon there will be backaches and a dancing baby put together, which may equal no sleep :)

So there is a random baby update. Please keep Brian and I in your prayers as we continue to prepare for the baby, pray that we will be guided by God, and that the decisions we make will be within His will.

For those who might have questions and comments

I'm writting this Blog to help those who might have questions and comments about us be able to do so. We like to get comments so feel free to do so whenever.
The rest of this is to instruct those who are unsure about how to comment.


(figure 1) Click on the picture to enlarge it.
The Blue Arrow Points to the Comments Link. Click it to navigate to the comments page. (figure 2)
The Red Arrow Points to the Email Link. Click it to navigate to the email page. (figure 3)


(figure 2) click to enlarge
This is the Comments page. This is the page where you can leave comments and questions about a certain blog post. All you have to do is write out your comment then right below the comment box is a box that asks you to type the letters in the picture and then you can click on the radio where it says Name/URL Pointed out by the Green Arrow. After you enter your name click the orange publish your comment button and your comment will be posted. I will receive an email telling me about your comment and i will read it.


(figure 3) Click on the picture to enlarge it.
This is the email page. You can use this page if you liked a certain blog post and then you can email the post to a friend and then they can read it.

My View on Valentine's Day

Well Brian thinks I need to write a blog on Valentine's Day because I can explain it better, so here it goes. Yesterday we woke up to snow blowing all over and a fresh coat of about 2 1/2 inches of powder. After braving the cold we got the studio all warmed up and I taught Zumba and Brian worked on the studio bills. When we got home I retired to my "bed" as I usually do with a massive backache. If you haven't read Brian's blog yet, I have been sleeping on the couch for the past couple weeks because the couch is more supportive then my bed. Brian had been wanting breakfast burritos for a couple days so he decided to make me "breakfast in bed" since I had never had breakfast burritos it was an interesting breakfast, but Brian proved he can cook and the burritos were pretty good.
I usually teach Thursday nights but all my students cancelled due to Valentine's Day plans so I decided to priceline a hotel and go to the Twin Cities with Brian to a Air Force meeting thing. The meeting was good, his recruiter answered some questions for us after the meeting since Brian is the only recruit that is married. He also did his 30 day check in, I can't believe he will be gone so soon! After the meeting we went to our hotel, a small yet 4 star place, that I got a deal on at $50 for the night :)
For dinner Brian said I could pick whatever I wanted, and since he usually isn't open to new things I totally jumped at the chance to get some culture. While in Phoenix I used to eat at all kinds of places, and I really liked Greek food, and since we have moved away from the city I've missed the culture and things to do. In any case I decided we should try a resturant called Mediteranian Cruise Cafe, it had a variety of food from Greek to Egyptian so I figured Brian would find something on the menu that wouldn't freak him out too much and I could have some of the more "exotic" food that I really loved. The place exceeded any expectations I had of it, the food was amazing, we had a Valentine's Day special, which was a TON of food, but a good variety so Brian and I could try a bunch of different things. Appetizers included hummus, gyros, pita bread, and flaming cheese, which we had without flame because the flame came from alchohol and alot of other dishes were flaming as well, and while you can cook the alchohol out of a dish sometimes when you burn it off it can creep under the dish and I didn't want to have that happen, especially with more then one dish, so we did everything without alchohol. Afterappetizers Brian had no problem trying everything they put in front of us, and everything was amazing, we had lamb, chicken, and shrimp and the most AMAZING rice. He even liked the shrimp and he hates shrimp!
As with most Greek places there was belly dancing which of course I absolutley loved, the dancer was fantastic. It was nice to see a dancer above a size 3, one who was talented and didn't just get the job because she looks cute in the costume. Don't get me wrong, she was absolutley beautiful, and looked amazing, but beyond that she was an awesome performer and she was extremly talented. Later we found out she studied in Egypt for a period of time, no wonder she was good! After a few songs she pulled up a couple people, one at a time and taught them a few moves, and after a while she tried to get me to go up for a lesson, Brian was all for it so I went up there. When I stood up she noticed I was pregnant and told me to be careful and so I told her I had been belly dancing and that I taught it, she was excited about that so instead of a lesson the two of us just danced together, it was so much fun as I haven't really been able to belly dance in a LONG time. At the end of the song we laughed about how I had stumbled and her nose was running from getting a cold and exchanged a few of the normal dancer conversation, she helped me off the platform, and I sat down to finish our dinner. After dinner I gave the waitress a tip for the dancer, and she came over and we talked for a little while, I found out her real name is Leslie, she gave me her card and said I should join the local guild and start coming to the performances and getting back into it since I was really good. That made me feel pretty happy, that as a pregnant woman I still looked good when I belly danced. We said goodbye, and took our 3 BOXES of leftover food and headed back to the hotel.
So it was an amazing day, I've been single every Valentine's Day so this was the first time I've ever done anything special, furthermore Brian is leaving soon and we won't be able to be together for who knows how long. This morning he told me he did such a good job for Valentine's Day that I can't give him anymore grief about him text messaging his proposal to me! :)

Valentines day

it was a good day today. first we woke up and went to merediths zumba class. then we came back home and i made breakfast burritos which we ate on the couch. and since meredith has been pregnant we've been sleeping on the couch because thats where she's most comfortable. so technically we had breakfast in bed. anyway i had to go to the twin cities to meet my recruiter for a monthly check up thing so we decided to go on a date. we ended up going to a place called Mediteranean Cruise Cafe and the food was amazing. plus there was belly dancing which intrigued meredith to no end as she belly dances herself. then a few songs in the dancer asked meredith to go on stage with her and i encouraged her to go up so she did. they danced a song together and did a really good job. meredith had a lot of fun and was really excited afterwards. so in my book this was an amazing valentines day the best i've ever had and i'm seriously doubting that i'll ever be able to do anything like it again. meredith will have to post and tell it from her perspective because i think she could do a better job.
Brian

So thats obviously not what God wanted me to have.

Yesterday(tuesday) the recruiter called me and informed me about a job that could possibly get me shipped out next tuesday working on water utility systems. This job woudl have shipped me out early and would also have a shorter tech school getting me stationed in early June. And after a few minutes of talking to meredith we decided to see where God wanted us. The plan was I was going to call the recruiter back and tell him to put me on the back up list and then we would wait and see what God would choose for us. God chose that i shoudln't get the Job and so obviously that is not where he wants me to be. So from here i will see if anything else comes our way or if the avionics job is the one for me.

a correction to a previous blog

I just called my recruiter today and asked him what day i supposed to ship out because i wasn't sure he said i ship out march 18th which is good news because i don't have to wait so long. but please pray that i can still find something to help for the next six weeks.

An Update

Hello everyone -
Yesterday (Wednesday) I had my first visit with the doctor, a little late I know, but such are things. I was there for 1 1/2 hours, the nurse went over all the tests that could be done, and everything that had to be done, how much weight I need to gain over the pregnancy (30 lbs!), nutrition and all that. The doctor examined me and said everything is progressing normally, and that I was one of the healthiest pregnant women he had seen (hooray!). I also got to hear the baby's heartbeat, which was 159, but we won't know if it's one or two for two more months. (For those of you who don't know twins and triplets run in my family) Tomorrow I will be officially done with my first trimester and I'm really excited about that - the neasua is starting to decrease and the back aches are beginning :)

Tonight I am teaching a free exersice and health workshop for the city, I have about 30 people signed up so I'm excited about that and I hope it will have an impact on somebody's life.

I am close to being done with my 3rd semester of grad school, which makes it offically half way done! I'm hoping I can finish most of my classes before the baby comes so I'm slightly looking forward to having the computer to myself when Brian is at Basic Training. I should be completely finished by Oct/Nov and I will have to go to Vermount in June of 09 for one week to take a final class and offically graduate.

It has been rather cold here the past few days -40 with the windchill, today looks like it may be a bit warmer at -20 and by the weekend we should be in the positive digits again :)

I hope everyone is doing well!
Meredith

Recent updates around wisconsin

Ok so friday i went to eau claire to the recruiters office and signed a contract for my job. if nothing better or atleast worthwhile comes up i will be leaving in may, i believe. my job will be integrated avionics which basically means i will be working with the computer controlled flight systems aboard one of the three bombers the b1 b2 and b52 (if you want a deeper explaination go here http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforceenlistedjobs/a/afjob2a5x3.htm). basic training is in san antonio texas after basic i will go to tech school which is 34 days in san antonio and up to 90 days in witchita falls texas which is near oklahoma. from there possible locations are texas nevada florida north or south dakota virginia idaho and ohio and maybe another i'm not sure.

as for baby news meredith goes to the doctor on wednesday and we'll find out from there.

as for random things the temperature today was 47 degrees. it was odd i went to sleep and it was in the 20's and i woke up around 5 for some odd reason went to the bathroom and looked outside at the thermometer and it showed that the temperature was 40 and i came back to bed and asked meredith how in the world the temperature warms up in the middle of the night when there is no sun out but i guess its possible so today it was nice and warm which sounds a bit weird coming out of a native from mesa az but after you have felt -20 50 is really actually rather warm. the other odd thing about it being 47 today was that just a few days ago like thursday or maybe even wednesday is was down at -20 but oh well i don't get to determine the weather.

until next time brian