Copelyn is 9 months!

Each month goes by faster and faster! This becomes so real to me when I sit down weekly to do Copelyn's baby book. She is doing something new every single day it seems! I wish she would just slow down a bit because my heart can't handle her growing up so fast! Let's see just this month she has started to wave to people hi and bye (except she waves backwards and instead of bye says die lol), she got her two top front teeth, she loves to fake cough, she points at things she wants, and she shakes her head no when she doesn't want something. I am sure I am leaving something out! It is so much fun! On my off days I try to play with Copelyn all day and generally she won't nap on these days! haha! It is like she knows when Mommy is home it is a fun day! Scott is awesome! With my schedule I work every other weekend. It stinks but works great for our schedule! Scott gets to be home with Copelyn every other weekend by himself. He amazes me! Some times I just sit back and watch in awe that he can do all he does. Usually he is the one telling me that she needs to take a nap and stay on a schedule haha! I guess he is the enforcer and I am the non-enforcer of the parents! They have the best time together. Generally, the house is a tornado by the time I get home on the weekends I work but I have learned quickly better the house a disaster than the child a disaster:) We have already started to put up Christmas decorations in this household. We still have allowed the turkeys and pilgrims to stay out a little longer but we hope they don't mind the little bit of Christmas cheer we have added as well! Normally, I am not like this and I can contain myself until Thanksgiving but for whatever reason I want to get into the Christmas shindig a little early! Maybe it is the fact that at Wal-Mart they started putting Christmas out the day after halloween and the decorations sit right in front of the pharmacy! We are busy planning Copelyn's first birthday party as well! We are going for an Elmo themed party. They sell the cutest decorations! We are very excited. Someone asked me the other day if I was planning the party for me or for Copelyn. LOL! I had to stop a second and laugh because I know she will probably not remember it but hey at least we are having fun planning it! So that is about it for this month! Nothing too exciting! I'll leave you with one last little note. With this Christmas season coming up and as we all start to get wrapped up in buying gifts for each other I encourage you to find a cause or someone to give to if you can this holiday! I heard in a sermon this morning that the average median income in the USA is 50,000. Of those median income families they give on average to the church and elsewhere about 6% of their income. When you get to 200,000 a year income the percentage drops to 4%. This is sad to me. Why is it that the more money we have the harder it is to give? Andy Stanley said in his sermon today, "Jesus said he is not impressed by the number of dollars; he is impressed with the percentage you give." So I pray that if you are able this holiday season you are able to find generosity in your heart to give to someone else. There is a great sermon on this if you are interested. Go to northpoint.org and click on messages. Listen to the sermon titled "Good for Nothing" in the Be Rich series. Have a good week!!! 1 Timothy 6:17-18 17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.

Copelyn is 8 months!

Well hello! I woke up this morning thinking on this verse Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! I find myself so many times taking the days for granted. I either get too caught up in my to do lists or the days just seem to fly by and before I know it is time to go to bed! I am not going to lie being a mom, full-time worker, and wife is hard work! I am the kind of mom that feels very guilty for leaving Copelyn on my off days to go try to do anything for myself. I haven't conquered this yet but it is a work in progress. And this is so bad but when I work my 12 hour shifts when I come home and she is sleeping I take her out of her crib and put her in bed to snuggle with me! Such a bad habit but it makes my heart feel a little better to even get a chance to snuggle her and hold her close! Tonight, which is my night off, we are headed to a wedding! I am super excited but the anxiety has set in and the guilt is in my heart about leaving my sweet girl! I feel like since I work full time the days I am off I need to spend fully devoted to her! Does any other moms feel this way!? But like I said I woke up this morning with Psalm 118 on my heart and I am going to live that out today. Sweet Copelyn aka Co-co Puff is now 8 months old! I say this every month but where did the time go!? She is moving like crazy! Pulling up on everything, and crawling everywhere! She is so fast! I turn my head for one second and next thing I know she is in the trash or in my closet. Her favorite places are the refrigerator and pantry. We are done nursing. Sad. But we made it eight months!! She is eating three meals a day and still taking her bottles. She still wakes up once a night for a bottle. Any advice on this!? I forgot what it was like to sleep through the night. She is absolutely so much fun! She is the happiest child! She rarely cries and she is generally always smiling! Love her! Last month, we took her in for her second flu-shot. Ever since her first flu-shot (not saying this is what caused it!) Copelyn started making a shaking movement with her head and shrugging her shoulders randomly. She would stop what she was doing but then continue playing after she was done with the movement. It seemed to me like a normal baby movement or maybe even a tic so I wasn't too concerned. We brought it up to the pediatrician and right away she advised us to see a pediatric neurologist. This took me by surprise because I honestly didn't think it was anything. This was torture for me. I wondered and worried (just so you know worry is a sin! God has Copelyn's whole life in his hands and I knew that but it is so hard to not worry about your own child) about the worst possible scenarios. Well, we met with the pediatric neurologist. I was expecting them to just send us home and say it was normal. Sure enough, they didn't say that. They wanted to run tests on my sweet little one. At first, they wanted to do a long EEG with a sedated MRI. This did not sit well in my stomach. For whatever reason Scott and I never felt at peace with this decision. We met with another neurologist for a second opinion and he said we could do the EEG and from those results we could then decide on the MRI. His biggest concern was that she wouldn't make the movement during the EEG so we would not be able to tell what kind of activity it was causing. He warned us the EEG doesn't hurt but most kids scream because it is uncomfortable and they don't like wires being glued to their head. We prayed hard that Copelyn would make the movement during the EEG. We got to the day of the test and Copelyn was in a great mood. They took us back to this little room. I was more nervous than Copelyn! We had to hold Copelyn down while they attached everything. And PRAISE JESUS she did not cry once! She actually smiled and laughed. She thought it was funny that we were holding her down! Then they started the test. With five minutes remaining Copelyn made the movement! Hallelujah! I just received the results two days ago and her EEG was clear. They call her movement shuttering and she should grow out of it. We just have to monitor it for a while. She will continue to see the neuro for check-ups until no reported shuttering occurs again! So Copelyn gave me a little scare these past few weeks but the biggest lesson I took from this is life is messy and it might get hard but God has each of my days and my families days planned out. He has the whole wide world in his hands. Thank you Jesus for that!

Copelyn Reese is 7 months!

Oh boy! My baby is 7 months. I can hardly handle it! I have been a pretty bad mommy this month as far as taking pictures. I honestly haven't taken one except for at her baby dedication. I hope I get better. I am still trying to figure out how to juggle being a full time pharmacist, full time mom, and full time wife all at once! Copelyn is doing fabulous and she is so much fun! She is eating three meals a day & loving it! I aspired to make all of her baby food but I just haven't had the time to make it like I would like. I do make some things in the baby food maker like sweet potatoes, apples, avocados, and bananas but I am no Betty Crocker when it comes to baby food making! We are about to start weaning off nursing! My goal was one year but unfortunately my supply is dwindling fast with working so I am trying to stretch it out as long as I can! I think within the next two weeks we will be done completely! We are hoping this will transition Copelyn to her crib. Yes, that's right she has not slept a night in her crib yet!! I know many of you would tell me that it is awful...and I know it is bad but hey when I work 12 hour shifts and I don't get to see her all day I just want to snuggle her & for my sake it is worth it. (She does sleep in a pack and play next to our bed some nights) Copelyn's new favorite thing to do is scream as loud as she can in public places i.e restaurants, grocery stores, etc. She thinks it is so funny & it draws lots of attention! Most people think it is cute but I have gotten some ugly looks from some. I think maybe they forgot what it was like to have kids because in my mind I am generally thinking well at least she is not crying! Well, for other news in the Urbizo household....we had to find Molly another home. I know it is so sad and it was hard for quite some time. We gave her away about two months ago to a wonderful lady who had a farm. I didn't want to blog about it just yet until we knew she had a great home & was there to stay. She is playing with horses and other dogs. Molly & Copelyn could not coexist. Molly would growl at Copelyn & show her teeth. Even if Copelyn wasn't in the room Molly would growl at her pictures. We knew right of way it probably wasn't a good sign when Molly ripped to shreds Copelyn's hospital blanket from when she was born! So we miss Molly but we couldn't continue living with having to separate the two! And sorry but children before dogs always in this household! The two years we had with Molly were wonderful. She was such a joy & was like our child! We will miss her!

Lastly, Copelyn was dedicated this past month. Our family and close friends joined us in this celebration & it was so special & memorable. Our pastor Kevin Queen spoke a sweet special blessing over Copelyn that was such a wonderful memory! Below is the letter we read to Copelyn on her dedication day. I think it sums up well the great meaning of the dedication to us.

Dear Copelyn, From the moment God blessed us with you our hearts have loved you. Being your parents is so much more than we could have ever imagined. You bring us so much joy daily. You are truly a miracle from God and we are so thankful that God has given us the opportunity to be your parents. From your sweet smile, beautiful blue eyes, fun personality, and crazy hair you light up a room in an instant. You draw attention from complete strangers who find you just as lovely as we do. Although, some times you can get as mad as a hornet we love you through it. Mommy & Daddy have been praying for you for quite some time even before you were a thought in our own minds. Our love for you is so great and unconditional but nothing in comparison to your Heavenly Fathers love for you. February 7, 2012 the day you were born into this world was one of the best days of our life. You were stubborn from the start; not wanting to come out & meet us but after what seemed like an eternity for your mommy you finally made your presence! Since that day you have added joy and love daily to our lives. We love rocking you to sleep especially when you wrap your sweet hands around ours and rest your head on us. We love watching you do new things each and every day from rolling over, talking gibberish, sitting up, to trying new foods you have us convinced you are the smartest kid in town. One of our favorite things to do with you is bath time! You love the water and splashing your feet! We call you our little fish! You also have a love for the television. Mommy said she would never let you sit in front of the TV but something about Elmo just captures your attention that is so cute to watch. Mommy & Daddy want you to know we are fully devoted to raise you, to support you, and to lead you to grow into the woman God has planned for you to be. We know though that we are human and will fall short sometimes. We want you to know that when we do fall short, you have a heavenly Father who loves you and sent his only Son to die for our sins and your sins. He promises to always be there for you. Our only expectation of you is to love your Lord with all your heart and follow his will for your life. We will never question your dreams as long as you lean to God for understanding and wisdom. Our prayer for you is that you desire an intimate relationship with your Lord and Savior. We pray that you do not love the things of this world because they are only temporary, focus your heart towards the kingdom of God. Today Copelyn, we dedicate your life to our Heavenly Father and we pray that you will choose to follow God’s will throughout your life. We feel so incredibly blessed that God chose us as your parents & look forward to doing life with you along the way! You are our little beany! Love, Daddy & Mommy

So that's about it! Oh yeah we joined a couples small group and I joined a womens bible study! If you have the opportunity to do something like this I strongly encourage it! It is great to do life with people! It is amazing how when you get into a group with people you realize how much God wants us to be in community with others! Community is great! Well, since I am only writing about once a month...I hope y'all have an awesome September! I love fall!!

6 months...Where did the time go!?

Well hello there! I wish I could blog more often but time is hard to find in our household at the moment. I am working a little more than full time right now trying to get the new Wal-Mart neighborhood Market pharmacy ready to open for its big day on August 29th. Y'all should all come see it & of course me! I am pretty excited about it just not too thrilled about the time I have had to be away from my family. BUT I know all hard work pays off in the end so I can't wait to see the results. Copelyn Reese is growing like a weed. No joke. I promise you she goes to bed and wakes up an inch bigger it seems. She is talking like crazy and truly tries to carry on a conversation with anyone who will listen. She loves to play! And absolutely loves electronics....which is something I said I would never let her hold or use!:) She is eating lots of foods now. We actually are doing a breakfast and dinner accompanied by her normal nursing routine. She loves fruits and some vegetables but she is more like her Daddy in the since she would much rather have fruits than veggies. Last week, I had to work at 1 far away but before I went to work Copelyn and I went to the mall & bought the whole Mickey Mouse Club! Her face was priceless when I started picking up each character and putting them in her arms. She had the biggest smile. Fortunately, at 6 months I don't believe she can be spoiled just yet so I got the biggest satisfaction out of making her day! And it made this working mommy feel a little less guilty about being away so much! lol! That night Scott and Copelyn surprised me with the sweetest note when I got off work and I met them at the Cracker Barrell! During dinner, Scott pulled out a room key and said we were staying the night in Madison, GA! It was so nice not to have to drive all the way home! The next day we explored the town. Such a fun mini vacation and a great reminder of the sweet things in life! Next Sunday we are dedicating Copelyn at our church. We are super excited about it! It is kind of a big deal!! We wrote her a letter (which I will share next week) and have been building it up to her every day. Scott and I pray daily for our Copelyn and we hope that she falls in love with Jesus and chooses to pursue a relationship with him. Before Copelyn was born I feared if I would be an adequate parent to her. I wondered and still wonder about how to do certain things or question myself if I am doing something right. It became clear very fast though that God chose Scott & I to be Copelyn's parents knowing that we weren't perfect and knowing that we would fail her at certain times. God's love for my Copelyn is a perfect love. And God's love for my husband and I is a perfect love. Praise Jesus for that! So I have learned the best way to parent is to pray for your children and keep God at the center of your parenting because without God there is no perfect love. Amen!

Five Months going on Two Years Old!

I really can't believe my sweet girl is five months old. I haven't even taken her five month pictures yet, hopefully I can get to that soon! She is doing so much each and every day I feel like I need to write it all down. She rolls all over the place from front to back & back to front. She is almost sitting up fully on her own! She thinks it is so funny to scream as loud as she can in stores and then giggle! Just the other night she came to visit me at work with Daddy & she was clucking like a duck across the store so loud that I could hear her in the pharmacy! She loves to play and isn't too fond of sleep. We tell her she loves to party like a rockstar! After I found out I passed all my board (Praise Jesus! It is all because of him) we took a quick family vacation to Myrtle Beach. It was so much fun! But oh boy did I have unreal expectations of vacation with a baby! I had a picture that we would sit under our cabana and Copelyn would sleep while I relaxed & laid out! HA!! Yeah right! Copelyn didn't nap once. And she constantly wanted to be moving. She loved the ocean and especially the lazy river. There were many times I just floated around the lazy river with her while she slept just a little in my arms. We tried three nights in a row to go to nice seafood restaurants but learned our lesson finally because a no nap Copelyn doesn't make for a happy Copelyn! Now we are back though & back to reality we go! I started my first day of my real job as a pharmacist on Monday! I love it! The only bad part about it is being away from my sweet girl! It is so hard when your heart is being torn in two places but I know that I am right where God wants me. As soon as I get home I spend as much time as I can with my family! The one perk of being a pharmacist is you work long hours but get more days off which is great! I get to spend many full days with my Copelyn! My prayer all along is that the work I am doing is all for the glory of God no matter where I may be. Whether it be at the pharmacy, being a mommy, being a wife; I want to live like Psalm 40:8 I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart." I always go back to one of my favorite sermons Andy Stanley preached on Nehemiah 6. Here is an excerpt. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chnqGjT9Cjo&feature=relmfu It doesn't matter what the great work may be but make sure you are doing a great work for the Lord and you refuse to come down. This is so important. There are times that I worry Am I cheating Copelyn of her mom by working full-time? Will she grow up wondering where her mom was? Then I remember that when I am with her she gets my absolute full attention and I do my best great work when I am with her at being her mommy! And when I am away from her I am doing another great work that God has called me to do. She is always on my heart and mind but this is what God has called me to do: be her mommy and a pharmacist! I love watching her grow and being her Mommy! She truly is the biggest blessing and we are so thankful for our little girl. I am so glad God let us be her parents! It is such a joy!

I'm back!!

Sorry for being away for so long! Life has gotten the best of the Urbizos for sure. After graduation, I went into hiding & literally all I did was eat, sleep, study, and feed Copelyn! I know it sounds awful doesn't it!? Trust me it was miserable. I felt like I never got to spend good quality time with Copelyn because my mind was elsewhere! This past Monday I sat for my second board (the one I was most worried about) and it went miserably so I thought. The night before we stayed in a hotel near my testing center which was a huge mistake! I did not sleep a wink! I paced the hotel room from 10pm to 4am when I finally decided sleep just wasn't going to happen. SO I took the biggest test of my life on zero sleep! I left the test feeling like a failure. I even came home and cried. It was the sweetest thing though because when Copelyn saw me crying she starting crying too for her mommy! Sweet baby girl! All I could think about was all the questions I missed. BUT thanks to our awesome god & many,many folks lifting me up in prayer....I found out today I PASSED by a pretty good margin! Yay! Praise him! Our little Copelyn is growing like a weed! At her last appointment she weighed 13 pounds 11 ounces & was 24 inches long. She is short & chunky:) I love it! She rolls around, talks a lot, and has become quite the little stinker! She has started to eat her first foods which she loves! We have tried squash, and sweet potatoes so far! She reaches for things she wants now....even tonight at the frozen yogurt place she reached into my yogurt for a bite! Smart girl! She has become more content entertaining herself. Now I can sit her in her bouncy seat next to me while I exercise & she will watch me for an hour while I get some mommy time. Grant it she laughs while I do my exercise moves but hey at least she finds me funny! I love being her mommy...it is the biggest blessing in the whole wide world! I look back over the past four 1/2 month and have to laugh! When Scott and I brought Copelyn home from the hospital we had no idea what we were doing! Poor Copelyn! It was a day to day learning process. I am amazed at how much better we are at being her parents now! I hardly even knew how to feed my child! haha My advice for new moms is take it day by day! Don't expect yourself to be perfect because you learn from your mistakes! You are doing a great job! A helpful site I used that was recommended to me by a friend is kellymom.com Lastly, I wanted to share a good devotional from the INTOUCH magazine by Charles Stanley. Enjoy The Decisions that Lead to Contentment.

Think about a circumstance in your life you'd change if you could. Are you frustrated? Worried? Angry? To experience the freedom of contentment in the midst of it--whether a hardship or unfulfilled desire--you must accept the situation as having been allowed by God, even if He didn't cause it. In these situations, I often pray, "Lord, I choose to accept this as though it's coming from You. No matter what I see, I'm choosing to look to You." Then I can rest in His omnipotence and the knowledge that I'm a child of the living God. Instead of feeling like a helpless, hopeless victim of my circumstance, I know I'm cared for and guided by my sovereign Father through whatever may come. The second crucial decision is total submission. This doesn't mean approaching God insincerely and saying, "Well, Lord, I just want to thank You for this! It's all just so sweet, Jesus." No, it's not. Be honest and admit, "This is painful and I don't like it. But I choose to submit to You because You are trustworthy and loving. I'm willing to persevere until You accomplish in me whatever You want. I choose to draw from Your strength for everything I need." My friend, if you make this decision and follow through, your fears will lose their power. Either you believe Romans 8:28 or you don't. And if you do, you can entrust yourself to the Lord, knowing that He has your best interest at heart, will take care of you, and won't ever leave your side. When you embrace these truths, you'll have no reason to be anxious.

Copelyn Reesey Piece is Three Months Already!

My goodness I just can't believe how time flies! Copelyn turns 3 months tomorrow and I am very proud of myself for getting this post written a day early!! Go me! Copelyn's Third month was very busy not only for her but for her mommmy & daddy as well! I finally finished pharmacy school yay! Now the last hurdle is passing my boards in June and July then I am on my way to starting my career! We can hardly wait! I think Scott may be a bit more excited than me though because me working means no more living off one income! He has been awesome for putting me through school and never once complaining about it! He has mentioned going back for his masters but we both agree we will enjoy no school in the Urbizo household for just a little while! Copelyn's world has been so fun lately! She smiles & giggles at us. If you could put a video camera in our house you would probably laugh so hard at the way Scott & I talk to Copelyn! No wonder she laughs! She has many names....just to name a few: Coki Monster, Bean, Cokie, Banana Pants, Pooky, and Sugar Plum. She is probably very confused because we rarely call her by her real name! She is on a pretty good schedule. I am pretty proud by our bedtime routine except for the fact I haven't graduated to the crib yet! Around 8pm we start by giving her a bath, then we watch Elmo do a dance & song, then we say our prayers. Just last night I started giving her a kiss then laying her in her bassinet awake. She talked herself to sleep within a short time! I was in the next room tearing up because my baby is such a big girl! She has become a lot more independent. I can lay her on her play mat and let her play & she is content for a good 45 minutes! Makes for one proud momma! She is sleeping from about 9pm-4:30am! Hoping we can stretch that a little longer soon but hey I will take what I can get! I finally fit in all my pre-pregnancy clothes!! My tummy is still a bit flabby & I have about 5-10 pounds I would like to lose but hey I will take it! I am such a believer that exercising while you are pregnant helps so much because you can get back into it so much faster after having your sweet little one. Grant it some of my friends tell me I am just crazy haha! I truly believe the earlier you adapt to a healthier exercise and eating plan the easier it is to lose the weight! I do believe breastfeeding helps as well but it doesn't do it all for you! And it might seem impossible to exercise with a new baby but trust me it is doable! I just take her on runs with me! And you get a better workout because you are pushing 15 pounds of extra weight around! Good for the butt & arms, right!?:) Scott & I are actually training to run the Athens Half Marathon in October! Can not wait! Well, I graduate this upcoming Saturday!! Yay baby! So excited! My only complaint is the ugly cap we have to wear! Why can't they design something a little more fashionable for us ladies!? Like maybe a nice Kentucky Derby hat with a tassel!? haha Scott is dreading this next week...mostly because of our bank account haha! It is graduation, our anniversary, and mother's day all in one weekend!! But he did already give me my graduation gift....a new car! We needed an SUV so badly and we put it off until I graduated! We learned very fast that it is very hard to lug a baby around in a small car. It is so much better with an SUV! Hope you all have a great week!

Happy Two Months Copelyn Reese!!!

Oh boy! I can't believe it has been two months since Copelyn was born!! Time surely does fly! The feeling of childbirth is still way too clear in my mind to even think of brothers or sisters for Copelyn at this point. They say amnesia will set in!! I sure hope so! The fussy, unhappy baby that Copelyn became around 3 weeks old is just a memory now because she has become a fairly easy, happy little girl!!

I think the biggest blessing and life saver for us was getting Copelyn into a good routine. Even though I hate being away from her we have found that she is baby who likes her days the same! She absolutely adores her babysitter Mrs. Debbie and Mrs. Debbie loves Copelyn. I never feel uneasy at all when I drop Copelyn off! Some days it is just Copelyn & Mrs. Debbie and then other days Mrs. Debbie has her sweet granddaughter Addison who is just 4 months older than Copelyn! Copelyn & Addison are best buddies already! Addison has even taught Copelyn to love Elmo!

Copelyn likes to eat every 3 hours. She gets 3 bottles during the day while I am gone. She pretty much hates a bottle but she has learned if she wants to eat she better take it!! It is funny because she takes the bottle fine from Mrs. Debbie but on the days I work nights & Scott has her she is a pill for him! In order for her to take a bottle from Scott he has to do a dancing jig he made up while feeding her! We are still 100% breast milk which I pray we can stay that way for a while. It is definitely hard to be a slave to my pump during the work day but I know it is so good for Copelyn! Every night at 8pm Copelyn gets her reflux medicine and then has to have her bath! If it is 8:20 and this hasn't happened yet she gets pretty mad! She loves her bath and likes to just lay there & soak. We discovered the Bedtime Bath Johnsons Baby Bubble Bath. Oh my goodness...this stuff is awesome! Ever since we started using this stuff Copelyn sleeps from 9pm to 2am then she gets up to eat once then she goes right back to sleep! I wake her up again at 4 though because I know if I don't feed her then she will start crying while I am exercising!! In order to stay sane I have to exercise!

Copelyn loves to go on runs with me! I guess it is because I exercised so much while she was snug in my tummy! She loves the outdoors too! I can't wait to take her to the pool!

Copelyn had her two month check-up today! She did great with her shots....Mommy not so much! Ugh! It makes me cry every time! Today Copelyn weighed 10 pounds 8.5 ounces (40 percentile), 22.5 inches long (51 percentile), and 15 1/4 head circumference (46%)! She is growing so much!! Her pediatrician said she is perfect in every way and passed her check up with flying colors! yay! I love being her mommy! She brings me so much joy! I hope to keep up with the blog better but between working & being a mommy right now it is hard!! I will try to get better!! Have a good week!

You Revive Me

I sat in my driveway when I got home just to breathe for a second and pray. I am a lot more exhausted than I thought I would or could every be. As of this past Monday my day starts at 4am. I get up feed Copelyn, then take time for me to exercise. I finish up about 6:30 jump in the shower & hurry to get ready. By 7 am I feed Copelyn again. Then until 8:15 I spend time loving on her and giving her plenty of kisses. I leave the house at 8:15 and get to work by 9. I quickly wipe my tears when I pull into work and pull myself together ( I hope I can stop crying when I leave her soon!). Then I have to put on my big girl pants and go into my rotation. I usually get home about 6 where Scott quickly hands me Copelyn because he is so wiped! (She is a precious, sweet baby BUT she is very high maintenance!!) I feed her at about 7, do bath time, and then we sing worship music until she falls asleep at about 8:30-9pm. Then I prepare for the day quickly and jump into the bed to get some sleep before Copelyn wakes up at midnight to eat! Whew! Typing it made me realize how tired I am! I wouldn't trade it for the world though! My goodness I love her so much!

So for the next five weeks please pray for me! It is a lot harder than I thought to work 40 hours a week and leave your little one. I want to be good at it all. Full time mommy/full time wife/full time student!!

Yesterday Scott called me from home because Copelyn had been screaming for two hours. I felt so helpless because all I could offer was the little advice I knew to calm her down a bit. (go outside, turn on the fan, give her a bath, or dance with her haha) It made me so sad to know I couldn't be there to rock her & console her. Next week Copelyn starts going to the babysitters. She is such a wonderful, sweet lady!! I think this will help Copelyn and I so much!

The song I posted is so refreshing to me and I hope it will be to you too! Even though I feel really tired I know God will revive me because he doesn't give me anything I can't handle! As much as I wish I had a little bit more time home with sweet Copelyn I know this is all in his plan for me and before long I will graduate & be a full time pharmacist! I just keep telling myself if I do this now then I can take Copelyn to Disney World & Disney Land when she is older!!

Happy 1 Month Copelyn!!

Wow my baby girl is one month old today! Where did the time go!? I ordered her month to month onesies but they have not come in the mail yet so I will have to wait to take her official 1 month old picture but the one above will do for now. We have had the best time loving on and being parents to Copelyn. She is such a joy. Each day she does something new to surprise me. Just yesterday I was changing her diaper and went to grab a new one & she peed all over the changing pad, herself, and her clothes! haha She looked up at me and smiled because she knew that meant BATH TIME!! She loves the bath and loves to soak. I guess she gets that from me because I love to take a bath! She has started to notice she has a voice and makes the cutest little noises. She also has incredible head strength and I would say that before long this little girl will be rolling over! Oh that is way to much for this momma to even think about! Scott and I kiss her so much...we may be a little over board but we just love to kiss those cheeks! It is funny though because we have done it so much she has started to make kissy lips with her lips and reaches for our cheeks with them. It may just be a baby thing but I would like to think we taught her that! I also love the random smiles I get out of her every day! Ahh makes my heart melt to the floor!

Copelyn's reflux and colic seem to be doing a lot better! She is taking Prevacid and Mylicon drops which both seem to be working! My girl can poop like nobody's business but for whatever reason she just has tummy issues. Thank the Lord we have not had to give up breastfeeding yet! I just pray daily that her tummy issues resolve completely. We have found that running water and running the vacuum help! Also swimming in the sink! Oh what a mom will do to make her baby feel better! I love her pediatrician...she is awesome! We have made 5-6 visits already to her and Copelyn is only a month old! Copelyn and her are buddies! She has been so concerned for us and Copelyn that she calls us every other day to check on her! It is just a relief to know that she cares so much!

Our friends and family have been amazing this past month!! We have had so many people bring yummy meals!! I wish I had meals all the time like this haha!! It has been fabulous! Thank you to everyone!!!

I head back to my rotation March 19th! ugh! I only have 12 days left! I cry every time I think about it. So prayers would be great!

We thank the Lord for this precious sweet girl! I can't imagine life without her!

Living life with our Sweet Copelyn- 1st two weeks

We love our life with our sweet girl! It is so much more than I ever could have imagined & I absolutely love being Copelyn's mommy. Don't get me wrong though there are some days that I just have to cry. It can get stressful at times especially when your little one is crying and you can't fix it. Scott and I really haven't had any extra help since we have been home. It has just been Scott, Copelyn, and me trying to figure out how to do life together. I think we have been pretty darn successful! With that said my mom comes this Wednesday and I can't wait to have her here! It will give me a little break here and there & I get to spend time with my sister & my mommy! Even though I am 25 it is amazing how sometimes we just need our own mommy's! Copelyn is so sweet. She loves sleeping on my chest and cuddling me. Even though I know this is a bad habit I don't really care right now haha! I am going to enjoy this time with her! She has been breastfeeding like a champ! We haven't really had one issue...praise Jesus! I thought for sure we would considering how Divaish Copelyn acted during labor! Poor baby has developed a little gas the past two days and she wails a loud cry! I hate it...I wish we could fix it. We just purchased Mylicon drops so we are hoping this helps. Today we got Copelyn's newborn pictures done! I stood back in awe practically the whole time at my little girl. We feel so blessed that God gave her to us. This morning we watched church online and afterwards I told Copelyn...."Mommy loves you...Daddy loves you...and Most importantly Jesus loves you!" We got the biggest smile from her after I said this! Just makes my heart melt!

Baby Copelyn's Birth Part 2

So in my tiredness of writing Copelyn's birth story yesterday I forgot a few very important people.

1. Scott was amazing the whole entire day! He was so supportive the whole entire time. He watched each contraction and let me know when they were going to end. He even didn't want to eat because I couldn't eat. Haha BUT I made him because I didn't want him to get queasy. He surprised us all when the nurse told him to grab a leg and he coached me through each push! I couldn't have asked anything more of him.

2. My mother in law was there almost the entire time. She was like my personal midwife! I could not have done it without her and I love how she responds in stressful situations. She makes everyone around her calm and when it came down to me pushing & me saying I couldn't do it she reminded me I had no choice & that I could do it! It was so nice to have her there and share in the experience with us.

3. My sister in law Nikki! She decided last minute that she wanted to watch Copelyn be born. I was a little worried because I didn't want to scare her out of child birth. BUT she did awesome. She even took all the pictures of the whole entire birth so Scott didn't have to worry about it.

4. My mom who got to watch the whole thing via Facetime from our computer that we set up in the room. I was so thankful to be able to have her there even if she couldn't be there in person. It was so special to me because she is my very best friend & I couldn't imagine her missing the birth of our little girl. She was so encouraging the whole time and just let me enjoy the experience. I love her so much. I hope Copelyn and I have a close relationship like we share.

5. The whole rest of our family. They were all amazing and so supportive. We always feel loved by them but they showed us a tremendous amount of supprt & encouragement.

Ok I think I covered everyone now:) We love our little girl so much! We had her pediatrician appointment today and she has gained 1 ounce! She eats like crazy, poops like a maniac, and well um sleep we are working on. We got 6.5 hours of sleep last night which was awesome but little girl wants to sleep on her mommy and daddy's chest at all times. We got a new upright cradle per the recommendation of a mommy I really look up to. We are going to give that a shot tonight because she did not like her bassinet. I love being Copelyn's mommy! It is the best job in the world!

Baby Copelyn's Birth Story

Let me start by saying we are absolutely totally in love with our little blessing God has given us. She is beautiful and so sweet! But this little sweet bundle of joy sure did give us a run for our money on Tuesday. She proved numerous times she was going to run the show no matter what intervention we may take! Let me also say before I tell the whole story that we appreciate all the love & support so many of you have shown us over these past few days. We feel so incredibly grateful for all the prayers as well.

So where to even begin!? Our day began Tuesday at 3:30 am as I woke up and got ready for our scheduled C section. I decided I would put my face on and do my hair to meet my little girl! I got all ready & everything!! We got to the hospital around 5:30am and got prepped for our C section. After listening for Copelyn's heart beat the nurses felt like she may have moved but we had to confirm it with an ultrasound once our doctor got there. So we waited for about an hour & sure enough when the doctor scanned us our sweet girl had turned head down! We were all in shock! Crazy little girl! So at this point we turned to the induction plan. Our doctor knew I would like to go natural so she tried at first a more natural way of induction. When we went to check if it had worked after about 4 hours...Copelyn had turned AGAIN! ugh! The doctor tried to turn her a bit manually and it worked but it proved to be one of the scariest times for me during labor because Copelyn started decelling. So at this point we knew we needed to get her engaged if she was going to come vaginally. It was decided here to start me on a strong dose of pitocin! I knew I hated this drug but not until it was running through my veins did I realize how evil it really can be! BUT it got the job done. Copelyn got engaged and within no time I was about 4 cm. They then broke my water which got me to about 6 cm. At about 6.5 cm I decided to get an epidural because we realized it was probably going to be a long night and she wouldn't come until the wee hours of the morning. (She proved us all wrong here too) So I got the epidural and felt relief very soon. Within two hours though I started feeling everything again even though I kept pushing the button to push more into my system! That is my luck...right!? At this point I was crying...I felt like such a wimp. The contractions were so long and strong I felt like I may just die! The anesthesiologist decided to rebolus me with a stronger dose! This felt so good at first. I couldn't even feel my legs it was so strong. Within about 1.5 hours I started feeling the contractions...AGAIN! What the heck!? The nurse rechecked me and much to our surprise we were at 9.5 cm and almost ready to push. I got really scared because I honestly did not think I could handle the pain to push her out. I pushed on the PCA pump three times to try to get more drug in my system but it just wasn't doing much of anything for me. I then felt the urge to push and could not stop. At this point our sweet doctor was delivering another baby. It didn't matter to me though because I just wanted this baby out of me! haha So we started pushing a bit. I remember the nurse telling me I was probably going to be pushing for two hours. I thought to myself...Oh no I am not! Our doctor came in the room just in time & within 25 minutes I had her out. Even though it was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life, it was so worth it. I think because I had some feeling I was able to push her out more effectively.

My doctor was absolutely AMAZING the whole entire day! We laughed together and she lightened the mood for us even when things got stressful. She was a voice for me even when I had trouble saying NO to people and made sure the experience was what I wanted. She did everything she could to give me as natural of a birth as possible. She even knew during pushing what I needed. She knows I have that "runner" mind and needed someone to count or do something to help me get through the pushes. I remember thinking in my mind...Someone help me! And sure enough she started counting to 10 for me for each push and because of that I could make it through. All my nurses were so wonderful! I can't say enough good things about all of them. The whole experience was just so surreal and we are so thankful for everyone that played a part into bringing our sweet girl into the world!

We love Copelyn so much and can't wait to watch her and help her grow!

When Life Hands You Lemons....Stubborn Baby Copelyn Update

Make Lemonade!!

Well, after our last appointment before our induction we have realized Copelyn has flipped since Friday. She is now breech!! Head is up towards my ribcage with her feet there too. I think I am still in shock and in disbelief that now my birth plan has really gone down the drain. When we went in and our doctor started feeling around something did not seem right to her. So we listened to the heart beat which sounded beautiful but it had shifted up towards my left upper side. We then confirmed it with an ultrasound and sure enough sweet little Copelyn was as snug as a rug BUT breech! Ugh...this is what I felt. Then seeing the look of disappointment on my husbands face made me feel even worse. We were presented with two options or technically three. 1. Maybe (just maybe) she will turn right by tomorrow...(Highly unlikely but worth praying for), 2. They could attempt turning her tomorrow in the AM which has a 50% chance of success BUT if it fails and Copelyn's heartbeat drops I will be rushed to a STAT C-section, Scott won't be able to come most likely, and I could potentially be put to sleep because they have to get her out in a minute, OR 3. We just opt for the C-section.

We chose option 1 & 3. We will try to naturally turn her tonight and if that doesn't work we will be headed for a C-section tomorrow at 7:30am. Not how I had planned it at all. But on the bright side I get to hold and kiss my sweet baby tomorrow no matter what. It is so funny to me the way life can go sometimes. It never goes as planned. I wanted an all natural birth, no medicine...nothing! But for whatever reason God had a different plan and he knows best.

As I was driving home I remembered this time last year. I was mourning the loss of our baby we miscarried. I thought I may never get pregnant again. And here I am a day away from holding my daughter. It doesn't matter how she comes into this world. What matters is she has two parents that adore her and a heavenly Father that loves her so much. That is enough to celebrate right there!

I ask that you pray for us tomorrow. However the turn out please just pray for a safe delivery and a happy, healthy baby. Please pray for my husband who gets a little queasy. Please pray for my doctor as she performs surgery on me. I truly feel like one lucky girl. I have a wonderful husband, the best doctor in the world who I can now call my friend, and a healthy, baby girl I get to meet tomorrow!

Its been ONE YEAR

Quite honestly I have dreaded this day for a while now. I know it is just another day but something about the "one year anniversary" that we miscarried our first baby was not a day I wanted to really relive. Oddly enough last night as expected I did not sleep hardly at all. I got up every hour on the hour and finally gave in & just read my Bible until I felt enough peace in my heart to go asleep again. Even though I have dreaded this day, I am so thankful for the obstacles & struggles God has brought us through this past year. It has been a life-changing year. I am a changed woman with a completely renewed heart. I find myself shedding tears almost weekly with the way God has used our story for his glory. Just in the two weeks, I met for lunch with two different women who had miscarried recently. If I would have not gone through our circumstances I would not have been able to help, understand, or love on all the women God has thrown in my path.

My expectations of people have completely changed. I used to be an easily disappointed girl in a lot of my friendships when people didn't meet my expectations. Now I have no expectations of people. I look at every relationship as a gift from God and I try to see the best in that person always. My marriage has completely changed. Before I used to get upset if Scott didn't clean the bathroom up perfectly after shaving, or if he did something that made me mad it used to turn into a fight...Now we hardly ever argue and we just show each other as much love as we can daily. We have a completely different outlook on life now & we don't take a day for granted. Life is so precious & the days are much better spent laughing & smiling as well as taking every situation and seeing it all as God's plan & that he will bring you through.

No... this past year hasn't been easy. There were days I didn't think I could possibly take anymore pain in my heart. But the truth is I made it. Honestly though, it was only because my Lord & Savior pulled me through. It wasn't my husband, or my friendships (yes they helped) BUT it was me surrendering my circumstances fully to Him & letting Him have complete control of the situation. My advice for people going through a similar situation is don't dwell on what could have been rather dwell on what God is going to do through your situation & your life.

We received the biggest blessing of all four months after we miscarried; that is our sweet Baby Copelyn. She is healthy, active, and VERY STUBBORN! Honestly though, it wasn't until I surrendered my circumstances to God that he let my heart smile again & that he blessed us with Copelyn.

My prayer is that whatever life struggle you are going through now that you can lean on God and let him work in you!

Now for a Copelyn update!! She is stubborn as EVER! Yesterday we had my membranes stripped again. I am about 2-2.5 cm dilated, effaced, but my cervix is still posterior. We need EVERYONE praying that this little girl decides to come out before Tuesday! If I am induced on Tuesday my whole birth plan looks like it might go down the drain. I know I could wait for her to just come on her own but unfortunately time is precious for us since I have to go back to my rotation March 19. Establishing a routine with Copelyn is much more important to me than my birth plan at this point. BUT I would love to have my dream birth! We go again on Monday for one more check if little girl doesn't come before then! Thank you so much for all your prayers! Come on Copelyn...Your Mommy and Daddy want to meet you! We will keep you updated:)

38 weeks OR One week to go!

I have been getting text messages all day wondering if Baby Copelyn is on her way yet! haha! I hope people know something that I don't know! Tomorrow I am getting my membranes stripped! I am so excited! haha Never thought I would be excited to feel pain! This little girl and I are fighting each other for space AND at some points I think she may just push right through my stomach! We are ready to have her in our arms. I have tried everything to induce my labor! The only thing I haven't tried is castor oil and I refuse to result to that one. I walk daily, eat pineapple daily, drink red raspberry leaf tea daily, and a few other things & NOTHING is working! I guess sweet little girl will come when she wants to BUT if she doesn't come by February 7 we will be induced!! I feel like I have been saying the same thing OVER and OVER again! Sorry for that!

On the other hand I want to brag on my husband a bit! He is so wonderful to me & I feel so blessed to have him in my life. I think this daily but last night in particular as he crawled into bed with me at 7:30pm (he is a night owl & yes I was ready to go to sleep at 7:30) after cooking me dinner and cleaning all the dishes I thought to myself & then told him later how grateful I was for his love. Then as I got back from the gym this morning I had breakfast (I am talking eggs and toast) waiting for me on the stairs and he made the bed! He does little things like this a lot and I always say thank you but sometimes I wonder if he really knows how much I appreciate his love. So it got me thinking today....do you tell the one you love how much you appreciate him/her enough? Just a simple thank you or I love you will do the trick.

Copelyn Update!

Well, I had myself so pumped up for our doctor's appointment today. I was for sure we had made some progression considering all the exercise and walking I have been doing. Sure enough I was still 1 cm dilated and had progressed a little to 75% effaced! Ugh! Her head is lower and my doctor said I "could" go at anytime. I hope this little girl comes on her own! Next Wednesday I go back and my doctor will strip my membranes. Hopefully that will get Copelyn going. If not the plan is still to induce me on February 7. Please pray this little girl comes naturally!

Never Once

Philippians 4:6-7

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Now that I have reached the 37 week mark of pregnancy I have become very anxious. I am so ready to meet my little girl. I know she will come when she is good & ready AND I already know God knows when that day will be. Sometimes it is so hard just to remember that God has EVERY SINGLE day of my life in his plan for me and that he knows best. I have been guilty though of trying all different methods to make me dilate more. I have been walking and exercising like a maniac! I know...crazy right!? Well, I love to exercise and I can't really explain to you where I get the energy from but for some reason I get out of bed every morning & make my way to the gym. Maybe my body is just on auto-pilot but hopefully this will help when it comes to the duration of my labor and maybe help me dilate. I have been drinking red raspberry leaf tea daily which is supposed to help strengthen my uterus according to all the Natural Birth books I have read. My question is how in the world did they ever find this out!? But I don't really care at this point...if it helped someone else in my mind it will help me! I have been eating pineapple like it is going out of style! For whatever reason this is supposed to bring on labor. And lastly I went to get a pedicure the other day...they say a foot massage could stimulate contractions. Who knows!? haha

I would like for Copelyn to stay in me until at least 38 weeks but hey that is only a week away! I guess part of me (the human side) just wants her here in my arms to know she will be okay. I realize though this is Satan feeding me negative thoughts. I chose ten years ago that I was going to give my life to Jesus and with that comes trusting him with my life every single day. As I near the date we miscarried last year I get more and more anxious and nervous. The truth is I have no control though over my life or Copelyn's life. God is in total control. Every single bad thought that may enter my head I have to stand strong & pray it out of me because I TRUST God with ALL MY HEART & SOUL. He is protecting Copelyn & me. Now that is something to CELEBRATE! As I listen to the song I posted it rings so true to my life. The chorus says: God never once did I ever walk alone, never once did you leave us on our own, You are faithful, God you are faithful!

4 more weeks!

I decided from this point on I would count down the weeks rather than count up to 40. Single digit numbers just seem to go by a little faster. At my doctor's appointment yesterday we had lots of eventful conversations take place. Scott goes with me to every single appointment and I just love that. He is so supportive and never misses anything when it comes to me & his little girl. We are both so ready for her to get here. Of course we would like for her to cook until 37 weeks but after that she can come any time she wants to. At my appointment we discovered I was 1 cm dilated and Copelyn's head was in place. So that is very exciting news. I plan to walk more these next few weeks and drink my red raspberry leaf tea to maybe get this show on the road!! I really need your prayers about the other topic of conversation we had yesterday. As you know I have to go back to my last rotation on March 19th. My doctor is willing to induce me as early as February 7. I really DON'T WANT to be induced because I know if this happens my chances of going natural are slim. But on the other hand if I could stay home an extra week with my little girl I think that would be more beneficial. After talking with Scott & my doctor we decided to pencil in February 7 as the day I will be induced if Copelyn doesn't come by then. Thankfully, my doctor told me she could induce me with other options other than Pitocin which would be wonderful. It is so important to me to do this naturally but on the other hand I want to be able to get a full five weeks off with my baby girl. So I am sort of stuck! If you could pray specifically that Copelyn decides to come naturally before February 7 that would be great! I know I am doing everything I can on my end to get this process going!

We are feeling pretty good & very tired! Twice this past week I got home and went straight to bed for the rest of the night. I think one night I slept 12 hours! My back is killing me from standing for 8 hours a day but it is all worth it! Little girl finally has her days and nights straight! She moves during the day now and sleeps at night! yay!

On the other hand, one of my best friends got engaged to her prince charming last night!!!!! I got the text of her hand with a stunning ring on it at about 8:00pm and I just couldn't contain myself with the excitement I felt for her. They are so perfect for each other! I am thinking she will probably go with a fall wedding because she can't stand to sweat or be hot! I am so excited to help her plan and throw her a wonderful bridal shower!!! Oh how I love weddings!

Woah Nelly!! Is that my belly!?

We have reached 35 weeks! 5 more weeks to go and I have a belly to show for it for sure. Copelyn and I are fighting each other for space it seems and she seems to be winning because I can't get comfortable. I am so ready! I have been continuing to exercise which I am hoping will help with labor and recovery. Some days are harder than others but I make myself get up anyways because I know it will make me feel better later. The best part of going to the gym is the comments and looks I get; especially lately. I love it when people say, "You look like you might just pop!" I just smile and laugh but on the inside I am thinking...Really!? That is not really what a pregnant lady wants to hear. Makes me laugh though!

Scott has been an angel. I still have continued to be my OCD self and clean daily but he helps out by cooking dinners, doing the laundry, and pretty much anything handy around the house. He supports fully my going to bed at 8:30 habit! LOL. He just doesn't always partake in the habit with me. Last night, I decided I would try on all my bikinis to see if they still fit. I knew what I was getting myself in to but just for kicks I wanted to see since I will be bringing one to the hospital if I decide to get into the tub. Well much to my surprise...THEY ALL STILL FIT ME! I ran out of the bedroom to show Scott. He was shocked and then he added the comment, "Babe, every part of your body looks the same except your huge belly and well...your butt just looks a tiny bit bigger but that is probably just because your hips have gotten wider." Oh...boy...he wishes he would have never said that! haha. We don't ever really argue but I paid him back this morning at the gym while I made him wait on me to do 100 squats:):)

Tiredness has pretty much consumed me. I feel like a walking zombie most days. But she has been worth every pain, ounce of tired feeling, and uncomfortableness! I just can't wait to kiss her cheeks!

I am starting to get a bit nervous about labor but I assume this is normal. Thankfully, no matter what my doctor is going to deliver me. They don't normally do this but since we have become close through everything the past year she elected to deliver us. So one thing that calms my nerves a bit is that I will have her familiar face in the room with me and she knows how I wish my labor would go & she believes in me. She is very supportive of everything I want to do and she has been so honest with me the whole time. Like I have said before, God really blessed us with her. I will never forget after the miscarriage I thought I wanted to switch practices because of the constant reminders of the miscarriage in their office. I started researching and no one else seemed to be able to work in an appointment with my schedule. Thankfully, Scott said to me that maybe I should stick with the practice that we had grown to love so much even though it was hard for me. He told me to just pray that God would heal those feelings of uneasiness when I entered the office and sure enough God did just that. I am so thankful for my doctor and her support. She is amazing! The best part is she is 7 weeks behind me in pregnancy and I have gotten to see her belly grow alongside mine the whole time! God is good!

On another note, Scott and I have made our new years resolutions. He made his a little later than mine but nonetheless it has been made! We both decided to read our Bibles in a year. At first I was just going to read the New Testament but my husband talked me into the whole bible and so far it has been awesome! I love it!

We are so excited for our little girl to get here! Maybe she will come in three weeks!? Maybe five weeks!? I just can't wait to meet her!

Happy New Year!!

Well we have reached 34 weeks and in the final homestretch from what I hear. I feel like 6 weeks is a long time but other mommy's assure me it goes by fast! Last night Scott and I were a boring, old, married, pregnant couple! haha We went to dinner downtown with my dad and then came home. I fell asleep by 11:15 to only wake up at 11:59 give Scott a New Year's kiss and then pass out again by 12:05. I am so glad 2012 is finally here!

2012 is already full of planned events...Our little Copelyn arriving in February....I graduate from pharmacy school in May (yay! it has been a 7 year LONG journey)....then in May I will start my new career with a job opportunity that God has so graciously given to me.

On the other hand reflecting back on 2011 I would describe it as the best/worst year I have ever had. I know that sounds a bit extreme but it is the truth! I have never been on such a roller coaster ride as this year has been. But at the end of it all we are so incredibly thankful. I am so thankful for all the blessings, opportunities, and pits God provided throughout the year. Even on the days where I did not know if I could take on the day, God was there pushing me along the way. He knew it would be okay! God is always at work for his glory and our good. God intended all the events in my life this year but God intended it for GOOD. In February 2011, it was awful...life stunk. But the whole time God was working and he took the worst situation and turned it around for his glory. He gave me the ability to put my thought and feelings into words & he allowed my story to help/encourage other people going through similar circumstances. This picture below is the way I feel about 2011. Yes I am jumping high off the ground and yes I am 34 weeks pregnant BUT I felt like I needed to do something to celebrate making it through this year! It means to me....WE DID IT!

Now for 2012! I have no idea what this year will bring. I know we have many exciting events planned so far BUT I know life doesn't always go as planned. My prayer is that God will use me for his greater glory and that no matter where I am I will bring glory to his name. We are so excited about meeting Copelyn! We even sit in her room and pretend sometimes she is here! haha Scott likes to talk to her in my belly! He says the craziest things but oh well she likes it because she is always kicking when her daddy is talking. I am so excited about graduating!! I have worked so hard and I am so glad I can finally start my career. I am so grateful, excited, and blessed with my future job! As you may know I am a firm believer GOD ALWAYS HAS A PLAN. This job was totally a god thing and I can not wait to use all the knowledge I have gained the past 7 years. I am a little nervous but it has been my prayer ever since I signed my name on a contract that God uses me in this job daily. I know for sure God has the ultimate plan and there is 365 days in 2012 that he can use to do awesome things in our life.

This past weekend Scott and I headed to the park to take some maternity pictures. We had pictures schedule with an awesome photographer but "life happened" and we had to cancel. So we had to do some one our own. I think Scott did a great job with what we had to work with! Below are just a few!!

Lastly, Copelyn and I are doing well! We are very large but feeling well. Tomorrow starts my next rotation. Our prayer is that Copelyn will wait at least 4 1/2 weeks to make her arrival so I can make it through this rotation and have a full 5 weeks with her!! She has her nights and days mixed up! She sleeps most of the day and then around 9 pm she kicks ALL NIGHT LONG it seems. I am definitely in the nesting phase. I clean everything!!! All I want to do is organize, clean, reorganize, and clean again! It is a crazy cycle and Scott just thinks it is funny! I guess we will have a spotless house to bring our baby home to! Well, happy new year folks! See you next week!